infinite movie review reddit

Live Coverage

Review: There are infinitely better things to watch than ‘Infinite’

• Copy Link URL Copied!

The silly, junky science-fiction thriller “Infinite” posits a universe where reincarnation is real and a few human souls have the ability to retain memories from their past lives. I wish I could leave it at that, but at the risk of too precisely replicating the leaden rhythms of the movie’s ceaseless voiceover, I must continue. These memory-retaining “infinites,” as they’re called, fall into two groups. First there are the nihilists, who think the whole damn system is rotten and want to destroy life as we know it. And then there are the believers, guardians of eternity who consider their knowledge a precious gift to be used for the betterment of humanity.

My own act of humanitarian service this week will be to advise you against watching “Infinite,” a directive that would appear to have the tacit endorsement of the movie’s own distributor. Once scheduled for theatrical release last August before COVID-19 delays set in, the movie arrives this week on the streaming service Paramount+, where it will patiently await its future reincarnation as an in-flight movie or a blip in a Mark Wahlberg career-highlights reel. Wahlberg plays Evan McCauley, a troubled dude with a violent past and a schizophrenia diagnosis. But those strange voices and hallucinatory visions aren’t signs of mental illness; they’re vestiges of the many bodies through which his soul has passed over the centuries, which explains his ability to speak Russian and forge ancient Japanese swords.

“Explains” is the operative word in Ian Shorr’s busy info dump of a script, adapted from D. Eric Maikranz’s novel “The Reincarnationist Papers.” Sharing most of the expository duties here are a lip-smacking villain, Bathurst (a wildly over-committed Chiwetel Ejiofor), who tries to jog Evan’s befogged memory, and a well-meaning young believer, Nora (Sophie Cookson), who tries to do the same. After all, Evan may or may not be the latest vessel for a mysterious, messianic figure known as Treadway (played in an earlier incarnation by Dylan O’Brien), whose actions could determine (yawn) the fate of humanity.

The director, Antoine Fuqua , makes slam-bang action movies that occasionally rise above the workmanlike, usually when Denzel Washington is involved (“Training Day,” “The Equalizer”). He and Wahlberg made a proficient enough team years ago in the muscular conspiracy thriller “Shooter”; their reunion was not worth the wait. Much frenzied violence ensues, some of it dispensed in cross-cutting training montages designed to reawaken Evan/Treadway/Whoever’s latent gifts, and some of it in explosive set-pieces that feature remarkable new innovations in vehicular penetration. (If the sight of O’Brien smashing two dashboards with one brick doesn’t thrill you, the sight of Wahlberg using his sword to stab a jet plane in mid-air might do the trick.)

Little else about “Infinite” registers as particularly novel — or, despite some attention-grabbing turns from Toby Jones, Jason Mantzoukas , Liz Carr and Jóhannes Haukur Jóhannesson, interesting. Wahlberg, who usually has a way with a cynical wisecrack, seems to sprain muscles trying to sell his character’s attempts at light-witted banter. The script doesn’t reincarnate so much as it recycles, drawing freely on the nested realities of “Inception,” the free-your-mind metaphysics of “The Matrix” and the amnesiac-assassin revelations of the Jason Bourne movies. Maybe watch one of those tonight instead. “Infinite” may last a finite 106 minutes, but transmigration of souls or no transmigration of souls, life is too short.

Rated: PG-13, for sequences of strong violence, some bloody images, strong language and brief drug use Running time: 1 hour, 46 minutes Playing: Available June 10 on Paramount+

More to Read

Review: ‘Longlegs’ walks in with a wintry moodiness, and its thrills are just getting started

July 19, 2024

Review: In ‘Evil Does Not Exist,’ a woodsy community confronts malice of a modern stripe

May 3, 2024

Live action shorts: Stories of life, death and the quirkiest of in-betweens

Feb. 19, 2024

Only good movies

Get the Indie Focus newsletter, Mark Olsen's weekly guide to the world of cinema.

You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.

Justin Chang was a film critic for the Los Angeles Times from 2016 to 2024. He won the 2024 Pulitzer Prize in criticism for work published in 2023. Chang is the author of the book “FilmCraft: Editing” and serves as chair of the National Society of Film Critics and secretary of the Los Angeles Film Critics Assn.

More From the Los Angeles Times

Robert Downey Jr. reveals how Kevin Feige persuaded him to return as Doctor Doom

Review: ‘Blink Twice’ plunges us into a potent fantasy island with a dark side that’s less clear

Aug. 22, 2024

Hollywood Inc.

Bronfman ups bid for control of Paramount to $6 billion

Aug. 21, 2024

Entertainment & Arts

Ian McKellen says his fat suit saved him from further injury after stage fall

Flickering Myth

Geek Culture | Movies, TV, Comic Books & Video Games

Movie Review – Infinite (2021)

May 17, 2022 by Robert Kojder

Infinite , 2021.

Directed by Antoine Fuqua. Starring Mark Wahlberg, Dylan O’Brien, Rupert Friend, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Sophie Cookson, Toby Jones, Jóhannes Haukur Jóhannesson, Jason Mantzoukas, Tom Hughes, Liz Carr, Wallis Day, Kae Alexander, Joana Ribeiro, Lili Rich, and Raffiella Chapman.

A troubled young man haunted by memories of two past lives stumbles upon the centuries-old secret society of similar individuals and dares to join their ranks.

A case could be made that Infinite (the latest from director Antoine Fuqua, adapting D. Eric Maikranz’s book The Reincarnationist Papers and a screenplay from Todd Stein and Ian Shorr, although really it just feels like Hollywood took another crack at bringing Assassins’ Creed to life but somehow worse) is dumb fun. Moreover, if someone wants to enjoy unabashed stupidity and preposterous action, more power to them. I do the same thing from time to time *checks emails for the tenth time today, hoping for the inevitable F9 press screening invite to come through*. However, there is something incredibly misguided driving the reincarnation mechanic of Infinite that downplays mental illness, specifically schizophrenia, presenting it as a special ability. Naturally, it’s a gift that is the key to saving the world.

A high-speed chase in 1985 France sets the stage alongside an on-screen graphic that reads “Last Life,” referring to a previous life lived. The major players involved in this absurd getaway where vehicles consistently defy the laws of physics are Dylan O’Brien’s Treadway, Rupert Friend’s villainous Bathurst, and lovebirds backing up the former, with a seemingly endless supply of police trying to put an end to the road chaos. There’s also some voiceover exposition explaining the basics of this world; certain people are born able to relive the memories of a former life, and those individuals are broken up into factions of good and evil (Believers that want to use the reincarnation gift responsibly and Nihilists who view this as a curse and want to put an end to it). That’s the surface-level explanation, and Infinite never explores the concept any more in-depth beyond that. The car chase escalates into greater violence resulting in some death, but not before Treadway is able to hide an artifact the Nihilists need for their nefarious goals.

Infinite then flashes forward to the life of Evan MaCauley (Mark Wahlberg, aware of how nonsensical the plot is and completely hamming it up), a down on his luck New York City weaponsmith. Yes, he actually forges a sword from muscle memory of a former Asian life he’s not quite sure why pops into his head, that he sells to drug dealers in exchange for schizophrenia medication that he can’t afford). I’m not joking; I assure you I watched the movie sober. Anyway, Evan doesn’t have a job for lack of trying, as we see him interviewed for a restaurant position and declined for having both a history of violence and a two-week stay in the psych ward for carving “look inside” across his skin (a huge red flag that the movie doesn’t care about mental health and is certainly fine exploiting for its dumb narrative).

After experiencing a strong vision/memory from a different life, Evan is rendered unconscious and wakes up detained and visited by the present-day incarnation of Bathurst (now played by Chiwetel Ejiofor, chewing up the scenery and deserving of better material), unaware of his evil plans. Soon after, Nora Brightman (Sophie Cookson) crashes through the building coming to the rescue making for another ludicrous chase sequence. She brings him back to the Believer’s base, catching Evan up to speed that they need to find the artifact Treadway hid before Bathurst does; otherwise, it spells doom for all life on earth.

