ANTOINE’S WORLD
Evan turns out to be the reincarnation of Heinrich Treadway (played in flashbacks by Dylan O’Brien), who holds valuable information that could be catastrophic if it fell into the wrong hands, like those of Treadway’s longtime foe, Bathurst (Chiwetel Ejiofor). The two factions collide with the fate of the world at stake as Evan continues unlocking the tools his past lives afford him.
“Infinite” has a lot in common with “The Old Guard,” a Netflix film from last year that starred Charlize Theron as the leader of an immortal mercenary squad. The films share a similar death-defying central conceit, were released on streamers, feature actors working with well-meaning but wonky material, and carry the weight of establishing a fully realized sci-fi universe from the jump.
Grasping the concept of seemingly normal humans being in touch with previous incarnations is simple enough. Everything that sprung from this idea, though, needed
more clarification, like exactly why the “evil” side believes this power is such a curse that they must kill everyone in order to break the cycle. There’s also some sort of Force-esque energy that felt outlandish even in a film that already required a healthy suspension of disbelief.
What the film lacks in adequate descriptions of plot mechanics it more than makes up for with top-notch action sequences. No one can accuse Paramount of skimping on production values or a CGI budget on this one.
Fuqua pulled out all the techniques he learned in everything from “Training Day” to “The Equalizer” films. Though “Infinite” was made for movie theaters before the pandemic nixed those plans, action fans should be satisfied with how it translates to the small screen.
Wahlberg is a fascinating choice to be the Luke Skywalker of a story like this. Luckily, he doesn’t try to go full wide-eyed Mark Hamill and instead plays Evan as a world-weary wisecracker who didn’t need much convincing to learn how to better kick butt for the sake of humanity.
Ejiofor is a solid, scenerychewing antagonist who’s a tad underwritten but menacing enough. The only other standout performance is veteran comedic actor Jason Mantzoukas, who appears as things begin to heat up and steals just about every scene he’s in thanks to his natural aura of unhinged enthusiasm.
“Infinite” may leave you with more questions than answers, which lends itself to whatever franchise ambitions Paramount+ has for it going forward. Whether you want more of this world or not will depend on how well you click with its overall vibe, but as a standalone experience, it’s definitely worth the low price of a Paramount+ subscription.