Ryan Reynolds is one of the most bankable actors in Hollywood today, but he also has a few flops in his credits. While movies like the Deadpool films and Free Guy have pulled in massive box office numbers and performed exceptionally well with critics, his career has also featured significant box office failures, including a forgotten 2015 sci-fi action movie that just started streaming on Prime Video.
Just months after Woman in Gold became a commercial success, Reynolds returned to theaters with a movie that marked one of his biggest flops to date. Self/less, director Tarsem Singh’s sci-fi thriller starring Reynolds opposite Natalie Martinez, Matthew Goode, Victor Garber, Derek Luke, and Ben Kingsley, bombed in just about every way imaginable, and it’s now streaming on Prime Video as of April 1st. The movie failed to recoup its budget when it grossed just $31 million at the worldwide box office, and it didn’t make much of an impact with critics or the audience. While Self/less isn’t Reynolds’ lowest-rated movie, an unfortunate title that goes to R.I.P.D., its 18% critic score on Rotten Tomatoes makes it his third-lowest in terms of critical consensus.
Those abysmal numbers, paired with a not-so-impressive 46% audience rating, may make it seem like Self/less should be an easy pass, but the movie is a pretty fun, if somewhat formulaic, on-the-run conspiracy movie if you give it a chance. The film centers around a terminally ill New York real estate billionaire named Damian Hale, who transfers his consciousness into a young, healthy body through a radical, secret medical procedure known as “shedding.” Reynolds stars as the new, younger body as Damien discovers a dark conspiracy regarding the origin of his new vessel.
Self/less isn’t necessarily better than its initial audience reception, but it’s still a watchable and entertaining high-concept action thriller that is better than its 18% critical score suggests. The movie stops short of fully exploring the deep philosophical questions it raises with its unique premise, but it’s a great turn-your-brain-off movie that has no shortage of intense action, car chases, and fighting. The movie delves into a pretty compelling sci-fi concept with immortality and “shedding” one’s consciousness into a new body, and features a great performance from Reynolds in one of his earlier, explicitly serious roles. It’s definitely far from one of Reynolds’ best films, but it’s still pretty entertaining if you give it a chance and go in with low expectations.
April at Prime Video is filled with great additions to the streaming lineup. So far this month, the Amazon streamer has already added movies like Fast Times at Ridgemont High, Guy Ritchie’s The Covenant, Spaceballs, and The Menu. Upcoming additions include movies such as 2025’s The Running Man remake on April 17th, The Conjuring: Last Rites on April 21st, and Colleen Hoover’s Regretting You on April 24th.
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