Up to this point, the only thing making Infinite remotely tolerable is the insanity of its action sequences, which disappear until a preposterously nutty climax that belongs in a better turn-off your brain popcorn fun movie. Instead, there are heaps of exposition, more characters introduced, predictable revelations, and boredom as Evan’s mind is probed for clues. Several factors prevent him from fully unlocking his memories (such as a steel plate inside his head), and none of it compelling. Not even the romantic subplot going on between side characters comes across as engaging, mostly because the question arises as to why reincarnation can change ethnicities but apparently not gender. That thought only sends the mind further down the rabbit hole of awkward cultural appropriation on display, but I’d also be lying if I didn’t laugh and find joy from the sight of Mark Wahlberg wielding a sword.

Anyway, Infinite is as generic a story of heroes and villains as they come. Nothing about this fictional world will strike anyone as worth diving into more; the story is a combination of straightforward and straight-up confusing, the ending message is full of cringe, and not even crazy conditions during a thrilling climactic fight is enough to make one forget about the early going ill-advised approach to discussing mental health. Infinite is at best forgettable, and at worst, a confused disaster with occasional flourishes of imaginative action set pieces.

Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★

Robert Kojder is a member of the Chicago Film Critics Association and the Critics Choice Association. He is also the Flickering Myth Reviews Editor. Check  here  for new reviews, follow my  Twitter  or  Letterboxd , or email me at [email protected]

FMTV – Watch Our Latest Video Here

YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE:

Films That DEMAND Multiple Viewings

The Best UK Video Nasties Of All Time

Six Overhated Modern Horror Movies

The Best Retro 2000 AD Video Games

Asian Shock Horror Movies You Have To See

Star Wars: The Phantom Menace at 25 – Still a franchise low-point?

Action Movies Blessed with Stunning Cinematography

The Film Feud of the 90s: Steven Seagal vs Jean-Claude Van Damme

Underrated 2000s Cult Classics You Have to See

Philip K. Dick & Hollywood: The Essential Movie Adaptations

• Comic Books
• Video Games
• Toys & Collectibles
• Articles and Opinions
• Flickering Myth Films
• About Flickering Myth
• Write for Flickering Myth
• Advertise on Flickering Myth
• Terms of Use
• Privacy Policy

Log in or sign up for Rotten Tomatoes

Trouble logging in?

By continuing, you agree to the Privacy Policy and the Terms and Policies , and to receive email from the Fandango Media Brands .

By creating an account, you agree to the Privacy Policy and the Terms and Policies , and to receive email from Rotten Tomatoes and to receive email from the Fandango Media Brands .

By creating an account, you agree to the Privacy Policy and the Terms and Policies , and to receive email from Rotten Tomatoes.

Email not verified

Let's keep in touch.

Sign up for the Rotten Tomatoes newsletter to get weekly updates on:

• Upcoming Movies and TV shows
• Rotten Tomatoes Podcast
• Media News + More

By clicking "Sign Me Up," you are agreeing to receive occasional emails and communications from Fandango Media (Fandango, Vudu, and Rotten Tomatoes) and consenting to Fandango's Privacy Policy and Terms and Policies . Please allow 10 business days for your account to reflect your preferences.

OK, got it!

• About Rotten Tomatoes®
• Login/signup

Movies in theaters

• Opening this week
• Top box office
• Coming soon to theaters
• Certified fresh movies

Movies at home

• Fandango at Home
• Prime Video
• Most Popular Streaming Movies
• Certified Fresh Movies
• What to Watch New

Certified fresh picks

• 79% Blink Twice Link to Blink Twice
• 96% Strange Darling Link to Strange Darling
• 86% Between the Temples Link to Between the Temples

New TV Tonight

• 93% Chimp Crazy: Season 1
• 100% Pachinko: Season 2
• -- That '90s Show: Season 3
• -- OceanXplorers: Season 1
• -- Classified: Season 1
• -- Reasonable Doubt: Season 2
• -- The Anonymous: Season 1
• -- Face to Face With Scott Peterson: Season 1
• -- Wyatt Earp and the Cowboy War: Season 1

Most Popular TV on RT

• 92% Bad Monkey: Season 1
• 78% Star Wars: The Acolyte: Season 1
• 100% Dark Winds: Season 2
• 86% Average Joe: Season 1
• 96% Industry: Season 3
• 55% The Umbrella Academy: Season 4
• Best TV Shows
• Most Popular TV
• TV & Streaming News

Certified fresh pick

• 92% Bad Monkey: Season 1 Link to Bad Monkey: Season 1
• All-Time Lists
• Binge Guide
• Comics on TV
• Five Favorite Films
• Video Interviews
• Weekend Box Office
• Weekly Ketchup
• What to Watch

The Crow Movies In Order

100 Best Anime Movies of All Time

What to Watch: In Theaters and On Streaming

Awards Tour

Where to Watch the Emmy-Nominated Shows of 2024

Verified Hot: Honoring The Films with the Highest Verified Audience Scores

• Trending on RT
• Verified Hot Movies
• Re-Release Calendar
• Popular TV Shows
• Renewed and Cancelled TV

Infinite Reviews

With so many past lives to choose from, the filmmakers of Infinite still repeated the same mistakes when there should have been limitless possibilities. Instead, it’s an endless exercise in suspense-free filmmaking.

Full Review | Original Score: 1.5/5 | Oct 9, 2022

Infinite is at times comedically convoluted, but thanks to brilliant world-building and stellar action setpieces, it’s riotously entertaining regardless.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Sep 1, 2022

Perhaps the movie’s biggest shortcoming is that it spends a lot of time talking about relationships from the past rather than building any meaningful new ones on screen.

Full Review | Original Score: 1.5/5 | Aug 17, 2022

"Infinite" has all the elements you'd find in almost any action film. It just slightly misses the mark by not going all in and fully immersing the viewer in its reincarnation concept.

Full Review | Original Score: 6/10 | Jun 21, 2022

One of those grueling efforts that renders the science fiction genre about as much fun as a root canal sans anesthetics.

Full Review | Original Score: 1.5/4 | May 21, 2022

The writing is so haphazard and choppy, and it leapfrogs over what needs to be explained... you don't have any emotional investment.

Full Review | Original Score: 1/4 | May 21, 2022

Brainless. The only skills the reincarnated team of assassins retain are fighting skills, leaving any provocative questions about transmigration unaddressed and any interesting ideas unexplored.

Full Review | Sep 17, 2021

What follows is a ploddingly predictable slog through a confusing combination of sci-fi cliches and vaguely mystical mambo-jumbo that basically strings out a series of mindless pyrotechnic set-pieces.

Full Review | Original Score: 1.5/5 | Sep 2, 2021

If you ever wondered what The Matrix would have been like if the lead was played by a fifty year old who was also kind of like Jason Bourne, here's your chance.

Full Review | Original Score: 2.5/5 | Aug 15, 2021

If it's empty-vessel escapism you're after, this wonkily watchable affair will deliver what little you need.

Full Review | Original Score: 2.5/5 | Aug 13, 2021

The visuals are spectacular, but things get increasingly derivative as they progress, and Jason Mantzoukas' ill-conceived comic-relief character falls clangingly flat.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Aug 11, 2021

If you understand any of it, please enlighten me, because I am in the dark.

Full Review | Aug 10, 2021

The bad guys in Mark Wahlberg's reincarnation-themed action movie want to destroy the world so they never have to relive it all again. Having seen the film, I know the feeling

Full Review | Jul 14, 2021

Given the bona fides of everyone involved, it seemed reasonable to expect an entertaining adventure -- and at worst, dumb fun -- but the final product underwhelms at even the low end of expectations.

Full Review | Jul 13, 2021

...it unfurls more like an M. Night Shyamalan sci-fi misfire...

Full Review | Original Score: 1.5/4 | Jul 1, 2021

This action film about reincarnation tries to relive the plot beats of countless better films. The end result is a derivative, messy and forgettable film.

Full Review | Original Score: C | Jun 25, 2021

Infinite boasts a high-concept story and extremely inventive action sequences, though Mark Wahlberg's performance leaves much to be desired.

