Self/Less – Movie Review

Self/Less – PG-13
Release Date: Fri 10 Jul 2015

Self/Less is a science fiction action movie starring Ryan Reynolds. The premise is that a critically ill businessman named Damian (Ben Kingsley) is approached by secretive scientist Dr. Albright (Matthew Goode.) Albright has developed a way to transfer the consciousness of one person into the mind of an empty body created in his lab. Together they fake Damian’s death and transfer him into a healthy, younger body (Ryan Reynolds.)

To say much more about the plot would be spoiling a genuinely interesting story. Reynolds and Goode are excellent. Ben Kingsley does a good job of establishing the character that Reynolds takes over. Tarsem Singh’s direction and storytelling are also excellent. Scenes are given time to breathe and it does a good job of following up on it’s various subplot threads.

Self/Less seems to have been overlooked by audiences, but I found it to be surprisingly solid for fans of action and science fiction. Ryan Reynolds seems to end up in a lot of deeply flawed films, but this is not one of them. The beautiful visuals and well-shot action sequences are a case for seeing it in theaters if possible, but if you can’t find it it’s well worth watching at home.

Aaron and I saw it in the theater and had a discussion in the car: