Effective science fiction thrillers begin with a ludicrous premise—Murder-bot from the future! Alien big game hunter! Dinosaurs rise again!—and transmute it into a suspenseful story, without indulging in too much techno-gobbledygook or lingering too long on the implausibilities. If nothing else, the body-hopping feature Self/less manages to fulfill this basic requirement, although it does little else that is noteworthy.
The film's story concerns Damien (Ben Kingsley), a ruthless, ultra-wealthy New York developer who at the film's outset is dying from cancer. This catches the attention of shadowy company called Phoenix Biogenic. As silver-tongued scientist Albright (Matthew Goode) explains, for a substantial fee Phoenix will transfer the minds of the elderly elite into youthful, laboratory-grown bodies. Damien eventually consents to this process, waking up inside the frame of a thirtysomething (Ryan Reynolds). He quickly grows accustomed to his new chassis, but is plagued by hallucinations. Phoenix, naturally, is hiding something, and Damien contravenes his doctor's orders by following clues gleaned from his visions.
Written by brothers Àlex and David Pastor (Carriers), Self/less is directed by Tarsem Singh, who has crafted some ambitious, stunning films (The Cell, The Fall). However, his latest feature contains only traces of his hallmark visual vibrancy, detectable primarily in some kinetic montage sequences. Self/less' brutal action elicits a delectable frisson on occasion, but overall it is merely functional. For Singh this feels like a step backwards, as even his failures have a kind of phantasmagoric extravagancy that is wholly lacking in the new film. Fault also lies with the screenplay, which never engages with the conceit of body-hopping beyond crudely portraying it as a Bad Idea. Still, the Pastors wrap up their tale deftly and, aside from running ten minutes too long, Self/less is a respectable high-concept thrill ride.
Self/less opens in wide release Friday, July 10.