Full Review | Original Score: 7 | Jun 23, 2021

Playing around with the concept of reincarnation is certainly promising, but Infinite makes the plot absurd for no reason. [Full review in Spanish]

Full Review | Jun 22, 2021

I'll give points for finely crafted action sequences and a handful of bold casting choices, but beyond that, Infinite is decidedly, whole-heartedly average.

Full Review | Original Score: 2/4 | Jun 22, 2021

It's exactly the kind of big, silly, occasionally exciting spectacle that have come to define summer movie season, for better or worse. There's even an opening for a sequel.

Full Review | Original Score: 2/4 | Jun 18, 2021

• Cast & crew
• User reviews

A man discovers that his hallucinations are actually visions from past lives. A man discovers that his hallucinations are actually visions from past lives. A man discovers that his hallucinations are actually visions from past lives.

• Antoine Fuqua
• D. Eric Maikranz
• Mark Wahlberg
• Chiwetel Ejiofor
• Sophie Cookson
• 1K User reviews
• 86 Critic reviews
• 28 Metascore
• 1 win & 3 nominations

Top cast 64

• Evan McCauley

• Bathurst 2020

• Nora Brightman

• Bathurst 1985

• Brasserie Manager

• Brasserie Owner

• Brasserie Chef Joe

• All cast & crew
• Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

More like this

Did you know

• Trivia The movie is based on the book "The Reincarnationist Papers" by D. Eric Maikranz . He found it difficult to catch the attention of a literary agent that would sell the book to Hollywood. On the first page of the book, he offered a commission to anyone who could get his book into Hollywood. Eighteen months later, he got an email from a Hollywood assistant director who found his book in a hostel in Nepal. In 2017, Paramount Pictures bought the rights.
• Goofs During the interrogation, Bathurst comments that the room is completely sound proof and that the officers in the other room wouldn't hear the bullet, however both him and Evan hear the car racing and approaching from the outside. If the room was truly soundproof they would not have heard it and been crushed by it.

Garrick : Don't Worry. All this shit, it just gets weirder.

• Connections Featured in WatchMojo: Top 10 Most Badass Mark Wahlberg Movie Moments (2022)
• Soundtracks Legends Never Die Written by Jonny Pakfar (as Jonathan Pakfar) & Shane Eli Abrahams (as Shane Abrahams) Performed by Campfire Courtesy of Downtown Music

User reviews 1K

• deloudelouvain
• Aug 9, 2021
• How long is Infinite? Powered by Alexa
• June 10, 2021 (United States)
• United States
• 24-26 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK (Car stunt, Mercure Hotel)
• Paramount Pictures
• New Republic Pictures
• Di Bonaventura Pictures
• See more company credits at IMDbPro

Technical specs

• Runtime 1 hour 46 minutes
• Dolby Digital

Related news

Contribute to this page.

• See more gaps
• Learn more about contributing

More to explore

Recently viewed.

• Action/Adventure
• Children's/Family
• Documentary/Reality
• Amazon Prime Video

More From Decider

New Shows & Movies To Watch This Weekend: Prime Video's 'Jackpot!' +...

Peacock Has Removed Raygun and the Entire Olympics Breaking Competition...

'WWHL': Bowen Yang Says One Terrible 'SNL' Host Once Made "Multiple Cast...

Peacock's Gary Coleman Doc Questions The Late Child Actor's "Suspicious"...

11 Best New Movies on Netflix: August 2024's Freshest Films to Watch

'Million Dollar Listing Los Angeles' Star Josh Flagg Gives Update On His...

Kora's Scars in the 'Rebel Moon: Director's Cut' Sex Scenes Were Sofia...

11 Best New Shows on Netflix: August 2024's Top Upcoming Series to Watch

Share this:.

• Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
• Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
• Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window)
• Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window)
• Click to copy URL

Stream It Or Skip It: ‘Infinite’ on Paramount+, Where Mark Wahlberg Does The Mind-Warp Again

Where to stream:.

• Action Movies

Stream It or Skip It: 'Agent Recon,' a Chuck Norris Sci-Fi Movie on Hulu

Stream it or skip it: ‘furiosa: a mad max saga’ on hbo max, a visionary, action-rich 'fury road' prequel, stream it or skip it: ‘the union’ on netflix, a terminally bland mark wahlberg-halle berry action-comedy, 'alien vs. predator' at 20: an underrated franchise mash-up that overcomes its cash grab reputation.

The science-fiction-action mirepoix of Infinite (Paramount Plus) feels undercooked and burned all at once. Here, the profound ability of conscious reincarnation is wielded by a handful of people as a cudgel for control over karma. But when Mark Wahlberg feels the vibrations, it’s all this funky bunch can do to try and thwart the world-ending aspirations of one of their own. Wahlberg isn’t the only one who’s seen all of this before.

INFINITE : STREAM IT OR SKIP IT?

The Gist: Evan McCauley (Mark Wahlberg) is a diagnosed schizophrenic with violent tendencies who pops psychotropic pills like candy because it’s his only means of muting volatile mental episodes, immersive living dreams that seem to carry him off to other times, other places, other activities, with a tangibility that’s palpable. As it turns out, that’s because it is. Evan is harboring the reincarnated consciousness of a guy named Heinrich Treadway, a hero to those few human beings gifted with perfect recall of their past lives — you know, the Infinites — because in one of his own (seen a flashback where Treadway is played by Dylan O’Brien), he busted into the lab of Bathurst (Chiwetel Ejiofor) and stole the method to his madness. Who’s Bathurst? Well, he was once a well-behaved Infinite. But it was somewhere around 218 bce and the Second Punic War that he got fed up with all the reincarnating, and the good Infinites have been beating back his efforts at destruction ever since.

Evan is whisked into this shadow world of multi-generational quarreling by Nora (Sophie Cookson), who delivers him to the modernist corporate retreat facility she and her cohort call home. Well, they call it “The Hub,” but that’s only mentioned in passing, so it’s better to drill into some of the other terminology at hand. Nora and her pals, a group including the brilliant Dr. Garrick (Liz Carr) and warrior-class toughs Trace (Kae Alexander) and Kovic (Johannes Haukur Johannesson), aim to extract Treadway from Evan by “retraining neural pathways,” since “memories are held in every organ.” Wahlberg, as Evan, screws his face into skeptic panic. But Garrick has the last word. “Don’t worry. All this shit? It just gets weirder.”

Infinite then prattles off to Europe, with Evan/Treadway and Nora hot on Bathurst’s trail as he gets ever closer to realizing his dastardly plan, which boils down to global destruction in service of his finding mental peace. Somebody get this guy a white noise machine, jeez. But nobody does, and Mark Wahlberg is forced to deploy the only other option, which of course is to land his motorcycle on the wing of an airborne C-5 Galaxy and cut into the fuselage with his trusty katana. What does all of this have to do with reincarnation? Well, you might ramp your bike onto a moving plane, too, if mortality was a fluid concept.

What Movies Will It Remind You Of? As Nora, Evan’s goodhearted Infinite comrade, Sophie Cookson is given a sliver of character development less than one inch thick. She yearns, you see, forever pining across the metaphysical plain for her soulmate, who was known as Abel when they died together in their most recent life, cut down by a special weapon Bathurst calls the dethroner. It’s a sad story! But it’s also one that was portrayed with greater strength and emotion by Luca Marinelli and Marwan Kenzari in The Old Guard , a more soundly-executed recent film with similar themes of immortality and the generational drift of ass-kicking. Speaking of that dethroner, Wanted (2008) did custom firearms and curving munitions better, not to mention constructing a more fully realized shadow world.

Performance Worth Watching : Infinite isn’t just a hodgepodge of sci-fi gobbledygook with no place to go. Its cast is just seat-filling, too. Cookson? She sets her jaw, but really anyone of any gender could’ve played her role. Even Wahlberg is interchangeable here — he’s a streetwise skeptic one minute, spitting out put-downs the next, and going full action hero by the finale, but all that forms is an after-image of Wahlbergian charisma. If Dylan O’Brien, who plays the past-life version of Wahlberg’s character, would have been its top line star, Infinite would quite possibly be exactly the same movie.

