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Billionaire Damian Hale (Ben Kingsley) is on top of the world until he runs into a problem he can't solve, Cancer. His only hope is a new medical procedure called "shedding," in which his consciousness is transferred to a healthy body. After Damian undergoes this procedure, he becomes a man named Edward (Ryan Reynolds). Once he attempts to start a new life in New Orleans, he starts to become ravaged by visions of his new body's past. As he begins to investigate the origin of his new body, he learns the lengths that his creators will take to protect their procedure and keep their identities secret.

The film, I will admit, introduces an original concept that not many films have covered. It's a shame that it does not stay with it for very long. We start off with older Damian coming to terms with where he is in his life and with his condition and then the film pivots to more of an action film as younger Damian/Edward investigates his roots through his visions and survive its resistance. It was a shame that more time wasn't spent with the older version of Damian. This loss created a void in the story. It would have been better if we could have spent more time with him so his character could be more developed. From the little we got to see, he appears to not be that great of a person. If we knew more, we would have reason to root for him. The time spent during an unnecessary sequence in the middle could have helped with that. There is a lack of consistency in the character of Damian as well. The character is played by 2 different actors but their performances are not the same. There seems to not be any apparent, similar, alignment in mannerisms between the two Damians, they don't act too similarly either. That could either be because of writing, Ryan Reynolds' performance, and/or not too careful direction. The film had the chance to try to answer some philosophical questions relating to the value of human life or the morality of valuing a life over. When you start to wonder if this whole "shedding" procedure is even possible, you are forced to accept that it is. Instead of being about Damian coming to terms with his new body and life, it chooses the path of gun fights and car chases. This is the moment when the film falls into the realm of mediocrity. It isn't revolutionary. The twists will not come as much of a surprise either. The film managed to keep my attention but I would of preferred it to cover more of the philosophical issues relating to the procedure. The film has a good idea but it could have been portrayed in a different/better way.

There are certain things that men (or women for that case) should not mess with. As in what nature is giving or taking away from us. The movie might make a case of that, if you want to look at it that way. It's Science Fiction alright, but it does have a moral core in it, that you'll either like or dismiss.

Whatever the case, I'm sure many like the general idea of the movie, and because it is a "secret", this could actually be going on right now. But whatever you believe (or not), this will challenge some of your views, for better or worse. It might be very easy to see where this is going, but it's still a ride worth taking (especially if you're fond of the genre)

'SELF/LESS': Three and a Half Stars (Out of Five)

A sci-fi thriller/action flick starring Ryan Reynolds and Ben Kingsley. The story revolves around a dying businessman who has his consciousness transferred into the body of a younger, and much healthier, man. It was directed by Tarsem Singh (the man also responsible for the popular 2000 horror flick 'THE CELL') and written by David and Àlex Pastor. The movie also stars Matthew Goode, Natalie Martinez, Derek Luke and Victor Garber. The filmmakers do very little with their interesting ideas; but they do deliver a fun, and stylistically thrilling, action flick.

Kingsley plays Damian, a wealthy, and very successful, businessman; who's dying from cancer. A secret, groundbreaking, science organization offers to give him a new body; to extend his life. After going through with the procedure Damian is thrilled with his newfound youth, and very physically fit body, but he quickly learns that his happiness came at the expense of someone else's (the man who's body he took). Damian feels extremely guilty for taking another man's life from him, and he wants to set things right. The special organization will stop at nothing though, to protect their business.

The movie starts out as a pretty intriguing science-fiction thriller; similar movies have been done before but it did seem somewhat fresh and unique. It doesn't really develop into much though, as it prefers to entertain it's audience with stylistically cool action scenes; instead of story and character development. Singh is a very visually satisfying director to watch though, and I really like the dark style and mood of this movie. It's hard to give it credit for a lot more than that; but it is an entertaining, and somewhat thrilling, action flick.

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It is another wonderful piece of scifi movie!

