User Reviews

Sometimes I just don't understand so-called professional critics. I really don't. You give them a very good movie and they complain that it wasn't a lot better than it was. It's like they're going out of their way to be negative. That bothers me and that's why I prefer to call myself a movie "reviewer". I'm just someone who loves movies, sees a lot of them, knows a bit about the industry and wants to use my experience as a writer to discuss movies in a way that others might enjoy and find useful – and from a movie fan's perspective.

I'm only out to answer one question when I review a movie: Was it entertaining? If I feel it was, I recommend it, giving it a grade in the "A" or "B" range, depending on how entertaining it was. If it's not very entertaining, or just bad, it gets a "C" or "D". And if the movie is out-right horrible, it gets an "F". Simple, right? Well, "Self/less" (PG-13, 1:56) isn't going to change the world, but it is interesting, fun, thought-provoking and well-made. It is, simply stated, a very entertaining film. What more do we need in a movie? Underneath all its action and intrigue, this movie asks how important a person's life is and at what cost a specific person's life should be preserved. Oscar winner Ben Kingsley plays Damian Hale, a New York City real estate tycoon who is dying of cancer. Like most people, Damian is more than a little unnerved by the reality of his imminent demise, but, unlike most people, he has the ability to do something about it. He becomes aware of a very expensive and very secretive process by which his consciousness can be implanted into a younger man's body, enabling Damian to survive, enjoy life and contribute to society for another 50 years or so. He's rich enough to afford it and arrogant enough to think he deserves it.

Professor Albright (Matthew Goode) tells Damian that each body is an "empty vessel" grown in the lab. The body that Damian is given to inhabit looks a lot like Ryan Reynolds. The transition from his old body to his new body (called "shedding") is disorienting. Damian's mind has to get used to seeing a different reflection in the mirror and must learn to adjust to his new physicality. Albright puts him up in a luxury apartment near Albright's New Orleans facility in order to monitor the progress of Damian, Version 2.0. Albright also gives the new Damian red pills to help him suppress upsetting and reoccurring visions. Albright calls them "hallucinations" and says that they're a common side effect of the shedding process, but Damian says the visions feel more like memories. Hmmm.

As the story unfolds, Damian learns to make new friends, but keep the old. In his temporary digs in the Big Easy, he starts hanging out with a guy named Anton (Derek Luke). Damian also gets reacquainted with two very different women from his past (played by Michelle Dockery and Natalie Martinez) and has to reach out to an old friend and colleague (Victor Garber) when things get… complicated. A sci-fi drama becomes a mystery, a psychological thriller and an action movie with several twists and turns. "Self/less" is part "Invasion of the Body Snatchers", part "The Bourne Identity" and a little bit of "The Matrix". There's a lot going on to keep you entertained while you're thinking deep thoughts about the story's bigger issues.

Some critics fault "Self/less" for becoming too much of an action movie and failing to more fully exploit the plot's intriguing set-up. But I have a feeling that if they got the movie they say they wanted, they'd have called it boring. This is an original, exciting film that is very well-acted, well-paced (by director Tarsem Singh) and well-plotted (by screenwriters David and Alex Pastor). The moral issues are never far from the moviegoers mind, and are still there to be considered after some of the movie's more frenetic moments have faded from the screen. A movie doesn't have to be completely original to be thought-provoking and entertaining. "Self/less" is both – and more. "A-"

This wasn't too bad considering the theme has been done countless times before with films like "Total Recall", "Freejack" and "Face/Off"; that last one even contributing the idea of two non-related words to assume some semblance of meaning for a movie title. Still, there were some problems with the execution that the film makers decided to gloss over relative to the plot. I didn't think Ben Kingsley conveyed the idea that Damian Hale had only six months to live since he looked pretty healthy to me aside from those coughing spasms of his. And why 'Mark' became a transfer body was never made clear. His background in the military was alluded to, and he was obviously selected by Jensen/Albright (Matthew Goode) as a subject devoid of serious imperfections. There was also the scene where Damian's friend Martin (Victor Garber) expressed his doubt about Damian occupying a new identity until it was verified by describing their first business deal together. But Martin already knew such a procedure was possible because he had a replacement son via the same 'shedding' method. He could have been playing dumb but it didn't come across that way. What was gratifying was Damian's decision to cease taking the red pill in order for Mark to resume life with his reunited family. That selfless (ahh, there it is!) act reminded me of yet another story harking all the way back to my childhood days watching Rod Serling's 'Twilight Zone'. In 'The Trade-Ins' an elderly gentleman gave up his chance for a younger body when his finances didn't allow the same procedure for his wife, thereby accepting the inevitability of death at some point in the future. When faced with a tough choice, it's commendable to see a noble decision being made.