Memorable Dialogue: In Bathurst’s opinion, the ultimate torture isn’t physical. It’s human stupidity. “Being surrounded by it!” he rages at Toby Jones, who only appears in Infinite for like maybe two scenes. “Engulfed in it! Lifetime after lifetime. People with their idiot grins!” Chiwetel Ejiofor is really leaning into it now. “Their infuriating pleasantries! Their need for approval!” Then he bites down hard on the villainous nadir. “Their unctuous attempts to be loved and validated!” Ejiofor’s scrumptious erudition aside, Bathurst basically wants to destroy every living thing on earth because he’s sick and tired of having to make small talk.

Sex and Skin: Nothing but Mark Wahlberg shirtless in the memory probing lab (everybody knows that diode-lattice mask won’t operate if your torso’s clad in cotton), Mark Wahlberg shirtless doing dead-hang inverted sit-ups (anyone for a Pain & Gain reset?), and Mark Wahlberg shirtless inside Jason Mantzoukas’s iron lung-cum-womb simulator.

Our Take: Infinite went through a couple of rewrites and script tweaks on the way from the novel it’s based on translating into a script and then appearing on screen as this thing, a sci-fi/actioner with its game pieces strewn across the board in a disordered, uneven mess. The film’s theatrical release got caught up in the COVID-19 fallout, then got delayed entirely, and finally landed with a thud on brand-new streamer Paramount Plus, where it doesn’t seem likely to magnetize viewers. Infinite sputters with experiments with voiceover before letting side characters appear to spew reams of expositional dialogue, but very little of it amounts to anything, and director Antoine Fuqua instead drops in random action sequences that feel disconnected entirely from the reincarnation warfare at the supposed center of all of this. Implausibility can be an asset in contemporary science-fiction. In the case of Infinite , it just makes you bored.

Jason Mantzoukas Has Too Much Fun as a Manic Scientist in Paramount’s ‘Infinite’

Our Call: SKIP IT. Occasionally explosive, but rarely coherent, Infinite is an extremely muddled take on action sequences and reachy science fiction circumstances, ahem, “reincarnated” from other films.

Should you stream or skip the Mark Wahlberg sci-fi movie #INFINITE on @paramountplus ? #SIOSI — Decider (@decider) June 13, 2021

Johnny Loftus is an independent writer and editor living at large in Chicagoland. His work has appeared in The Village Voice, All Music Guide, Pitchfork Media, and Nicki Swift. Follow him on Twitter: @glennganges

Watch Infinite on Paramount+

• Stream It Or Skip It

'Inside Out 2' Comes to Digital, But When Will 'Inside Out 2' Be Streaming on Disney+?

Is The First 'Monday Night Football' Game On Tonight? How To Watch NFL Games On Monday Nights This Season

What Time Is 'The Bachelorette' On Tonight? How To Watch Season 21, Episode 7 (Hometown Week) Live On ABC And Hulu

'The Bachelorette' Season 21, Episode 7 Recap: Who Went Home After Hometown Dates?

Mark Consuelos Recalls Being Served A "Massive" Soft Serve After Being Recognized From 'Riverdale' On 'Live': "I Used To Ask For A Small"

Jenna Bush Hager Pauses 'Today' Broadcast After Finding Out She Wasn't Invited To Hoda Kotb's BBQ: "When Did You Have A Barbecue?"

• Stranger Things Season 5
• Deadpool and Wolverine
• The Batman 2
• Spider-Man 4
• Yellowstone Season 6
• Fallout Season 2
• The Last of Us Season 2
• Entertainment

Infinite review: Mark Wahlberg’s sci-fi adventure is a waste of good lives

There’s plenty of pedigree behind  Infinite , the sci-fi thriller from  Training Day director Antoine Fuqua that casts two-time Oscar nominee Mark Wahlberg as a diagnosed schizophrenic who discovers that his hallucinations are actually the memories and accumulated experiences of past lives.

Chaos over character

Wasted potential, is it over yet.

The film pits Wahlberg’s character against a similarly reincarnating — but fully aware — villain played by Oscar-nominated 12 Years A Slave star Chiwetel Ejiofor, and was produced by Lorenzo di Bonaventura, who famously shepherded both The Matrix and Transformers franchises to the screen. The movie’s concept is also pretty slick, with two factions of characters who wield a wide array of abilities, expertise, and wealth gained from their past lives battling it out across the globe — one trying to protect humanity while the other tries to end their infinite reincarnation by wiping out all life on Earth.

Early reports on screenwriter Ian Shorr’s script, adapted from D. Eric Maikranz’s 2009 novel The Reincarnationist Papers , described the film’s vibe as “Wanted meets  The Matrix .” Collectively, all of those elements set a fairly high bar for Infinite , so it’s unfortunate that all of those impressive qualities are wasted on a thoroughly disappointing film.

Right from its opening scene, which features a wildly destructive high-speed car chase that would’ve felt right at home in a Fast and Furious sequel or one of the aforementioned Transformers movies, Infinite seems intent on dispensing with any of the more cerebral aspects of its characters’ lore and going all-in on physics-defying, maximum carnage spectacle. We’re given a glimpse of the most recent final moments of the main characters, essentially superhero secret agents capable of pulling off unbelievable feats with cars, guns, and inexplicably (at that point) a samurai sword while being pursued by legions of faceless villains and disposable law enforcement.

It’s the sort of scene that plays perfectly fine in countless big-budget action and sci-fi franchises, but  Infinite falls back on it over and over throughout its 106-minute running time, often at the expense of any character development or narrative work that would make the stakes in the frantic sequences feel consequential. Scenes like this work in franchises like The Fast and the Furious and Transformers because you care (at least a little bit) what happens to the characters.  Infinite , however, never bothers to try making its characters interesting, let alone relatable.

Shortly after we’re introduced to Wahlberg’s character and his uncertain psychological state, the film puts him at the center of yet another ridiculously chaotic car chase — this time featuring two armored vehicles plowing through a crowded metropolis intended to be Manhattan — and from that point on, the action sequences blur together in a near-constant frenzy of explosions and destruction for the remainder of the film. Neither Wahlberg’s character nor his supporting cast of “Infinites” (the name given to the film’s reincarnating characters) are given any development beyond what’s necessary to put them in place for the next death-defying set piece, making the film feel less like an unfolding story and more like a movie mayhem sizzle reel.

Although the film puts carnage over character development at nearly every opportunity,  Infinite does manage to hint at what it could have been just enough to make you frustrated with the film it ended up being.

A scene in which Ejiofor’s character tortures another “Infinite” played by Emmy-nominated veteran actor Toby Jones is one of the film’s most fun to watch, and amazingly, it doesn’t even involve a single explosion. Both actors chew up the scenery as they engage in a bit of over-the-top verbal sparring, and the short scene ends up delivering more entertainment value than much of the 100 minutes of footage surrounding it.

Comedic actor Jason Mantzoukas ( The League , The Dictator ) also does an admirable job of adding some levity to the film’s cast, but his otherwise fun performance is ultimately overshadowed by the movie’s desire for a constant stream of high-speed pursuits, gun battles, and other effects-driven action sequences.

Given the bona fides of the film’s cast and creative team, it seemed reasonable to expect an entertaining adventure from  Infinite — and at worst, dumb fun — but the final product underwhelms at even the low end of expectations.

With a story more meager and patched together than any of di Bonaventura or Wahlberg’s Transformers films, and lacking any of the dramatic weight of Fuqua or Ejiofor’s prior projects, Infinite is a disappointment across the board — and makes a strong case for being one of its cast members’ and director’s worst films. That it’s filled with characters who pride themselves on using their vast archive of memories (while offering few examples of doing so in the film) makes it even more annoying that the film ends up being so forgettable.

Sure, Ejiofor’s villainous character is intended to be evil for wanting to bring an early end to Infinite ‘s tale of death and rebirth, but after sitting through nearly two hours of unoriginal action scenes in Infinite without any semblance a story to stitch them together, he might have been on to something.

Antoine Fuqua and Mark Wahlberg’s Infinite is available now on the Paramount+ streaming service.

