Self/Less

There are times when one tweak in technology can shift a film into the realms of science fiction. Sure, these are often major leaps, like the SQUID in the criminally underrated Strange Days or the memory changing of Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind, but everything else about the world extensively remains the same. Director Tarsem Singh has already dipped his toe into this type of sci-fi with his visually stunning but mind numbingly vacuous debut, The Cell, and now returns for a second shot with Self/Less.        

Billionaire property mogul Damian (Ben Kingsley) is dying. He does have one vain hope of escaping the Reaper though, and that is a cutting edge procedure called shedding, being offered  by a mysterious boutique medical company. This would involve transferring his consciousness into a younger clone body (Ryan Reynolds), something he thinks is likely to be an elaborate scam, but is desperate enough to try. Even when the procedure is successful, Damian finds that shadowy medical cabals offering miracle cures are not to be entirely trusted, as he experiences visions of people that he has never met. Soon Damian is to find that the clone meat he is wearing may not be as ethically sourced as he was lead to believe. Fortunately the model he purchased seems to have access to a wide range of military training.

There is a curious lack of passion about this project. Nothing grievously wrong, per se, it just seems that everyone is sleep walking through this film. Not that the talent are giving bad performances, it is just that everyone is capable of so much more.  Reynolds of late has matured as an actor, and even though The Captive and The Woman In Gold are each in their own way flawed, his performances in them is far more engaging (and engaged) than it is here. In Self/Less Reynolds is walking through the film acting like a cut rate Jason Bourne. It's painfully noticeable as the final two thirds of the movie rest squarely on his shoulders, and he is this regard only serviceable.

On the positive side, this at least put Reynolds in the same lacklustre category as the script. Again nothing terrible, just serviceable and  unambitious. This dose of transhumanism does nothing new within the genre, and is really sci-fi only to the extant of the McGuffin it hangs it's thriller plot upon. There are some meaty issues that could be explored here, looking at the cost of immortality and the society that could be created by a wealthy ageless elite. Films like Seconds, Clonus, The Island, even the god-awful Freejack touch on these themes, supplying more bang for your buck. Yet here they are just quietly jettisoned for a by-the-numbers action thriller.

Singh's over the top visual style is also toned down, making for a beautiful but workmanlike approach to the subject. Overall this film is just so middle of the road as to be instantly forgettable. Underwhelming and bland.

Originally published in X-Press Magazine