Self/less

Sci-fi and fantasy genres combined in films can and are intriguing, especially when they are presented in a way that, obviously not possible, but within the explanation, it can still sound plausible. In the case of "Self/less", we are offered a consciousness of one person to be transferred into another. In 1979, we saw this concept in "Heaven Can Wait", and interesting comedy whereas a football player was taken too early, so since his body was cremated, he had to go back into some other dead body. It's not overly original, but can be effective.

In this provocative psychological science fiction thriller, an extremely wealthy business magnate, Damian (Ben Kingsley) dying of cancer, undergoes a radical medical transformative procedure that transforms his consciousness into the body of a healthy young man (Ryan Reynolds). But all is not as it seems when he starts to uncover the mystery of the body's origin and the secret organization led up by Dr. Albright (Matthew Goode), that will kill anyone in its way to protect its cause. Will young Damian be able to rectify in his mind the owning of this new body considering in what way it came his way? And will he be successful in exposing this secret organizations motives of how they obtain its bodies?

Others to round out the cast are Natalie Martinez as Madeline, Victor Garber as Martin, Derek Luke as Anton, Jaynee-Lynne Kinchen as Anna, Melora Hardin as Judy, Michelle Dockery as Claire, Sam Page as Carl, Brendan McCarthy as Anton 2, Thomas Francis Murphy as Dr. Jensen, Sandra Ellis Lafferty as Phyllis Jensen, Emily Tremaine as Mallory, Griff Furst as EMT #1 and Cedric Palmisano as EMT #2.

This was directed with grit and adrenaline by Tarsem Singh ("The Cell" 2000, "The Fall" '06, "Immortals", '11, "Mirror Mirror" '12). He was amazingly able to achieve the same characteristics of similar personas when it came to the Kingsley and Reynolds roles, even though these are two entirely different individuals. It was effectively written by David Pastor and Alex Pastor ("Carriers" '09, "The Last Days" '13, "Out of the Dark" '14). Although there were a couple of places in script that were a bit confusing, especially nearing the end of the film, this storyline still was able to draw you into its clutches and keep you there, especially when the reason comes to fruition of how young Damian was to achieve his new body. Humankind seizes to amaze me, because even if this concept was plausible, I could see the corporate world jumping on this to make a ton of money no matter the lack of ethics or scruples. These writers really were able to showcase how corrupt the corporate world can be and is at times.

If you like a film that keeps you on the edge of your seat, all the while enjoying solid performances by Kingsley and Reynolds in particular, with an intriguing storyline and an underlying message to learn from, this is the film for you.

Out of 4 Stars: 3                                  Rated: PG-13                                      117mins.