Editors’ Recommendations

• 10 great free sci-fi movies you should stream right now
• 5 sci-fi movies on Netflix you need to watch in August 2024
• The best sci-fi movies on Max right now
• 5 great Netflix sci-fi movies to watch in the summer
• 5 best sci-fi movies of 2024 so far, ranked

Many people like to celebrate Independence Day with a little escapist cinema, and what other genre can do that better than science fiction? Netflix currently has dozens of sci-fi films that can spark viewers' imaginations and provide a nice treat for the whole family.

So with the free time they have for the Fourth of July, audiences should sit down and stream these five films, which make up the best sci-fi films that Netflix has to offer.

Science fiction movies tend to lean heavily on the fiction side to create fantastical stories and futuristic worlds beyond anyone's wildest dreams. There are more than a few films in the genre, however, that stand out for using theories and concepts grounded in actual science. These scientifically accurate movies use realistic principles to create engaging worlds and scenarios that are often more effective because they are plausible.

From the meticulously crafted survival story in The Martian to the not-too-distant future shown in Her, these movies make the most out of the unique intersection between science and imagination. They propose potential realities people may one day experience given the trajectory of both human ingenuity and society's most dangerous flaws. Whether viewers are in the mood for soft sci-fi or more extreme applications of scientific theories, there's something for every type of fan looking to see how science and cinema collide. 5. Gattaca (1997)

Sci-fi is a popular genre in literature due to its thought-provoking nature. Beyond thrilling adventures through space or fantastical realms, sci-fi books explore profound topics like the potential impact of artificial intelligence, the challenges of space exploration, and the ethical dilemmas of scientific progress. Fueled by these themes, readers are left to think beyond the page and imagine what the future holds.

That’s why sci-fi books are popular source materials in the realm of film — they bring extraordinary worlds, characters, and stories to life in a way books can't. With breathtaking visuals and immersive sound design, sci-fi movies allow audiences to truly experience stories like a televised battle royale in a dystopian world, the invasion of terrifying alien creatures, and the thrill of being sucked into a black hole.  9. The Hunger Games (2012)

Movie Reviews

Tv/streaming, collections, chaz's journal, great movies, contributors, infinity pool.

Now streaming on:

It almost feels like ticket buyers should have to prove that they've seen Brandon Cronenberg 's "Possessor" before being allowed admittance to his newest film, "Infinity Pool." That way, they know what they're in for. Once again, the increasingly impressive son of David Cronenberg has made a wildly surreal, unapologetic, violent, and pornographic movie about privilege, morality, and things I couldn't possibly begin to explain in a review. Cronenberg takes unbelievably big swings here—maybe even more than his last movie—and he does not bother to hold your hand along the way. He is a fascinating filmmaker, one who I think has not quite yet made his masterpiece, but I'm becoming increasingly convinced he will soon.

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. When a beautiful young woman named Gabi ( Mia Goth , phenomenal again) approaches James and tells him that she's a fan, he's instantly captivated. He convinces Em to go off the resort grounds with Gabi and her partner Alban ( Jalil Lespert ), even though that's against the rules. After a night of drinking, James gets into an accident on the way home, which leads to the death of a local man.

All four travelers are taken in by ominous authorities, led by a perfectly refined Thomas Kretschmann as Thresh. He explains to James that the country they're in has a very explicit policy: murder must be avenged by the victim's son. However, this country also has a way out, a cloning process for the extremely wealthy that will create another James to be murdered while the original one watches. It's a fantastic concept, one that comments on how the uber-rich can pay their way out of anything while also asking what it would do to a person if they watched their own murder.

What it does to James and all the other rich people at the resort is to essentially remove any sort of moral compass. If there's no consequence, why not steal, screw, and murder your way through a hedonistic lifestyle? As Em looks on in horror, Gabi basically pulls James into a world of unadulterated pleasure and violence, and Cronenberg seems to be suggesting that it is only our fear of repercussion that keeps us from indulging in every possible pain and pleasure. The travelers wear local masks that look like deformed faces, which allows even more anonymity. And then there's the ultimate question that would nag at a person—what if the clone was actually the original and you're no longer even the first version of yourself? Someone refers to these people as zombies, and they have a similar amorality.

Although no one would mistake this for a traditional zombie flick. Cronenberg gets increasingly surreal as he takes bigger and bigger chances, obviously excited by the potential of his own premise. They don't all work. I wish the film had a sharper POV and came together in the end with a more coherent message. However, even when "Infinity Pool" is just playfully experimenting with chaos, it's confidently made and compelling. It helps to have committed performers who are all in on Cronenberg's vision, especially a physically demanding performance by Skarsgard and another riveting one from Goth. She has a scene on a car hood that rivals the acclaimed ones she had in Ti West's films last year. She rules.

And I'm starting to think Brandon Cronenberg does too. He keeps developing as a filmmaker by finding new high-concept ways to interrogate what we think we know about human decency. It's got to be a bit frustrating to constantly be compared to his father, but David Cronenberg is one of my favorite filmmakers in the history of the form. And so it's a great compliment to say that "Infinity Pool" works completely divorced from the lineage of the man who made it. Brandon has become his own captivating filmmaker on his own terms. He's no clone.

This review was filed from the Sundance Film Festival. "Infinity Pool" opens on January 27th.

Brian Tallerico

Brian Tallerico is the Managing Editor of RogerEbert.com, and also covers television, film, Blu-ray, and video games. He is also a writer for Vulture, The Playlist, The New York Times, and GQ, and the President of the Chicago Film Critics Association.

Now playing

Glenn Kenny

Close to You

Matt zoller seitz.

Deadpool & Wolverine

Film Credits

Infinity Pool (2023)

118 minutes

Alexander Skarsgård as James

Mia Goth as Gabi

Cleopatra Coleman as Em

Thomas Kretschmann as Thresh

Amanda Brugel as Jennifer

John Ralston as Dr. Modan

Caroline Boulton as Bex

Jeff Ricketts as Charles

Jalil Lespert as Alban

• Brandon Cronenberg

Director of Photography

• Karim Hussain

Original Music Composer

Latest blog posts.

Tina Mabry and Edward Kelsey Moore on the Joy and Uplift of The Supremes at Earl's All-You-Can-Eat

The Adams Family Gets Goopy in Hell Hole

A Look Back at MUBI FEST CHICAGO

2024 XL Film Festival & Summit – Highlights of its Sophomore Year

Common Sense Media

Movie & TV reviews for parents

• For Parents
• For Educators
• Our Work and Impact

Or browse by category:

• Movie Reviews
• Best Movie Lists
• Best Movies on Netflix, Disney+, and More

Common Sense Selections for Movies

50 Modern Movies All Kids Should Watch Before They're 12

• Best TV Lists
• Best TV Shows on Netflix, Disney+, and More
• Common Sense Selections for TV
• Video Reviews of TV Shows

Best Kids' Shows on Disney+

Best Kids' TV Shows on Netflix

• Book Reviews
• Best Book Lists
• Common Sense Selections for Books

8 Tips for Getting Kids Hooked on Books

50 Books All Kids Should Read Before They're 12

• Game Reviews
• Best Game Lists

Common Sense Selections for Games

• Video Reviews of Games

Nintendo Switch Games for Family Fun

• Podcast Reviews
• Best Podcast Lists

Common Sense Selections for Podcasts

Parents' Guide to Podcasts

• App Reviews
• Best App Lists

Social Networking for Teens

Gun-Free Action Game Apps

Reviews for AI Apps and Tools

• YouTube Channel Reviews
• YouTube Kids Channels by Topic

Parents' Ultimate Guide to YouTube Kids

YouTube Kids Channels for Gamers

• Preschoolers (2-4)
• Little Kids (5-7)
• Big Kids (8-9)
• Pre-Teens (10-12)
• Teens (13+)
• Screen Time
• Social Media
• Online Safety
• Identity and Community

How to Help Kids Build Character Strengths with Quality Media

• Family Tech Planners
• Digital Skills
• All Articles
• Latino Culture
• Black Voices
• Asian Stories
• Native Narratives
• LGBTQ+ Pride
• Best of Diverse Representation List

Multicultural Books

YouTube Channels with Diverse Representations

Podcasts with Diverse Characters and Stories

• Common Sense Says
• Parents Say 7 Reviews
• Kids Say 4 Reviews

Common Sense Media Review

Incomprehensible, emotionless sci-fi/action nonsense.