Self/less (2015): Dir: Tarsem Singh / Cast: Ryan Reynolds, Ben Kingsley, Natalie Martinez, Matthew Goode, Victor Garber: Title symbolizes two elements. First, it regards a selfless act where one places importance upon others over oneself. Secondly, it regards a decaying of conscience. This is all done within the bizarre visual framework often associated with Tarsem Singh who previously directed The Cell. Ben Kingsley plays a successful business man estrange from his grown daughter. He has terminal cancer and accepts an opportunity to immortalize himself through a procedure that passes his conscience to another reserved body. The procedure is successful and when he looks in the mirror he sees the image of Ryan Reynolds, whose character was a soldier. Things become complicated when medicine is skipped and flashback surface that cause a dizzying feeling. It is soon discovered that the soldier had a wife and daughter whom were kept in the dark to what really happened. Kingsley is featured strongly within the film's first twenty minutes. He feels regret and the need to press forward despite his condition. As Reynolds he learns self sacrifice and using his new skills to seek out the truth. Natalie Martinez plays the wife of the Reynolds character until she is filled in that it is another conscience inside his body. Matthew Goode plays the villain who cooked up this experiment that bares consequences that he hopes to control. Victor Garber plays an associate of the Kingsley character who is entangled in this scheme. Well made with typical over the top action yet fans of the genre will lose themselves within it. Score: 9 / 10

I am always surprised to see Ben Kingsley in a small role - after all, he was Gandhi. But here he is again, as Damian, an extremely wealthy man who is suffering from terminal cancer. He finds a business card directing him to Professor Albright (Matthew Goode), who performs a medical procedure called "shedding", in which one's consciousness is transferred to young, healthy body that has been engineered. He decides to do it.

After the procedure, he is given pills he needs to take daily. Now Young Damien, he changes his name, moves to New Orleans and has the fun of a young single guy for a time. He becomes friends with his neighbor, Anton.

He forgets to take his medicine one day and begins to see visions, but Albright tells him it's part of the "shedding" process. Not convinced, he goes searching for a landmark he saw in his visions. He discovers that Albright hasn't told him everything.

Exciting and ultimately sweet film with some good acting from Ryan Reynolds, Natalie Martinez, Victor Garber, and one of my favorites, Matthew Goode.

Yes, there was a lot of action but I didn't think of it as an action film. I enjoyed it.

This felt like an above average in depended movie and it was both entertaining and thought provoking.

Ben Kingley's role was small but just enough so Ryan Reynolds could portray him and still be creditable and it was also good for the pacing.

I don"t think this was a big budget movie and they spend their money well giving you a great story about the choices we make in life and how it could be different if we had a second chance.

The business man neglecting his daughter felt very relatable and so was Ryan Reynold's character in an attempt to save his daughter who otherwise would die because of her illness.

There are numerous surprises in this film and besides the thriller aspect you get just enough sci-fi and more than enough action.

The supporting cast did an excellent job and I especially liked the little girl because I thought she acted really natural.

The scale of it all sometimes feels a little small but it was still sufficient and probably caused by a lack of budget.

Two keywords come to mind for this and thats sacrifice and redemption.

I liked it a lot and so I recommend you'll give it a try.

Enjoy.

Billionaire industrialist Damian Hale is master of his universe, until he encounters a foe that he can't defeat.......metastasis.

His only hope is a radical medical procedure called "shedding," in which his consciousness is transferred to a healthy body. After the procedure, Damian, now called Edward, starts a new life in New Orleans, but he's haunted by disturbing images.

When he delves into Edward's past, he learns that some will kill to keep it secret.

Tarsem Singh isn't the greatest director in the world, by a long-shot, but his previous films have shown us that he is a visionary. The Cell was a load of old cobblers, but when we went into the mind of the killer, it was gloriously bonkers.

The Fall is his masterpiece, beautiful, subliminal, but again, bonkers.

The Immortals was a horrid affair, but it's set design was beautiful.

Here, I wasn't looking for much, other than something luscious to look at, and Kingsley is always good for a slice of ham, but I didn't get anything other than déjà Vu to other films, the Island, In Time, Paycheck and Face/off (and Kingsley, even though he's in it for a short time, is ironically the best he's ever been for a very long time).

It starts well enough, and the concept is sound. Like another film not dissimilar to this 'In Time' the film is telling you, if your rich, you can proverbially live forever. With 'In Time', time was literally money. In this film, if you are poor, you can sell your healthy to help your family, and if you're rich, you can buy it and have your soul somehow transferred into a good looking Ryan Reynolds type body.

