Xchange 7 out of 10: Any movie that starts out with the premise that society has purposely cloned hundreds of Steven Baldwins embarks with one foot in the grave. And the plot of people's consciousness traveling to different host bodies and "the Corporation" losing some poor schlubs original body is right out of Overdrawn at the Memory Bank. (For those who are not Canadians, PBS watchers or MST3000 fans, Overdrawn is one of the worst pieces of science fiction ever created and defiantly not Raul Julia's finest hour.)

Yet the movie pulls itself out of this one two punch with a smarter than it had to be script (at least until the tired and predictable third act) and some rather enthusiastic sex scenes (more on that in a minute).

First the script. Now most science fiction films when talking a big new technology like consciousness transfer will create some crazy take over the world, the world will end, destroy civilization as we know it scheme. Xchange takes a different much more realistic and creative track. People hop into other bodies to avoid exercise, avoid long lines at the airport and experiment sexually. In other words what people in real life use mind blowing technology for. (The internet is a mind-blowing piece of technology and people use it not to gain control of the universe or gather great amounts of knowledge they use it to post useless opinions on movies, download porn and shop for collector plates on E-bay.) Now the third act does fall apart with talking killers and vats of acid not to mention car chases that wouldn't be out of place in an A-team episode but by this point the movies charm has sunk in.

As for the sex scenes unlike many films with plastic woman and men who attempt to copulate with the woman's navel while still wearing their underwear, Xchange features sweaty, athletic and realistic sex. This along with some decent violence and good non-Baldwin acting helps elevate Xchange into a top tier of B-movies.

Don't listen to the other comments here. This is one science fiction movie that works. It manages to get all the things it's got going against it, work *for* it.

Take the male lead, for instance. Stephen Baldwin is not the sharpest knife in the drawer (and indeed, hasn't exactly starred in a lot of quality movies). So in this movie he's got no mind of his own. He's an assembly line clone, used as a host or worker body for the corporate jetset. That's putting a man of Stephen Baldwin's caliber to the best possible use!

The movie is about mind transfers. That's the plot, and the writer takes the utmost consequence of what this means. A plot that would be an insufferably silly stunt-of-the-week on an episode of Star Trek, Stargate or Farscape, manages here to be described disturbingly realistically and in a near-present day setting. Every possible twist that could possibly be imagined if this technology existed is commented on in one way or the other. No stone is left unturned. The sexual possibilities alone remain an important on-going sub-plot. This is highly unusual for a run-of-the-mill sci fi/action flick.

The SFX are fairly few, and integrated seamlessly and perfectly into the story. The one-molecule-thick cutting wire is really cool.

Like I said, it works. All of it. It is engaging, coherent, tasteful (all the four female main characters have topless scenes, and no, they are *not* gratuitous, but enhance the characterization), well-written, and goes out of its way to avoid clichés. For commercial flicks of any kind, this doesn't happen often. It's too bad the guy who wrote it hasn't done anything else.

I'm amazed to see that most of the commentators here have such a low opinion of this movie. Don't listen to them. This movie succeeds in everything it sets out to do. For a B movie, it is good. Surprisingly good. It will hold up for several viewings, if you're the type of person who can appreciate it. This is going to be a cult favorite.

8 out of 10.

You don't need a big budget to make a fantastic film.

Simply put: This is an entertaining and surprising movie with everything you could ask for - genuine suspense with believable plot twists, well-timed action, memorable comedy, and special effects that actually has a purpose beyond the "see-what-we-can-do" arrogance of many blockbuster productions.

I regularly contribute to IMDb's I Need To Know Board where many board favorites tend to be the memorable kitschy flicks. In the coming years - this will be one of them - I guarantee it. Not only is this a really fun movie to idle away a 'popcorn video night', it's filled with unique visual hooks and interesting plot twists that tend to find their way into the collected memories of film fans.

While others have noted similarities to other well-known films of the genre - I urge you to watch this with a fresh mindset (pun intended).

This is probably one of the best Stephen Baldwin films from his hodge-podge career. Had he chosen to do more along these lines I suspect his limelight wouldn't have gotten so dusty that he'd end up as a B-rated 'star' for reality TV schlock. Doing solid, low budget, but profitable films is a career track that had Edward Herrimann and C. Thomas Howell working for decades while their "will-only-work-for-great-scripts/directors" driven counterparts have been forgotten or relegated to the world of early retirement.