Parents Need to Know

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…

Why Age 14+?

Character cauterizes a stomach gash with a car cigarette lighter. Guns and shoot

A use of "f--k." Also "s--t," "son of a bitch," "bastard," "goddamn," "ass," "d-

Main character takes prescription meds, obtained from what appears to be an ille

Sex-related dialogue.

Alexa is mentioned.

Any Positive Content?

Good forces bravely face impossible odds and fight against evil forces in the na

Opening narration explains that "Believer" infinites like to use their knowledge

Violence & Scariness

Character cauterizes a stomach gash with a car cigarette lighter. Guns and shooting; characters shot. Person injured by shard from wreckage. Russian roulette. Alien weapons. Fighting with sword; fingertips sliced off. Arrows shot through character's hands. Villain tortures a person, pouring thick honey down his throat. Many car chases, crashes, explosions. Fighting, punching. Bloody face. Operation; brain shown. Body sliced open.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Violence & Scariness in your kid's entertainment guide.

A use of "f--k." Also "s--t," "son of a bitch," "bastard," "goddamn," "ass," "d--khead," "damn," and "hell," plus exclamatory use of "Jesus."

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Language in your kid's entertainment guide.

Drinking, Drugs & Smoking

Main character takes prescription meds, obtained from what appears to be an illegal drug dealer.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Drinking, Drugs & Smoking in your kid's entertainment guide.

Sex, Romance & Nudity

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Sex, Romance & Nudity in your kid's entertainment guide.

Products & Purchases

Positive messages.

Good forces bravely face impossible odds and fight against evil forces in the name of humanity, but it's all so incomprehensible that it may be difficult to come away with any kind of inspiration.

Positive Role Models

Opening narration explains that "Believer" infinites like to use their knowledge for the betterment of humankind, but movie has almost zero examples of this actually occurring. Mostly characters cause all kinds of destruction. Tammy is strong and powerful but also comes across largely as a sidekick to the main male character. The only non-White major character is the villain, whose motivations are selfish.

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 chases and explosions. Other violence includes guns and shooting, fighting and punching, swordfighting (with severed fingers), a person injured by flying debris, some blood, arrows shot through someone's hand, torture (including pouring honey down a person's throat), and someone cauterizing a wound with a cigarette lighter. Language includes "s--t," "bitch," "ass," etc., plus one use of "f--k." The main character takes prescription meds obtained from a shady (illegal) drug dealer, and there's some mild sex-related dialogue. To stay in the loop on more movies like this, you can sign up for weekly Family Movie Night emails .

Where to Watch

Videos and photos.

Parent and Kid Reviews

• Parents say (7)
• Kids say (4)

Based on 7 parent reviews

It could be better

What's the story.

In INFINITE, Evan Michaels ( Mark Wahlberg ), who's been diagnosed with schizophrenia, has trouble finding a job. He gets the medications he needs by making beautiful swords and trading them to shady drug dealers. During one trade, something goes wrong, and Evan finds himself in custody, questioned by the mysterious Theodore Murray ( Chiwetel Ejiofor ). Tammy McCauley ( Sophie Cookson ) rescues Evan and reveals to him that he's not schizophrenic but is, in fact, an "infinite": a rare being that can remember past lives and retain the skills learned in them. Murray is also an infinite, but one who intends to destroy the entire human race to end his own reincarnation cycle. Evan holds a secret that could either doom humanity or save it -- but first he must remember who he is.

Is It Any Good?

Stuck with an incomprehensible, half-baked idea and carried out with stale writing, mechanical acting, and relentless chase scenes and explosions, this sci-fi action movie is an almost total failure. Directed by Antoine Fuqua , Infinite opens with expository narration about how some infinites (the "Believers") want to use their gifts for good, while others (the "Nihilists") want to destroy everything. About 20 minutes later, a character repeats this information, almost verbatim. But despite all that, the movie doesn't show how reincarnation works -- a character who seemingly died not long ago somehow becomes a 50-year-old Mark Wahlberg -- and only vaguely manages to explain why the villain wants to kill everyone.

If it's nearly impossible to figure out the point of it all, then it follows that the actors have no choice but to read their poorly written lines like robots and that Fuqua must fill the running time with as many meaningless stunts and car crashes as possible. Sometimes those things can be fun, but only if the movie itself has a sense of fun -- or a sense of its own dim-wittedness -- and Infinite has neither of those things. It plays as if everyone involved is just trying to get through it with as little effort as possible. The technical work (e.g., visual effects, sound, etc.) is all fine, but this dud suggests that Fuqua ought to stick to working with Denzel Washington ( Training Day , The Equalizer 1 and 2 , The Magnificent Seven , etc.).

Talk to Your Kids About ...

Families can talk about Infinite 's violence . How did it make you feel? Was it exciting? Shocking? What did the movie show or not show to achieve this effect?

If you were an "infinite," would you be a "Believer" or a "Nihilist"? What's the difference?

If you were an infinite, what skills would you like to perfect? How would you help humankind?

How are characters of color represented in the film? Did you notice any stereotypes ?

How are women represented? Are they strong? Are they shown only in relation to men, or do they have agency?

Movie Details

• On DVD or streaming : June 10, 2021
• Cast : Mark Wahlberg , Chiwetel Ejiofor , Sophie Cookson
• Director : Antoine Fuqua
• Inclusion Information : Black directors, Black actors, Female actors
• Studio : Paramount+
• Genre : Science Fiction
• Topics : Book Characters
• Run time : 106 minutes
• MPAA rating : PG-13
• MPAA explanation : sequences of strong violence, some bloody images, strong language and brief drug use
• Last updated : November 14, 2023

Did we miss something on diversity?

Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by suggesting a diversity update.

Suggest an Update

What to watch next.

Minority Report

Edge of Tomorrow

Sci-fi movies, thriller movies, related topics.

• Book Characters

Want suggestions based on your streaming services? Get personalized recommendations

Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.

Screen Rant

Your changes have been saved

Email is sent

Email has already been sent

Please verify your email address.

You’ve reached your account maximum for followed topics.

Your Rating

Antoine Fuqua

Reviews (0)

Have You Watched It?

Be the first to leave a community review!

Dylan O'Brien

Jóhannes haukur jóhannesson, sophie cookson, rupert friend, jason mantzoukas, seasons (4).

Season 1 (2016)

Season 2 (2018), season 3 (2022), season 4 (2026), users reviews (125).

We want to hear from you! Share your opinions in the review below and remember to keep it respectful.

Your comment has not been saved

Latest Stories

Every dylan o’brien movie ranked from worst to best, every antoine fuqua movie, ranked from worst to best (including the guilty), infinite ending, timeline & mythology explained (in detail), infinite 2 news & updates: everything we know, related titles.

eternal sunshine of the spotless mind

BABY REINDEER

By providing your information, you agree to our Terms of Use and our Privacy Policy . We use vendors that may also process your information to help provide our services. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA Enterprise and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

‘Infinite’ Review: Mark Wahlberg Stars in Ridiculously Bland Rip-off of ‘The Matrix’ and ‘Assassin’s Creed’

David ehrlich.

• Share on Facebook
• Share to Flipboard
• Share on LinkedIn
• Show more sharing options
• Submit to Reddit
• Post to Tumblr
• Print This Page
• Share on WhatsApp

Rumor has it that Antoine Fuqua and Mark Wahlberg were caught off guard — and understandably pissed — when Paramount announced that it was scuttling the planned theatrical release of the “Shooter” duo’s new action movie, and debuting it instead on Paramount+, an embryonic streaming platform that currently seems to have more episodes of “The Office” than it does paid subscribers. In hindsight, Fuqua and Wahlberg might come to see this bit of COVID-era corporate synergy as a blessing in disguise: At least they’ll have a good excuse when no one remembers “ Infinite ” in three months. Or six weeks. Or tomorrow.