First of all, it has a very exciting plot! The plot is very interesting, the first 20 minutes would want you to stay and finish it, the story starts with with Damian, Ben Kingsley, that gives a good start, although the scene with him did not gave out much of a story, it works very fine to start. Then the story and the plot at the near half becomes simplistic, that excitement drop, but it seems to be the general thought, thats why it becomes very common. On the way to the end of the story it becomes brilliant in a way , the perspective of the protagonist becomes conscious, this starts the another sub-plots, another story to deal with but this gave the story more color. Then again, as the story ends, it gave out a very sweet desert which thirsts me. Lastly, the ending has one of the most wonderful and beautiful scene ever in a sci fi or any movie which is nice ending.

Secondly, about the actors, they all did perfectly for their roles, Ryan Reynolds is very perfectly fits the Role as young Damian, he portrays the exact person you would be on the situation, anna, the daughter, portrays a very charming daughter, suits the expression from a child who has disease. They all fits and act perfectly on every situation, but a talking without looking a speck on their eyes.

Lastly, the directing was obviously mediocre, the movie was good, the story, the plot, the actors, its just not a winning movie for me, there's something missing, maybe it focused too much story, which did not give emphasis to the core of it. The movie is compared to other well knowned sci fi movie is better but it is on the same level, it did not give a best of the plot, best of the wonderful idea.

For the conclusion, it is a very entertaining Sci Fi movie everyone would like, very much, but on the other side it is no different to other SciFi movies, from the whole.

This film is full of underdeveloped ideas and concepts. It's starts off somewhat promising, but along the way it just transforms into Schwarzeneggers The 6th Day re-make (which wasn't great in the first place) with flamethrowers.

First of all, the film looks like it's set in present time, but it handles consciousness transfer as nothing mind-blowing or groundbreaking. Just imagine what can be achieved when you can imprint any human being inside another one. Some great and dangerous ideas are here. But no, the film uses this very poorly. They should've set this far into the future to make it something ordinary or take it more seriously if it was set in modern times.

Second, we don't get nearly enough old Kingsley character to understand his motivations. He's all over the place. He takes the transfer easily and starts enjoying life which he didn't seem to enjoy in the first place as much. They give you a couple of hints that he still feels young at heart, but it all falls down to picking beautiful women in clubs and having sex in his luxury apartments. This would've made the dilemma much stronger, the choice between retaining his young body and returning a father into the family.

Third, the ending was way too obvious and was super easy to achieve. Damien just gave it up like it mattered nothing to him. He is not nearly believable as a property mogul. There is no transition in him from a selfish person and the self-sacrifice makes no sense. His motivations overall just make no sense. He's way too caring for a random person when it is clearly not his character. I mean, there is so much you can do with this concept. Just make him suffer, try to go to his daughter and reconnect, make her reject his younger version.

Forth, the main "villain's" motivation also makes no sense. He looks like a smart person at first, but as the story progresses he just becomes a money-obsessed crook, and in the end for a minute he spits out childish philosophy.

I mean, I wanted to see the film only for the concept of immortality and it's price, but instead I got lots of pointless action scenes The 6th Day's style.

Also, the main female lead's voice was annoying, sorry.

Maybe I expected too much from Tarsem.

P.S. I love how he was able to put more pointless "weird imagery" in this like he did in the Cage, oh, Tarsem.

This IMDb synopsis is accurate and a good starting point: Billionaire Damian Hale has terminal cancer. He turns to 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 is plagued by disturbing images. When he delves into Edward's mysterious origin, he learns that some will kill to keep it secret.

My buddy and I, both long time film buffs of multi-genres yearn for decent sci-fi thrillers that are well written and directed, leave us guessing here and there via plot twists and turns, includes necessary action, murder and mayhem and a credible Mr. Evil. This film delivers 116 minutes of story, acting, production value and pure cinema sci-fi thrilling FUN.

We were both thumbs-up entertained by one of Ryan Reynolds best efforts plus a fine supporting cast including Mr. Evil (Albright). Our usual post film discussion of plot holes was minimal given the original, well crafted screenplay. That is not to say we did not suspend belief as is the case with many of our best action/Sci-Fi films. A major section of the film, with some of its best action sequences, reminded me of my favorite scenes in Bourne Legacy.

With all the above said there was yet room for disturbed, romantic relationships and one cute kid spitting out all her needed lines.

Production value gives us some fun shots of New Orleans, area mansions and a finale 'home' in a spectacular locale.

There have been so many mind invasion/transfer films that our expectations for something original with thrills, excitement and pathos were low. We left the theater smiling for the simple reason that we were both thoroughly entertained.

