Self/less
Focus Features | Release Date: July 10, 2015 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
34
METASCORE
Generally unfavorable reviews based on 30 Critic Reviews
Positive:
2
Mixed:
15
Negative:
13
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
70
Screen DailyJohn HazeltonJul 6, 2015
There are enough twists and turns in Self/less to keep things interesting Read full review
63
Movie NationRoger MooreJul 7, 2015
Self/less doesn’t offer many surprises. It’s a lot like other body-switch thrillers, and is practically a remake of the 1966 John Frankenheimer rich-guy-buys-handsome-young-body tale “Seconds.” But it has generous pleasures. Read full review
58
The A.V. ClubIgnatiy VishnevetskyJul 8, 2015
It probably shouldn’t star Ryan Reynolds, who is generally likable, but frequently miscast. Only Kingsley’s bizarre, severely mannered performance seems to be following the undercurrents of the material. Read full review
50
Philadelphia InquirerSteven ReaJul 10, 2015
You'd think a movie about transplanting human consciousness would be smarter than this. Read full review
50
The New York TimesA.O. ScottJul 9, 2015
[An] entirely preposterous, not entirely unenjoyable movie. Read full review
50
Tampa Bay TimesSteve PersallJul 9, 2015
At times the screenplay by brothers David and Alex Pastor strikes the proper tone for claptrap.... Mostly, though, the dialogue thuds in circles. Read full review
50
Arizona RepublicBill GoodykoontzJul 9, 2015
This is a first-rate cast in a second-rate story with some entertaining bits and some maddening holes. That combination works for late-night channel surfing. Anywhere else, not so much. Read full review
50
Chicago TribuneMichael PhillipsJul 9, 2015
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 full review
50
Village VoiceAmy NicholsonJul 9, 2015
[Singh's] film is good with physics and lousy at philosophy. Read full review
50
Chicago Sun-TimesRichard RoeperJul 6, 2015
This is a conventional-looking films with a screenplay from brothers David and Alex Pastor that raises some fascinating issues and offers a tease or two of a better movie before devolving into a medley of chases and shootouts. Read full review
50
The Hollywood ReporterStephen FarberJul 6, 2015
The intriguing story degenerates into a flat-out action movie with car chases and violent shootouts that are competently filmed by Singh but seem to come from a far more conventional film. Read full review
45
TheWrapAlonso DuraldeJul 6, 2015
About the best that can be said about the sluggish Self/less is that it’s a better Ryan Reynolds body-switching movie than “The Change-Up”; still, you’re better off seeking out “Seconds” — or heck, “All of Me” — instead. Read full review
42
Entertainment WeeklyKyle AndersonJul 6, 2015
Self/less’ greatest crime is that it’s not enough of anything: Not brainy enough to party with the theories about consciousness that Ex-Machina delivered earlier this year, nor is it over-the-top enough to compete with the campy goofballery of something like Limitless. Read full review
40
New Orleans Times-PicayuneMike ScottJul 9, 2015
It's just plain less -- less than what sci-fi fans are probably hoping for, and less than what it could have been. Read full review
40
Austin ChronicleMarjorie BaumgartenJul 8, 2015
Just as you begin settling into these science-fiction parameters and start pondering the wisdom of humanity’s vain quest for immortality, Self/less switches gears, much to its detriment, and becomes a frenzied chase thriller and shoot-‘em-up. Read full review
40
VarietyScott FoundasJul 6, 2015
Even the resourceful, likable Reynolds is at a loss to elevate this rather dreary piece of would-be escapism, which calls out for the wry, pulpy touch of a John Carpenter (or his acolyte David Twohy) and instead gets the strained self-seriousness of director Tarsem Singh. Read full review
40
The GuardianJordan HoffmanJul 6, 2015
Ryan Reynolds does the best he can with the material.... But any intelligence is tossed once we get mired in a series of dull chase scenes. Read full review
38
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Nathan RabinJul 9, 2015
The narrative is schlocky and groaningly over-familiar, but the film is also uncharacteristically drab visually, with a washed-out colour palette and anemic pacing. Read full review
38
ReelViewsJames BerardinelliJul 9, 2015
There's enough material in Self/less to fuel a mini-series. Instead of letting the story breathe, the film rushes along at breakneck speed, using contrivances and "shortcuts" in failed attempts at character development. Read full review
38
Boston GlobeTy BurrJul 9, 2015
The movie takes a decent “Twilight Zone” idea -- what if you had a second chance at youth? -- and runs it into the ground with watchable but diminishing returns. Read full review
38
RogerEbert.comBrian TallericoJul 9, 2015
The narrative outline of Self/less is a philosophical theme park, readymade for daring, complex filmmaking. And Singh and his writers never go on any of the rides. Read full review
38
New York PostKyle SmithJul 8, 2015
Self/less is a celluloid smoothie blended from dozens of familiar elements, but it’s neither tasty nor nutritious. Read full review
38
Slant MagazineEd GonzalezJul 6, 2015
The film's corporate blandness is almost as dispiriting as its disinterest in exploiting the inherent saliency of the material. Read full review
33
Portland OregonianMarc MohanJul 9, 2015
Once goateed, acerbic Kingsley vanishes from the screen, he takes any smidgen of life with him. Read full review
30
New York Magazine (Vulture)Bilge EbiriJul 13, 2015
Eventually, you start to wonder if the movie forgot to take its own pills: 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 full review
30
Los Angeles TimesGary GoldsteinJul 9, 2015
A depressingly slick and empty house of cards that collapses under the weight of its muddled intentions. Read full review
25
San Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalleJul 9, 2015
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 full review
20
New York Daily NewsJoe NeumaierJul 9, 2015
Laughable/Bad Read full review
0
Washington PostAnn HornadayJul 9, 2015
Self/less bears not a trace of Singh’s signature visual richness, quickly devolving into a tiresome game of cat and mouse, padded with cliched fight scenes, car chases and shootouts. Read full review
0
The PlaylistKevin JagernauthJul 6, 2015
Self/less is brain/less entertainment, but if there’s any consolation, the impression it leaves is so fleeting that you can soon replace it with better movie memories. Read full review
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