That may sound harsh, but in some respects it may not be harsh enough. For one thing, it really is that easy for a would-be summer blockbuster to sink into the bottomless abyss of streaming content, never to be heard from again. For another, “Infinite” is derivative to the point that it can be hard to remember what you’re watching even while you’re watching it. A lukewarm soup of second-hand tropes that’s served in a portion too small to satisfy even the least discriminating thirst for slop, “Infinite” borrows so much from such obvious sources that it never bothers to establish an identity of its own.

Related Stories ‘Strange Darling’ Review: JT Mollner’s Deconstructed Date Night Will Make You Love the Movies Again ‘My First Film’ Review: Zia Anger’s Origin Story Establishes Her as an Electrifying New Voice in American Indie Film

Considering that Wahlberg plays a deathless amnesiac who doesn’t know that his soul has drifted from one (male) body to the next for thousands of years as part of a forever war between rival forces, it’s fitting that his latest star vehicle is blithely recycled from a litany of better movies that it doesn’t seem to remember. About that premise: Adapted from the self-published 2009 novel “The Reincarnationist Papers” by D. Eric Maikranz (who recently made good on a promise to give ten percent of his pay to any reader who managed to sell a Hollywood producer on the book’s potential), “Infinite” sets the stage with some introductory narration that’s delivered with all the alien grace of a politician eating pizza at a campaign event. We’re told that some people called “Infinites” are gifted with a perfect memory of their past lives; the Believers wish to use their accumulated knowledge for the betterment of humankind, while the Nihilists… don’t.

After millennia of trying, the latter faction has developed a weapon that can evaporate all life on Earth à la Thanos, and the former is determined to hide it from them. That explains why generic hero guy Heinrich Treadway (an under-used Dylan O’Brien, who spends literally ninety percent of his brief screen-time locked in a swordfight atop a giant crane) is racing through Mexico City with a mysterious briefcase when the film begins, and why his pursuers are so angry not to find “The Egg” near Heinrich’s body when they finally catch him.

From the wreckage of an inelegant and clumsily speed-ramped car chase, we cut to: Present-day Manhattan, where Heinrich has reincarnated as Evan Michaels (Wahlberg), an oblivious burnout who struggles to keep a job because of the strange voices in his head. The doctors have diagnosed him as schizophrenic, but that doesn’t explain why Evan’s brain came pre-installed with so much esoteric trivia, or why a random white dude knows how to forge the Hattori Hanzo-quality samurai swords that he gives to drug dealers in exchange for under-the-counter lithium.

Just when it seems like “Assassin’s Creed” and “The Matrix” are going to be locked in a custody battle for control over where this is all going, Chiwetel Ejiofor shows up in Morpheus cosplay to tip the balance with a silly, unpretentious performance that also screams: “Remember when I was in a marginally better version of this movie last summer?”

If you’ve ever doubted the slack-jawed nuance that Keanu Reeves brought to the role of Neo, or wondered how goofy that character would’ve been in the hands of someone who seems constitutionally incapable of playing any of the emotional states that exist between cockiness and confusion, “Infinite” has all the answers. The laws of physics simply don’t make it possible for someone to suspend their disbelief enough to accept that Mark Wahlberg is inhabited by an ancient soul that has fought on the right side of history since before the birth of Jesus.

The guy has a unique screen presence that operates on a level all its own, and this is one of those increasingly common projects where he tries to push back against it. The “say hi to your mother for me” energy is just off the charts in the scene where Ejiofor’s Bathurst vomits up several thousand years’ worth of exposition while Wahlberg just stands there scrunching his face. That vibe only grows stronger after Blonde Trinity (or whatever Sophie Cookson’s absolute mannequin of a character is called) rescues Evan, takes him back to Believers HQ, and proves that he’s the chosen one during a dojo sparring match where he’s pushed to “remember” that he knows kung fu.

Ian Shorr’s screenplay has a similarly difficult time finding a sense of flow amidst a war that’s been raging for eons; if “The Egg” McGuffin provides a clear sense of urgency, the race to find it is haphazard and illogical. Characters don’t track within the span of individual scenes, let alone over the course of a dozen lifetimes. Liz Carr, playing a Believer who’s comfortably at peace in the body of a woman with arthrogryposis multiplex congenita, is the exception that proves the rule among the film’s bland heroes, but the problem is even worse among its bad guys.

Ejiofor is all scenery-chewing and no substance as the Nihilist who’s willing to destroy the world so that he can leave it, but he’s also developed a technology — the “Dethroner gun” — that permanently freezes someone’s consciousness unto a hard drive, so… why not just use that on himself? Where did his crisis of faith begin, and why does he waterboard himself with gasoline for fun? Surely there are better ways of sampling a sense of death while also expressing a quick glimpse of movie villain mania? And if souls can reincarnate into bodies of different abilities, sizes, and races, why do we get the distinct impression that Heinrich and Bathurst have always been men?

Such questions pile up and compound each other as the Believers and Nihilists chase each other around the world like cats and dogs, as the fate of life itself hinges on a series of dull action sequences that are draped in the threat of being dethroned, but stubbornly refuse to make clever use of reincarnation in any other way. The possibilities would seem, well, infinite in an action movie where anyone on the street could secretly be a deathless pawn in an eternal chess match, but the staggering franchise potential of a high-octane “Cloud Atlas” is only hinted at in passing.

The imagination just isn’t there. Instead, we get Wahlberg and Ejiofor punching each other in a watered down version of the already dull plane fight from Tom Cruise’s “The Mummy,” by which point we’ve come to understand why the Nihilists are so extreme: “Infinite” only runs 106 minutes, but you’d do anything not to live through it again.

“Infinite” is now available to stream on Paramount.

Most Popular

You may also like.

Warhammer: Vermintide 2 - Versus - Official Open Beta Trailer | Into The Infinite 2024

Get a deep dive into Warhammer: Vermintide 2 - Versus, an upcoming new asymmetric PvP+E game mode coming to the action game from developer Fatshark. Learn about what you can expect from Warhammer: Vermintide 2 - Versus, a breakdown of the five heroes' talents, and much more in this brutal, action-packed overview trailer. The first Open Beta for Warhammer: Vermintide 2 - Versus is now live for all players on Steam.

Set against the backdrop of the rich Warhammer Fantasy Universe, this new asymmetric PvP+E game mode players will engage in thrilling 4v4 battles alternating between playing the iconic Ubersreik Five Heroes and the devious Skaven.

Did you enjoy this video?

In this video.

Get the Reddit app

The goal of /r/Movies is to provide an inclusive place for discussions and news about films with major releases. Submissions should be for the purpose of informing or initiating a discussion, not just to entertain readers. Read our extensive list of rules for more information on other types of posts like fan-art and self-promotion, or message the moderators if you have any questions.

Avengers: Endgame Review Megathread

Main Trailer

Rotten Tomatoes: 98%

Metacritic: 79/100

Written Reviews:

The Atlantic - David Sims

Of course, the story eventually shifts into epic mode, and the action has the usual bland competence of Marvel movies (something even outstanding entries like Black Panther struggled to dodge). But all the applause breaks and jaw-dropping developments only work because of the interpersonal bonds that have been strengthened over the years and that Endgame spends much of its time celebrating. After beginning with a mournful tone, the film turns goofier and livelier as the team’s wild gambit to save the world comes into focus; it’s to the Russos’ credit that they manage this transition with aplomb.

The Chicago Sun Times - Richard Roeper

They saved maybe the best for the end. I’m not prepared to instantly label “Avengers: Endgame” as the best of the 23 Marvel Universe movies to date, but it’s a serious contender for the crown and it’s the undisputed champion when it comes to emotional punch. If you don’t feel the tears welling up multiple times during this screen-filling, eye-popping, time-hopping, pulse-pounding, beautifully filmed superhero adventure for the ages, check for a pulse — because you might be dead. So much hype has swirled for so long in advance of this sure-to-crack-$2-billion-worldwide insta-hit, you might have been wondering if even the combined powers of Captain Marvel, Iron Man, Black Widow, the Hulk, Captain America et al., would be strong enough to hold up under such an avalanche of expectations. Not to worry. As the popular movie saying goes: They got this.