A super rich real estate businessman by the name of Damian (Ben Kingsley) is dying. With a decent chunk of his money, Damian decides to transfer his consciousness to a new, younger body (Ryan Reynolds). There are side effects, really important ones that are kept secret until after the transition. The modern, healthier Damian erroneously bumps in to these well kept secrets, changing his whole view on life and death. Ben Kingsley, for the first quarter of Self/less, is first-class, unveiling Damian as a man with power and notoriety. When Reynolds enters the fray, his personality doesn't match, as if the two didn't taken the time to fit in the character's affinity. The story barely breaks the surface of a good idea. Asking the right questions, but not filling the answers. Matthew Goode's head scientist of the underground company feeds us this information. The action and the flow of the story are thrilling enough, but not to the point of caring for the lead.

I just could not get into this film. Ben Kingsley is a man who has been dealt a cruel hand. He is dying of cancer which diminishes the importance of his millions of dollars. He makes a deal with a secret group to go through a process called "shedding," i.e., having his brain transplanted into what he thinks is an artificial body. Of course, we know he will do this. When he dies, his essence is placed in a buff young guy's body. Of course, now there are endless possibilities, but what he does, mostly, is play pick-up basketball. One day, he has a hallucination, or so he thinks. He sees a former self and he comes to realize that the body he inhabits is that of an actual person. Now everything interesting falls apart. It becomes a search for a daughter and wife with the evil scientists after them. I've seen this kind of stuff a million times. The ending is also about as contrived in pathetic as one can imagine.

This film tells the story of a real estate tycoon who is terminally ill. He undergoes a procedure that transplants his mind into a new body, which continues his life in a different way. Yet, when he experiences unfamiliar flashbacks, he decides to investigate the origins of these intrusive memories.

The plot examines what it is like if there are mind transplants, and it does so very well. It provokes much debate towards the ethical issues on this controversial procedure. During this process, there is much adventure, including thrilling cat and mouse chases and lots of combats. It blends science fiction and action thriller very well together, captivating my attention and making me on edge very often. I really enjoyed it.

An action packed thriller, where the basic plot has been done before, not not as well as this. The acting from all the lead actors is great, good action and stunt scenes, and there are no dull moments. A good movie to watch.

I wanted to like this movie just a little better than I ended up doing. It's pretty good, but just not good enough to be great.

It has a really low score (in the 30's) on Metacritic, so I kind of expected it to be bad. It is not that bad at all, though. It has a higher score here on IMDb, which shows that sometimes professional critics are a little too stuck up. Anyway.

First off, the action is really good. There's some fighting, and some shooting, and it is well executed, well directed. The fights in particular, not a lot of fighting here, but the choreography is great.

The story is a little bit of a mystery and is interesting enough. They probably could have done more with it, but hey.

The movie could have been a little shorter, a little tighter.

I'm a big Ryan Reynolds fan, so naturally I enjoyed it more just because of him. He plays a bad ass, and I like bad asses.

The movie is well shot, and has a couple of really cool single shots.

All in all I was entertained, and it's not impossible that I'll re-watch it some time.

In recent times it seems like a sci fi thriller is a tricky movie to master, and whilst I don't pretend that Self/less mastered it, it's a very watchable and enjoyable movie.

'Billionaire Damian, a man responsible for enormous business deals, a big figure with the ability to buy whatever he wants, but not the thing he needs, a cure for cancer.

I really did enjoy this movie, the concept was a good one, it was a clever plot. There were enough surprises and plenty of intrigue to keep you wondering.

If I had one little niggle, it's that for me after the transformation to Reynolds it felt like a different film, it didn't feel seamless, maybe that was intentional, I felt they could have delved into the transition a little deeper, it seemed to happen to quickly.

Lots of action scenes, really well directed, the effects were great too. I wish Google searches worked so quickly for me, Pumpkin Towers (All I'm saying. 11,300,000 results,) my he was lucky.

Brilliantly acted, Kinglsey naturally has gravitas, he's so watchable. Ryan Reynolds was excellent I thought, I really enjoyed his performance, Matthew Goode I thought was outstanding, managing to be sinister without overplaying it. I love Michelle Dockery, but she was a little underused, just a bit part.