And as soon as the transition is complete, this is where the film falls flat on its face and loses everything it had going for it, which is ironic seeing as this is the exact point where Kingsleys' character is given a new lease of life.

But the biggest problem here is Reynolds, I like the guy as an actor, and even though he's made some poor career choices over the last few years, he always breathes a bit of life into the whole proceedings.

But here, he's totally autonomous as young Damian, and he hasn't put an ounce of effort into copying Kingsley's traits for effect (that's why Face/Off worked so well).

So for the rest of the film we see Reynolds almost begrudgingly try and build a relationship with the wife and daughter of his new body's former owner.

Goode turns up every now and again as Basil Exposition doing its best Agent Smith impression, and when we finally get to the rationale as to why this was done and how, you couldn't care/less about what happens to anyone.

With virtually no advertising campaign on its initial release, it's no surprise that this soon vanished from cinemas.

A Worth/less, soul/less dud of a film, but Kingsley is brilliant.

Tarsem Singh came to prominence as the director of REM's music video for Losing my religion.

His debut film The Cell was strong on visuals but weak on narrative and a lead actress.

In Self/less Ben Kingsley is a wealthy mogul Damian. He has terminal cancer but wealthy enough to go through a cutting edge procedure where his consciousness is moved to a healthier body. A process known as shredding.

Damian is led to believe that the new body has been grown in a lab. Part of the process is that he must give up his old life and start with a new identity. New Damian (Ryan Reynolds) moves to New Orleans and pretty soon he is living live with his younger self to the full.

However he has flashbacks which makes him have doubts to the origin of his new body. He has to take pills to suppress this and to complete the transference of the mind which can take several months.

New Damian tries to uncover the origin of these flashbacks, he discovers that the host body had a previous life and not grown in a lab.

Pretty soon the people behind this medical procedure are out to get him. It is a good job that the original host was in the army.

The film starts slow with the Ben Kingsley segment. It is as Singh wants to infuse the film with visual tricks and has aspiration to make an art house action thriller.

The plot has been done before, Anthony Hopkins in Freejack who wanted a younger man's body and had Mick Jagger as his chief henchman to Face/Off and Total Recall.

Just as you are about to nod off, Kingsley makes way for Ryan and the film shifts gears. Now Reynolds reminds you nothing of Kingsley's character but at least once Reynolds discover that the host body had a past life, this becomes very much a generic action film albeit an entertaining one and Reynolds is just the right man to mix action with some pathos and even some tenderness here and there.

It is all so predictable but good fun when the action scenes start. Singh pulls of some visual trickery in a restraint manner but this is a movie that looks like the producers re-cut the final film. Maybe it is better for it.

There was a recent TV series called "Dollhouse" where mostly vacant "dolls", adult men and women, were kept in a hidden secret facility and when a wealthy client needed a person with highly specialized skills a doll could be loaded up for the assignment.

This movie isn't exactly like that but many of its themes are similar. A mad scientist has developed a way to grow human-like creatures just waiting for a complete consciousness to be put into them. He sees it as a way for the important and wealthy to become immortal, they continue functioning in a different, younger, healthy body.

Very wealthy New York developer, Ben Kingsley as Damian, is approaching 70 and has some health issues. In fact he has been told he has only 6 more months. But he learns about the secret "Shedd" process and contacts the mad scientist. He shows him a body, they make the swap, Damian is able to resume life in this younger body. Of course it all happens in beautiful New Orleans. The secret lab is in a West Bank warehouse used for Mardi Gras float storage.

This younger body is Ryan Reynolds who begins the life of the younger Damian. He has to take some special medicine on a regular schedule to avoid rejection of his new memories. But when he is late he has visions, flashes of other things and people, and he soon realizes the truth. The body he is in has not been grown in a lab, it is the body of another person. He sets out on a quest to find the real identity of the body he is now sharing.

Natalie Martinez, who was so miscast and bad as a cop on "Under the Dome", is pretty effective here as Madeline with the young child. Matthew Goode is good as the mad scientist Albright. The always reliable Victor Garber is good as Damian long-time business partner Martin.

Overall the movie is good entertainment. It isn't too long and moves along at a nice pace. The concept is intriguing but of course all Sci-Fi.

SPOILERS: The new Damian finds Madeline and child in the St Louis area (actually a west bank location along the Mississippi River levee) after he has a vision of a pumpkin-painted water tower. He is her husband who had disappeared, she thought he was dead, he had sold his body to provide medical care for their young daughter. Now that Damian knew the whole operation was criminal he set out to track them down, which he does with some difficulties along the way. When he quits taking the rejection medicine he reverts to who he was, he and his family end up on a tropical island where no one can find them. And I suppose Damian died a peaceful mental and emotional death by fading away.