The Chicago Tribune - Michael Phillips (SPOILERS)

Their commercial instincts are fabulous, but the chief limitation with “Endgame” relates directly to how the Russo brothers approach the staging and composition of pure action. They’re just medium-good visual stylists, alternating fake-documentary handheld camerawork with generic glide-ins, back and forth, forth and back. They get the job done. But with so much of “Endgame” taken up with two- or three-character conversations, things occasionally become stilted because the camera doesn’t interact with the actors in any fluid or striking ways. (Also, the Alan Silvestri score pours it on, generically.)

Collider - Matt Goldberg

Thankfully, Endgame never feels like a victory parade but a story with its own stakes and dangers. This is the landing that the MCU had to stick, and for the most part, they nail it. The movie may not really be about anything in particular, and yet its overarching theme (broad as it may be)—that it matters how you choose to live your life—still resonates thanks to the choices these characters make. Never in the movie’s three hours did I feel like I was getting cheap thrills or fan service. I felt like I was getting the final chapter in a long story before the new story begins.

Empire - Helen O'hara

This is not just about getting the gang back together, but taking the time to share knowledge, form a plan and work as a team in order to do some actual avenging for once. It’s a long film, but it doesn’t feel it even with all these talky scenes. We get a steady stream returning characters – and not just heroes – that ensure your interest never has a chance to wane: the cast of this film is a indie director’s fever dream, an embarrassment of riches that is well invested at key moments.

The Guardian - Peter Bradshaw

Avengers: Endgame is of course entirely preposterous and, yes, the central plot device here does not, in itself, deliver the shock of the new. But the sheer enjoyment and fun that it delivers, the pure exotic spectacle, are irresistible, as is its insouciant way of combining the serious and the comic. Without the comedy, the drama would not be palatable. Yet without the earnest, almost childlike belief in the seriousness of what is at stake, the funny stuff would not work either. As an artificial creation, the Avengers have been triumphant, and as entertainment, they have been unconquerable.

The Hollywood Reporter - Todd McCarthy

Nonetheless, it's an amiable brand of melancholy that pervades the film, one that scarcely gets in the way of the enthusiasm and excitement that Marvel adventures almost always deliver in some measure or another. The feeling of finality and potential farewell is sometimes suggested quietly just in the way certain moments are lingered over, conveying the fatalistic sense that this might well be the last time around the block for some of these characters...Although there's loads of action and confrontations, what's distinctive here in contrast to most of the earlier Marvel films are the moments of doubt, regret and uncertainty, along with the desire of some characters to move on. Granted, this is almost always undercut, and/or cut short, by some emergency that pulls them right back in, and decisive action always remains paramount.

IGN - Laura Prudom

There’s little that can be said about the film without at least alluding to its twists, but what I can say, with certainty, is that Avengers: Endgame is a marvel, both in terms of narrative scale and sheer logistical ambition. In Infinity War, Thanos spoke of the need for balance, and Endgame achieves that goal with surprising confidence. In the deft hands of screenwriters Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely, and directors Joe and Anthony Russo, the film walks a tightrope between high drama and cathartic comedy, offering some of the darkest and most emotionally honest scenes in the history of the MCU, alongside some of the most ridiculous and sublime. There are fewer laugh-out-loud moments here than in Infinity War, but it’s certainly lighter and oftentimes more joyous than you might expect from a story that begins with the fallout from Thanos’ snap.

Indiewire - Eric Kohn (SPOILERS)

It’s an exhausting collage that bears no resemblance to any kind of franchise filmmaking other than its own overpopulated ensemble. (The “Star Wars” expanded universe may have more characters, but never stuffed into a single scene.) More than that, this speedy arrangement of catchy exchanges and brawls feels like it was crafted with internet memes in mind. As “Endgame” sputters to the finish line, it leaves the impression of witnessing a Marvel Movie to three hours — and 58 seconds, but trust me, they’re disposable — of unbridled fan service.

The Los Angeles Times - Justin Chang

To push the contradictions still further: Despite its epic ambitions and tumescent running time, “Endgame” often feels shorter, looser and lighter on its feet than some of its Marvel brethren. That’s true at least until a cataclysmic showdown, an ensemble mash-up of inevitably staggering proportions that, like too many of the action sequences in these movies, devolves into a murky, indecipherable blur.

The New York Times - A.O. Scott

The personal and political bad blood between those two, most acute in “Captain America: Civil War,” continues to simmer, at least at first. But the mood over all is tender and comradely, touched by acute grief and the more subtle melancholy of what everyone seems to understand is the Last Big Adventure. About that adventure, I won’t say much, though it strikes me that the shape of the plot is less vulnerable to spoilage than the little winks and local surprises along the way. Those are the rewards for sitting through all those movies patiently waiting for the post-credit stingers, collecting Easter eggs while your friends were texting or your dad was napping and generally doing the unpaid labor of fandom for all these years. Was it worth it? In the aggregate, I have my doubts, but the chuckles and awws you’ll hear around you in the theater at certain moments attest to the happy sense of participation that lies at the heart of the modern fan experience. At its best — and “Endgame” is in some ways as good as it gets — the “Avengers” cosmos has been an expansive and inclusive place.

ScreenCrush - Matt Singer

There are nits to pick about some of the ins and outs of the Avengers’ plan, and I doubt I will be the only one who found it odd that this movie openly mocks a film it then proceeds to steal from for the next hour or so. Still, Avengers: Endgame largely delivers exactly what its audience wants: Huge setpieces, massive stakes, inspirational speeches, the Avengers being ride-or-die besties, and emotional moments that may or may not have made me cry. (Okay, fine, made. I cried at least two times. [Okay, fine! More than two times. I’m not made of stone like the Thing!]) No matter what comes next from Marvel Studios, this Avengers is a gargantuan love letter to the equally enormous mythology that Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko and the rest of their collaborators built — and to the generations of readers and moviegoers who truly believe in it.

Uproxx - Mike Ryan

Avengers: Endgame is, without a doubt, the most confusing and convoluted of any of the Marvel Cinematic Universe films, yet it’s also unbelievably satisfying – and, yes, does act as an endpoint for many major character arcs. If you want to jump off the MCU train, well, Endgame provides a station for you to do that.

Variety - Peter Debruge (SPOILERS)

If “Infinity War” was billed as a must-see event for all moviegoers, whether or not they’d attended a single Marvel movie prior, then “Endgame” is the ultimate fan-service follow-up, so densely packed with pay-offs to relationships established in the previous films that it all but demands that audiences put in the homework of watching (or re-watching) a dozen earlier movies to appreciate the sense of closure it offers the series’ most popular characters.To the extent that it has all been leading up to this, no franchise in Hollywood history can rival what the Disney-Marvel alliance has wrought

Vox - Alex Abad-Santos

So it’s special that Marvel manages to achieve the seemingly impossible in Endgame: creating a movie steeped in years of lore that still manages to recapture the excitement of watching your very first Marvel experience. Endgame is a celebration of, and goodbye to, the superheroes that many of us have grown a decade older with. It’s an earnest reminder of these heroes’ ability to reflect our own feelings about what they stand for and the emotions we share with them.

The Wrap - Alonso Duralde

But if you enjoyed “Infinity War” because you are invested enough in these characters — and to their credit, these really are characters and not just pieces on a gameboard — to have enjoyed the interplay between people we never thought we’d see together, you’ll find that same delight here in reunions and partings, betrayals and sacrifices. There’s more than a whiff of World War II cinema here, with brave soldiers (of both genders) giving of themselves for the greater good alongside the sweethearts who will mourn them.

By continuing, you agree to our User Agreement and acknowledge that you understand the Privacy Policy .

Enter the 6-digit code from your authenticator app

You’ve set up two-factor authentication for this account.

Enter a 6-digit backup code

Create your username and password.

Reddit is anonymous, so your username is what you’ll go by here. Choose wisely—because once you get a name, you can’t change it.

Reset your password

Enter your email address or username and we’ll send you a link to reset your password

Check your inbox

An email with a link to reset your password was sent to the email address associated with your account

Choose a Reddit account to continue