The Gist:
A rich company CEO dying of cancer has his mind transferred into a younger body, but his newfound youth comes at a cost once he figures out where the body comes from.
The Review:
On paper Self/less seems like nothing short of a fantastic idea, as it provides us with yet another idea of what people of the future would do to achieve the dream of immortality.
Damien Hurst (Ben Kingsley) is not ready to die. Whoever truly is? Between wanting to fix the strained relationship with his daughter Claire (Downton Abbey’s Michelle Dockery) and wanting to ensure a future for the company he has spent his entire life building, he is however swiftly running out of time, and everyone around him knows it.
That is why he is approached by Professor Albright (Matthew Goode), the head of an organisation that promises to transplant his consciousness onto a genetically engineered, healthy body.
Damien doesn’t think to question what is being done to him until he has already changed bodies (now Ryan Reynolds) and is let in on the small print of his contract with Albright, which of course include the standard conditions of any contract with a shadowy agency operating out of the public eye, such as never breathing a word about the procedure to anyone and taking unspecified medication against sudden hallucinations.
Because the film’s initial idea is so intriguing, it is nothing short of frustrating to see its makers delve into many uninspired action film clichés from this point onwards.
The first thing Hurst does with his new body is party like it’s 1989, in a montage shot to make the entire film immediately look like trailer for Entourage: sex, cars, speed boats and more sex.
Once he goes to uncover the true origin of his body, all Ryan Reynolds gets to do is react to the revelations put before him, since the non-existent character development allows him to do nothing else. Within minutes, audiences will have completely forgotten that a supposed septuagenarian has taken over, as he quickly learns to kick ass due to a lot of unexplained pseudo-sci-fi.
As much as you can pinpoint the exact moment the film goes downhill, there are no surprises in the plot to uncover, either, as if the writers go with the most obvious explanation for every question, and simply leave the rest unanswered or answer them with guns, wasting a decent cast.
The Verdict:
Spoiler alert – it is not a good idea to switch bodies, and an even worse idea to look the gift horse in the mouth afterwards, because honestly, there is nothing there to see. Yes, that was a metaphor.
Certificate: 15
Director: Tarsem Singh
Starring: Ryan Reynolds, Ben Kingsley, Matthew Goode, Natalie Martinez
Running Time: 117 min
Release Date: 17 July 2015
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