Review of Self/less (2015) by Tyler R — 25 Apr 2016
Self/less had a great concept at its core. The moral implications of what happens throughout the film could have provided a deeply troubled protagonist and a fantastic antagonist to counter him. Instead, we basically get Fugitive-lite for two hours.
The film follows a wealthy property tycoon that is dying of cancer, and he is offered the opportunity to transplant his conscious into a younger and healthier vessel. Right off the bat, Ben Kingsley is absolutely wasted here.
He's given a cliche to fill the shoes of, as well as a terribly confusing accent (Brooklyn? Italian? Boston?). Not like any of that matters, since he is only there for roughly fifteen minutes. After that, it is all up to Ryan Reynolds, and bless his heart, he tries as hard as he can to work with this slop.
The film forgoes anything deeper or meatier than cheap looking shootouts and action bits, turning this into a straight-to-DVD action/thriller. As for the acting, everyone is pretty terrible here, mostly because they have nothing to work with.
And as for the pacing? Ooh, boy. Good luck trying to get through on one sitting, because those two hours feel like days. But when the film does reach its 50 First Dates/Bourne mash-up ending, the viewer is left either asleep, or checking their phone for the time.
This review of Self/less (2015) was written by Tyler R on 25 Apr 2016.
Self/less has generally received mixed reviews.
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