Science fiction has one clear and present danger – it puts ideas first and foremost.
What great science fiction does is takes high concepts and explores the ramifications of our relationship with them, be they focused on technology, discovery, or the universe we are yet to understand. Bad science fiction uses said high concepts to lure intelligent audiences into watching poorly fleshed-out action flicks. Guess which of these relates to Self/Less?
Damien Hale (Ben Kingsley) is the king of New York development, a billionaire living in absolute extravagance, but secretly rotting from an aggressive cancer. After seeking out reclusive scientist Albright (Matthew Goode), he is given the opportunity to ‘shed’ – to place himself in a new, lab-grown donor body to elongate his life – and becomes Edward (Ryan Reynolds). But as Edward experiences increasingly frequent hallucinations, he begins to understand that his new body is not as new as he thought.
The base concept is rife with possibility, filled with dire potential consequences for the man seeking immortality at any cost. The greater comment the film could make about class and exploitation is both pertinent and engaging, if not entirely new, and there’s enormous potential for visually arresting representations of the shedding procedure.
What disappoints most is that none of these possibilities are met by a director who should be more than capable of doing so. Tarsem Singh’s filmography is a smorgasbord of daring concepts met with awe-inspiring design, and to this he has added a flat, lifeless action flick lensed with about as much edge as the Apple products it works so hard to promote.
He’s not the only one phoning it in, either. Sir Ben Kingsley’s 15 minutes of screentime are far from his best, particularly considering his uneven accent. Reynolds is, of course, Reynolds – the majority of his training as an actor was done at the gym – but he carries the film well enough. His companions on the run have almost no development: Madeline (Natalie Martinez) is mostly given cues for tears, and child actor Jaynee-Lynne Kinchen is used in typical fashion to tease out empathy.
While the action sequences suffice, and the concept entices, the highest compliment that can be mustered for the end product is that it’s a competent commercial. This brain needs a new body.
1.5/5 stars
Self/Less opens in cinemas on Thursday July 23.
