'Self/Less' Attempts to Be Provocative, Has to Settle with Being Passable

Self/less is a psychological science fiction thriller about a rich old man dying of cancer named Damien Hale (Ben Kingsley) who undergoes a radical medical procedure called “shedding”, in which his consciousness is transferred into a younger, healthier body (Ryan Reynolds).  After a successful “shedding”, Hale enjoys a rejuvenated life under a new identity.  However, to his horror, he later discovers that the body he’s transferred into isn’t an artificially grown one, as he’s led to believe, but used to belong to a family man named Mark Bitwell.

The “body swapping” premise of this movie heavily reminded me of Advantageous and Superior Spider-Man – both of which utilized the concept in much more fascinating stories – so I find this movie lacking originality.  It makes a decent attempt to be smart and thrilling, I’ll give it that, but it just doesn’t quite hit the mark.  It’s has its brief moments of intrigues and mildly provokes thought, but it ultimately fails to really capture my interest and approval.

Self/less has some entertainment value, but it’s nothing special.  It’s predictable, unremarkable, and forgettable.  It’s the kind of movie that can play in the background while you are doing some chore, and yet, even without the merit of your undivided attention, you still get to understand what’s it all about.