Self/less 2015

Wesley Morris, Grantland: There's no reason to spoil what follows except to say that even by the standards of both Alfred Hitchcock and science fiction, it's nonsensical. Read more

Kyle Smith, New York Post: "Self/less" is a celluloid smoothie blended from dozens of familiar elements, but it's neither tasty nor nutritious. Read more

Scott Foundas, Variety: An initially intriguing parable about man's lust for immortality that quickly devolves into a substandard shoot-'em-up designed to rebrand star Ryan Reynolds as a brawny action hero in the Jason Statham mold. Read more

Ignatiy Vishnevetsky, AV Club: Self/less never really gets over the fact that much of it consists of a bland-ish, raincoat-clad everyman driving around and pointing guns at people before the inevitable, underwhelming confrontation with the big bad. Read more

Bill Goodykoontz, Arizona Republic: Turns an intriguing idea into a B-movie action flick. Read more

Ben Sachs, Chicago Reader: Tarsem Singh, who directed the eye-catching The Fall and Immortals, brings a comparable level of visual invention to this tale, though as usual his engagement with the material doesn't go very deep. Read more

Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune: Self/less hews closely enough to the premise of the 1966 John Frankenheimer thriller "Seconds" to qualify as an unofficial remake. Then again, anyone who remembers that one is not in the target audience for this one. Read more

Lindsey Bahr, Associated Press: A deeply silly movie that takes itself very, very seriously. Read more

Meeta Agrawai, Entertainment Weekly: A tepid sci-fi thriller that takes an interesting premise and sacrifices ideas for the sake of logically challenged action beats. Read more

Stephen Farber, Hollywood Reporter: The failings of Self/less reveal a good deal about what has gone wrong with American movies over the last 50 years. Read more

Gary Goldstein, Los Angeles Times: The elaborately convoluted, soul-swapping thriller "Self/less" squanders its intriguing premise with a loud and labored beat-the-bad-guys trajectory. Read more

Amy Nicholson, L.A. Weekly: Self/less is so restrained that I wonder if somebody stole Tarsem Singh's body, too. Read more

Noah Berlatsky, The New Republic: Self/Less should be called Class/Less, and its tagline should read: "The rich white guy is everyman." Read more

Stephen Whitty, Newark Star-Ledger: Like its hero, it's an interesting combination - and it might just surprise you in how good it can be. Read more

Mark Jenkins, NPR: Singh once seemed an original, but Self/less doesn't have a distinctive bone in either of its bodies. Read more

Tasha Robinson, NPR: Deep under the skin of this shrug of a movie is a solid metaphor rooted in an appealing fantasy. Read more

Joe Neumaier, New York Daily News: "Self/Less" is lower-rung sci-fi drama. Read more

A.O. Scott, New York Times: All of it unfolds in the atmosphere of gaudy, portentous vacuity that is Mr. Singh's trademark. Read more

Steven Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer: You'd think a movie about transplanting human consciousness would be smarter than this. Read more

James Berardinelli, ReelViews: Self/less begins with a promising (albeit well-worn) science fiction premise, degrades it by turning it into a generic thriller, and finishes it off with a rushed, disjointed ending. Read more

Moira MacDonald, Seattle Times: "Self/Less" soon turns into an attractively shot yet pointless action film ... Read more

Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle: In essence, everything good in "Self/less" was derived from "Seconds," and everything bad the writers and the director came up with on their own. Read more

Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star Tribune: A science-fiction thriller that is generally clue/less, largely point/less and certainly couldn't care/less. Read more

Nathan Rabin, Globe and Mail: Tarsem Singh has a reputation for making movies that are visually stunning but woefully inert and convoluted in their storytelling (see The Cell and The Fall). Singh's most recent film, Self/less, lives up to at least half of that reputation. Read more

Peter Howell, Toronto Star: Any hope Reynolds had of reviving his stardom with Self/less is as fruitless as thinking a person can swap bodies without consequence. Read more

Alonso Duralde, TheWrap: You're better off seeking out Seconds - or heck, All of Me - instead. Read more

David Ehrlich, Time Out: A sci-fi thriller so derivative of John Frankenheimer's masterfully paranoid Seconds it would be more accurate to call it Thirds, Tarsem Singh's Self/less is a generic waste of a clever idea. Read more

Bilge Ebiri, New York Magazine/Vulture: What starts out as an interesting exploration of identity soon gives way to the uninspired, generic action flick we had feared it always was. Read more

Ann Hornaday, Washington Post: "Self/less" ultimately earns its title, but it could just as easily have been called "Brain/less," "Pulse/less" and "Point/less." Read more