8/10 Very watchable, surprisingly so.

Well, having rated better movies with a 7 or an 8, it's more or less mandatory to give just a 6 to this one!

The movie had a nice script, a nice idea behind it, good actors but this was not enough. It's too predictable from the first couple of minutes in the film. Acting from Reynolds was OK, but this was not one of these movies where you can say that the actor added something significant to the role. He was just OK, as were the remaining cast. To be fair, I am not sure if they could have done something more with what was given to them.

On the plus side, this is a movie that can keep you company and give you some time of entertainment without having to think really hard about what you see. It's just a movie with suspense and some thrills along the way which evolves to the inevitable end that even a ten year-old could hypothesize.

It would be nice to have a twist in the end, and if it did, I assume that it would make a 7 out of 10 movie, hands down.

Damian(Ben Kingsley) a self made billionaire discovers he is dying, and does have much longer to live, discovers a secret facility that can transfer his soul into a younger body(Ryan Reynolds), when the transfer is a success, Damian really begins to enjoy his new life in his new body, but soon realizes that his new life will have a price to pay.

I'm surprised that I liked this, I went expecting this to be bad, but I was amazed on how intriguing it kept me. It shows on we deal with dying and immortality, and things we must learn to face in life. Ben Kingsley was good, and Ryan Reynolds really surprised me. Matthew Goode was incredible. It does have some good action scenes, and great sci-fi element. Everybody gives a good performance here, and it does what sci-fi should do, kept you intrigue.

This idea, contrary to some opinions is an old one. This one is exactly John Scalzi's, "Old Man's War"… series idea but Ol' John Perry had no idea what he was in for. In this outing of the idea Damien Hale did know… at least as much as the crippled Jake Sully in Avatar knew. Figure the dates..., and Avatar was probably "influenced" by Old Man's War. But it is a great idea, and folks can do a lot with it. This one is a tried and true "character quest plot" as well, which explaining creeps into the spoiler category if you don't already know what it is. If you do, you know those are usually great stories.

To me it was predictable. Not the movies fault that… I've read a lot. The plot has a couple ways to go. The way this one went is probably the most popular and well liked. I was a little surprised it wasn't "more". I think I just was not feeling the crash, bang, boom going on. I would have liked a little more getting in touch with the "past training". I think that would have sold me on the crash, bang, boom more convincingly.

Don't misunderstand, it is a good movie. Ben Kingsley can do no wrong by me. Ryan Reynolds is working on getting there himself, and I have a spot in my heart for Natalie Martinez from the Under the Dome days. Sprinkle in some Victor Garber and you have a set of actors almost always worth watching. I enjoyed a couple of surprising plot point twists that I didn't see coming. Movie might be worth watching for those alone. It is great when a story surprises and that isn't an easy thing to sell to well conditioned entertainment consumers.

To me it is 7 stars reaching for 8 and almost making it. First review I looked at before watching the movie had me feeling like I was out in the desert looking into the night sky there were so many stars. It's worth watching. Then you decide.

I've been watching quite a few bad movies lately, most revolve around the dreaded "concept". This is one where a dying billionaire is incarnated in a younger body to cheat death, but that along with all the other twists, that he begins to hallucinate things from that previous self, has to take pills or fade away, are just generic devices so we can have plot and hijinks.

Along the way we get "social commentary" where the rich buy the poor to prolong a life of comfort but even that grates as silly. The protagonist is indignant to find out his new body was someone who had a life out there and not grown on a dish, the idea seems to be that self is something inherent in body.

Some of it might have been resonant in other hands, for example that he must choose whether or not to let himself fade so that a father can return to his young daughter, something he can't do with his.

But this one looks like it would be one of the many near similar "concept" scripts floating around the market at any one time that agencies put together, simply picked from a hat. Liam Neeson usually gets his hands on one once a year, this reminds of something he would do.

Most of all it brought to mind those schlocky "mad scientist" b- movies they were making on the cheap in the 50s, where often someone's brain would be tampered with for nefarious reasons. It has some polish, millions go into b-movies now, but it's every bit as cardboard as those.

In the end, our man hallucinates to discover the location of the criminal mastermind's secret laboratory, a warehouse somewhere in America, and lo we're just transported there in time.