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Self/less

Play trailer 2:30 Poster for Self/less PG-13,  2015,  1h 56m,  Sci-Fi/ Mystery & Thriller/ Action Play Trailer Watchlist
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Watchlist 17% 143 Reviews Tomatometer 46% 10,000+ Ratings Popcornmeter
17% Tomatometer 143 Reviews 46% Popcornmeter 10,000+ Ratings
Billionaire industrialist Damian Hale (Ben Kingsley) is master of his universe, until he encounters a foe that he can't defeat: cancer. His only hope is a radical medical procedure called "shedding," in which his consciousness is transferred to a healthy body. After the procedure, Damian, now called Edward (Ryan Reynolds), starts a new life in New Orleans, but he's plagued by disturbing images. When he delves into Edward's mysterious origin, he learns that some will kill to keep it secret.
Self/less

What to Know

Critics Consensus

Self/less boasts a potential-packed premise, but does frustratingly little with it, settling for lackluster action at the expense of interesting ideas.

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Critics Reviews

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Mark Kermode Observer (UK) Jul 19, 2015
2/5
Reynolds's failure to display the faintest trace (verbal, physical) of Kingsley's character negates any potential mind/ body tension. Self/less? Point/less! Go to Full Review
Charlotte O'Sullivan London Evening Standard Jul 17, 2015
2/5
Tragically, the film itself is as dumb as a doorknob. Go to Full Review
Geoffrey Macnab Independent (UK) Jul 16, 2015
2/5
Tarsem Singh's sleekly shot sci-fi thriller begins intriguingly but loses its identity. Go to Full Review
Matt Oakes Silver Screen Riot Oct 14, 2026
C-
'Self/Less' turns tail on its high concept premise to become a lifeless action film that features no action scenes worth noting. Go to Full Review
Don Shanahan Every Movie Has a Lesson Jul 28, 2025
1/5
Borrowing all kinds of pieces and ideas from better, more coherent, and more menacing science fiction and action films, "Self/less" blows any attempt at being a compelling thriller at each supposed twist and turn it seems fit to fashion. Go to Full Review
Brian Eggert Deep Focus Review Jun 9, 2022
1.5/4
Tarsem loses his audience in actionized nonsense, leaving the story's best ideas to remain under-developed, if developed at all. Go to Full Review
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Audience Reviews

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Ron W Mar 13, 2019 Self/less is a disappointing film. It is about a dying real estate mogul who transfers his consciousness into a healthy young body. Ryan Gosling and Ben Kingsley give terrible performances. The screenplay is badly written. Tarsem Singh did a horrible job directing this movie. I was not impressed with this motion picture. See more
Hagrid G Jan 30, 2019 Extremely wealthy man Ben Kingsley is dying and is contacted by sinister medical tech guy Matthew Goode who offers him a chance at immortality. He has developed a way to transfer a human consciousness in to another body that has been genetically engineered in his secret lab. Ben signs up and wakes up as Ryan Reynolds. Ryan Reynolds is offered a new life with everything he could ever need to be happy but then the hallucinations begin. He sees images that are first dismissed as confused memories from his previous life until he discovers the body he now inhabits was not genetically engineered in a lab but a man who lived with memories and a past and so begins a big cover up by Matthew Goode's sinister company with lots of shooting and running about. This whole plot sounds quite silly, especially the way I have described it and maybe it is but I thoroughly enjoyed it. It was a great mix of sci-fi and action and I loved the beat driving the story forward. See more
Jan 26, 2019 As usual, the critics are wrong. They want to be spoon fed a story instead of allowing the audience to fill in the gaps. To fully explore the themes of this movie would take a television series. Fox TV attempted this with Second Chance. This movie makes the audience have to fill in the blanks, but at its core this is a movie about struggling with choices and facing who you are vs who you want to be. Give it a chance. See more
Draco L Jan 22, 2019 Its really good sci-fi. Reynolds is sparkling as usual. The story was somewhat sadly predictable for me. I figured out what would happen from the start to end. I was somewhat dissapointed that nothing surprised me in it. Its got a great story though. Its really good just don't think too hard. Because its not hard to figure out the twists. See more
Draco W Dec 24, 2018 This movie was quite possibly the best film that I've ever seen. Imaginative, fun and action packed, Self/less will keep you guessing all the way through. Do yourself a favor and watch this movie. See more
Anakin S Sep 5, 2018 A thriller of cool beans topped with awesome sauce! :)
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Self/less

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Self/less

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Movie Info

Synopsis Billionaire industrialist Damian Hale (Ben Kingsley) is master of his universe, until he encounters a foe that he can't defeat: cancer. His only hope is a radical medical procedure called "shedding," in which his consciousness is transferred to a healthy body. After the procedure, Damian, now called Edward (Ryan Reynolds), starts a new life in New Orleans, but he's plagued by disturbing images. When he delves into Edward's mysterious origin, he learns that some will kill to keep it secret.
Director
Tarsem Singh
Producer
Ram Bergman, James D. Stern, Peter Schlessel
Screenwriter
Àlex Pastor, David Pastor
Distributor
Focus Features
Production Co
FilmNation Entertainment, Focus Features, Ram Bergman, Endgame Entertainment
Rating
PG-13 (Sequences of Violence|Language|Some Sexuality)
Genre
Sci-Fi, Mystery & Thriller, Action
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Jul 10, 2015, Wide
Release Date (Streaming)
Aug 16, 2016
Box Office (Gross USA)
$12.3M
Runtime
1h 56m
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