As people know, a big budget and a talented cast do not always make for a good film. Such is the case with Infinite, which has no sense of direction, clear story, or positive aspects.
Schizophrenic Evan McCauley (Mark Wahlberg) states that he has dreams that feel real. He has skills that he’s never learned and memories of places that he’s never been to. One day, a secret group called the Infinites captures him, and it’s revealed that his memories and dreams are real, but they come from multiple lives that he has lived. These Infinites are people who can be reborn and keep the memories and knowledge of their past lives. One of the Infinites (Chiwetel Ejiofor) has gone rogue; he sees all life as cursed and wants to stop the cycle of infinite reincarnation.
If that plot synopsis did not make sense, it’s because the film does not explain itself well. Instead, the story is all mushed up with plot holes to oblivion and an incredibly awful script. Of course, some movies are hard to decipher and make sense of, a most recent example being Christopher Nolan’s Tenet (2021), but at least that film has something of value. Infinite, however, does not.
The film starts with a ridiculous and boring “Fast & Furious meets Michael Bay” style action sequence all slapped together with unnecessary slow-motion, horrible editing, and destruction with poor visual effects just to blow a big budget. Within twenty minutes, you already know that the film does not have an identity of its own; it takes a small bite of every action franchise imaginable and spits it out.
When it comes to the performances, they are as bad as the script. Mark Wahlberg delivers a performance so bland it makes his effort in M. Night Shyamalan’s The Happening (2008) look great. It seems like he does not even want to be in this film and is very uninterested in what it has to offer. Wahlberg isn’t the greatest actor in the world nor one of the best, but he can give a good performance when he wants to, like in The Fighter (2010) or Boogie Nights (1997).
On the other side of things, Chiwetel Ejiofor gives an over-the-top performance that is laughable at best but quite entertaining to see. Do not get me wrong, it is a lousy performance fuelled by exaggeration, but it is one of the film’s most entertaining parts. As for the other actors, they are forgettable. Jason Mantzoukas gives the audience one or two laughs and Toby Jones is always delightful to see, even though the purpose of his character is not very clear.
If you are left confused during the film, the last thirty minutes will not help; it will worsen your understanding. The final act leaves the viewer in utter confusion, not making sense. It is frustrating to watch a terrible film and even more frustrating to watch a terrible film and not engage with it. There is nothing in the movie that captivates the audience.
Infinite does not even reach a level in which it could be called “so bad, it’s good”. Instead, it takes itself so seriously that it knocks down the chance of the tiny smear of enjoyment that it could potentially have provided. If the film had been more self-aware, it would have still been a mess, but an enjoyable mess.
Check out Infinite exclusively on Paramount+ here.
Fun Fact:
Chris Evans was originally cast as Evan but had to drop out of the film due to scheduling conflicts.
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