Self/Less

This dark take on immortality follows dying businessman Damian Hale (Ben Kingsley), who transfers his consciousness to a younger body (Ryan Reynolds) in order to cheat death. However, once the process is complete, Damian learns the shocking secrets behind his rejuvenation. For all the film's many interesting concepts, director Tarsem Singh sticks rigidly to a familiar cat-and-mouse formula from the start. The questions raised by the story (the price of immortality, the nature of consciousness) remain unexplored and instead serve as building blocks for fight scenes and car chases. And, not for the first time, Reynolds finds himself a strong lead in an average film. Though the dialogue does its best to stop his charisma shining through, he goes head-to-head with Matthew Goode's sinister scientist, who loiters around every corner with a mix of charm and menace. Throw in a very predictable ending and the result is a film that, while watchable, makes little use of its stars or premise.