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Jun 14, 2021 · I’m sure Mark Wahlberg, Chiwetel Ejiofor, and Toby Jones signed on to Antoine Fuqua’s globetrotting sci-fi action flick “Infinite” with the best of intentions. On paper, the premise sounds like a killer idea: Reincarnated warriors locked in a centuries old war work to save humanity.
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Parents need to know that Infinite is a sci-fi/action movie starring Mark Wahlberg as a man who learns that he's been reincarnated many times -- and who holds the key to saving the world. Based on D. Eric Maikranz' book The Reincarnationist Papers, the movie mostly feels like an excuse for endless…
- Antoine Fuqua
- Jeffrey M. Anderson
- Paramount+
Mar 25, 2022 · Infinite Storm. Between "Infinite Storm," about a woman who rescues a man while hiking, and last month's " The Desperate Hour ," about a woman who goes to extraordinary lengths to find out if her son will survive a hostage situation at school, Naomi Watts seems as if she's en route to finding the female equivalent of Liam Neeson's action movies ...
- Mark Wahlberg headlines an action-packed adventure about reincarnated warriors, but gets outshone.
- Every Exclusive Movie and TV Series Coming to Paramount+
- Verdict
By Kristy Puchko
Posted: Jun 11, 2021 3:30 pm
Infinite is now streaming exclusively on Paramount+.
From the start, Infinite feels like a throwback to late ‘90s action movies, in which a steely protagonist was tossed into a hi-tech world of mind-bending truths that demanded a man of action to save the world. This terrain was charted by a string of Batmen, Keanu Reeves (The Matrix Trilogy), and Denzel Washington (Virtuosity). This time, Mark Wahlberg brings his working-class snarl to a tale of reincarnated warriors and an eons-stretching battle for the fate of the world. While the story is fresh, the path feels familiar, for better or worse.
Reteaming with Shooter director Antoine Fuqua, Mark Wahlberg stars as Evan McCauley, a middle-aged outcast who struggles to find work or friends because of the voices in his head. Since he was a teen, Evan’s been told these voices and visions are proof he’s a schizophrenic. However, after forging a samurai sword with inexplicable ease, he’s outed as one of the few humans on earth who can recall all their past lives. These rare people are called the Infinite. A spin on superhero origins, their recall allows the reincarnated to be master warriors and brilliant strategists, who’ve honed skills over the ages. In each new cycle, the Infinites band together to use their powers to preserve and guide humanity. However, not all of the reincarnated are grateful for the memory of thousands of lives lost. Led by the brutal Bathurst (Chiwetel Ejiofor), an Infinite death cult called The Nihilists wants to die. The only way to assure they die for keeps is with a special egg that’ll bring on the end of all life on the planet. There’s just one hitch: the egg was last seen with Evan’s previous incarnation (Dylan O’Brien), so the fate of the world lies somewhere in his untapped memories.
Adapted from D. Eric Maikranz's 2009 novel The Reincarnationist Papers, Infinite pulls heavily from The Matrix, positioning an unsatisfied everyman (albeit with six-pack abs) as an unrealized messiah to all mankind. Also serving as an executive producer on the film, Wahlberg clearly relishes this power fantasy, flexing his 50-year-old buffness in shirtless scenes and bringing a simmering surliness to lines like, “Where I come from, we got bills to pay and rent to make. No one’s got time for destiny.”
The whole Infinites versus Nihilists thing is explained repeatedly, often with a flurry of names of characters we’ve barely met. Making things more confusing, some of the names are hard to hear over the blare of screeching tires. Then, of course, there’s the tricky bit that multiple actors play the same character in different lives. (Think Doctor Who without time travel.) All this can make things murky, especially as dongles and subplots are introduced. Perhaps this is why a Wahlberg voiceover is plunked over the opening, explaining all the key points a full half-hour before his character will learn them.
While aiding in plot clarity, this Walhberg Explains It All introduction kills the tension of the first act, because we’re already ahead of Evan on who he is and what this world is really all about. Thus, scenes where Evan sneers through a job interview and gawps during a violent police interrogation fall frustratingly flat. We already know where it’s going. Let’s get a move on!
Infinite is a chaotic film. Plucking from well-worn cliches, it’s familiar enough to scratch the itch of action entertainment. Yet its world-building is so wonky you might do better to switch off your brain and let the flashy stunts wash over you. Wahlberg is staunch at its center, but relies on Cookson to bring in the pathos. Ejiofor is a thrillin...
Critics Consensus. An initially intriguing sci-fi thriller that quickly veers into incoherence, Infinite is as inane as it is inconsequential. Read Critics Reviews. Audience Says. Unless you're...
- (83)
- Antoine Fuqua
- PG-13
- Mark Wahlberg
Jun 10, 2021 · Infinite Review: Mark Wahlberg Leads Action-Packed, Surface-Level Sci-Fi. The concept of reincarnation has lent itself to numerous stories over the years and it gets a sci-fi twist with Antoine Fuqua's latest film, Infinite.
Jan 22, 2023 · In a set-up that's like "The White Lotus" meets body horror, "Infinity Pool" opens at an exclusive resort in a fictional country. Author James Foster ( Alexander Skarsgard) is looking for inspiration while his partner Em ( Cleopatra Coleman) tries to support the writer's block that has led to no new books in six years.
