[yasr_overall_rating]
An extremely wealthy man, dying from cancer, undergoes a radical medical procedure that transfers his consciousness into the body of a healthy young man. But all is not as it seems when he starts to uncover the mystery of the body’s origin and the organization that will kill to protect its cause.
The “Big Easy” seems a tad bit difficult to navigate through as Damian Hale (Ben Kingsley), the man who built New York, attempts to re-order his steps in the afterlife. With several accomplishments under his belt, Damian is forced to reckon with a cancer diagnosis that threatens his mortality, and in an attempt to prolong his impactful existence, Damian dabbles in the research of “shedding” in order to find a subliminal way of existing after cancer has taken over his life. A company called Phoenix, under the tutelage of a research professor, provides an alternative by allowing Damian to resume living in a body that is presumed to be bred in a laboratory. The only catch is that his mind will be housed in another body and no one will recognize him, nor will he be able to share the good news. After closing on a 200 million dollar deal, Damian is forced to get his affairs in order in preparation for his death and a new afterlife. When Damian attempts to alert his estranged daughter, Claire (Michelle Dockery), about his impending death, the occasion turns sour and he never gets the opportunity to let her know how much he appreciated her and her life’s work. Damian also runs into a series of surprises when he meets with his business partner, Mr. Baldwin (Victor Garber) to discuss the taking over of the business.
With what he thinks is a full understanding of biogenic shading, Damian Hale undertakes the agreed plan for his death and returns in the afterlife as a younger man (Ryan Reynolds) whose physical presence competes with his psychological past to form a hilarious transformation. Now living in a scripted environment for his new persona, Damian begins having illusions where a woman and a child constantly appear. When Damian questions this illusion, he is told that it is only temporary and a side effect of the red pills he must take in order to balance his body’s adjustment to the shedding process. After doing his own research, Damian realizes that instead of his new body coming from the lab, it actually replaced another real life male who had a wife, Madeline (Natalie Martinez) and daughter Pumpkin, the same ones that appear in his illusion. The psychological thriller aspect of the movie becomes more apparent as Damian seeks to force the head of Phoenix to come clean and reverse the process.
This film has some very exciting and endearing moments within the relationships that are formed and repaired, and the innocence of the victims that the entire shedding process has changed forever. While being carried heavily by the sci-fi aspect, the film constantly struggles with engaging the audience throughout its entire course. With an interesting theme and turnabout of events, it still has the ability though to provide ample entertainment.
In theaters July 10th
