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Infinite (film)

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This article is about the 2021 film. For other uses, see Infinite (disambiguation).

Infinite is a 2021 American science fiction action film directed by Antoine Fuqua, from a screenplay written by Ian Shorr based on a story by Todd Stein (itself adapted from D. Eric Maikranz's 2009 novel The Reincarnationist Papers).[1] The film stars Mark Wahlberg, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Sophie Cookson, Jason Mantzoukas, Rupert Friend, Toby Jones and Dylan O'Brien.[2]

Infinite
Official release poster
Directed byAntoine Fuqua
Screenplay byIan Shorr
Screen story byTodd Stein
Based onThe Reincarnationist Papers
by D. Eric Maikranz
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyMauro Fiore
Edited byConrad Buff
Music byHarry Gregson-Williams
Production
companies
Distributed byParamount+
Release date
  • June 10, 2021 (2021-06-10)
Running time
106 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

The film was digitally released on Paramount+ on June 10, 2021, following delays from its original August 2020 theatrical release due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[3][4][5] It received negative reviews from critics who criticized the performances and screenplay, with some comparing it unfavorably with other films like The Matrix. The film received three nominations at the Golden Raspberry Awards, including Worst Picture.

Plot

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In 1985 Mexico City, Heinrich Treadway tries to escape the authorities and a man named Bathurst. Treadway and his associates, Abel and Leona, speak about "the Egg", which Treadway stole from Bathurst. Treadway tells Abel that if he does not survive, the latter must remember to "look inside". He drives off a bridge, jumping from his car in mid-air and onto a crane 150 feet away. However, Treadway watches helplessly as Bathurst arrives and kills Abel and Leona.

In 2020 New York City, Evan McCauley suffers from schizophrenia. Because of past institutionalization and violent behavior, he cannot get a job. He forges a katana for a local gangster, even though he was never trained as a bladesmith. After the deal goes south, Evan makes his escape but is later arrested. A man at the police station introduces himself as Bathurst, claiming they have known each other for centuries.

Nora Brightman bursts into the room, and helps Evan escape. She explains that a group of 500 individuals, known as the Infinites, can remember all their past lives, divided between two groups: the Believers, including Nora, who want to make the world better, and the Nihilists, including Bathurst, who want to end the world. The Nihilists planned to prevent Infinites from being reborn by containing their souls in computer chips, and had developed an egg-shaped weapon capable of destroying all life on Earth, although Evan (Treadway's reincarnation) had stolen and hidden the egg during his past life shortly before Bathurst killed him.

Nora (Leona's reincarnation) explains that most Infinites remember their past lives around puberty, which is why Evan was diagnosed schizophrenic. Evan struggles to regain Treadway's memories as a result of trauma endured from accidents earlier in life. However, another Infinite, named the Artisan, has a machine that restores Evan's memories.

Bathurst overhears this, locates Evan's old body, and finds the egg hidden inside. Before he is able to detonate it, the Believers recover the egg, contain Bathurst's soul in a chip, and free the souls of all their comrades, including Abel's, although Evan and Nora die in the process.

Years later, Nora and Abel are reborn and they meet at the Beginning. Evan is reborn in Jakarta, Indonesia. Artisan, now older, visits him and offers a katana to the younger Evan, who regains his memories upon recognizing him.

Cast

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Production

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Development

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D. Eric Maikranz self-published The Reincarnationist Papers in 2009. Due to his difficulties to find a literary agent to have his book adapted into a film, he announced a campaign in the first edition of the book, offering to his readers a commission to someone who successfully pitched a film adaptation of his book to a Hollywood producer. By eighteen months, he received an email from Rafi Crohn, a junior executive at a Hollywood production company who found his book in a Nepalese hostel. (Maikranz paid the commission to Crohn in December 2019.)[6] Crohn then commissioned Ian Shorr and Todd Stein to write an adaptation.[clarification needed] The screenplay was voted onto the Black List in 2017.[7]

In March 2017, Deadline reported that Paramount Pictures had bought the rights to Shorr and Stein's adaptation, which was described as Wanted meets The Matrix, with Mark Vahradian and Lorenzo di Bonaventura along with John Zaozirny and Crohn set to produce the film. The same Deadline article mistakenly called Shorr and Stein's screenplay as a spec script and Maikranz's book as "unpublished".[8] By November 2018, Paramount began talks with Antoine Fuqua to direct the film.[9] It was announced in February 2019 that Chris Evans had entered negotiations to star in the film, with Fuqua officially confirmed as director.[10] That same month, John Lee Hancock was reported to have provided rewrites on Shorr's script.[11] In June, Evans dropped out of the project due to scheduling conflicts with Defending Jacob, with Mark Wahlberg entering negotiations to replace him.[12][13] Wahlberg was confirmed in August, with Sophie Cookson and Dylan O'Brien added to the cast.[14][15] In September, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Jóhannes Haukur Jóhannesson, Rupert Friend and Jason Mantzoukas were cast.[16][17][18] Tom Hughes was cast in October.[19]

Production

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Filming began in September 2019. Scenes were shot in central Cardiff,[20] Farnborough Airport[21] and an indoor ski facility, The Snow Centre, during a week long shutdown to the public.[22][23] Filming was also done at ex-Rothschild stately home Mentmore Towers in Buckinghamshire, in London, Mexico City, Guanajuato, Nepal, New York City, Scotland, Cambodia and the Alps.[24]

Music

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Harry Gregson-Williams, who worked with director Antoine Fuqua on his previous films, composed the film score. Paramount Music & La-La Land Records has released the soundtrack.[citation needed]

Track listing

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No.TitleLength
1."The End of All Things"1:49
2."The Blacksmith"1:24
3."The Last Life"2:38
4."Interrogation"3:14
5."Resurrection"1:51
6."The Samurai Sword"2:38
7."Hold Tight"4:40
8."10,000 Hours"3:12
9."It's Not My Memories"4:07
10."Enemy Territory"1:47
11."Never Enough"2:41
12."The Hub"2:40
13."Roll the Plane"3:14
14."Cain and Abel"4:41
15."Meet at the Beginning"3:40
Total length:44:16

[25]

Release

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Infinite was originally scheduled for a theatrical release on August 7, 2020,[26] but was delayed to May 28, 2021, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[27] It was delayed again to September 24, 2021, when A Quiet Place Part II was moved to the May slot.[28] On May 6, 2021, Paramount cancelled Infinite's theatrical release, and instead digitally released it via Paramount+ on June 10, 2021.[29] In countries where Paramount+ isn't available as a streaming service, the film was released through ViacomCBS-owned SVOD services Paramount Play and Paramount+ on August 23, 2021.[30] The film was released on Blu-ray and DVD on May 17, 2022, by Paramount Home Entertainment.

Reception

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Critical response

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On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 17% of 83 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 4.1/10/10. The website's consensus reads: "An initially intriguing sci-fi thriller that quickly veers into incoherence, Infinite is as inane as it is inconsequential."[31] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 28 out of 100, based on 27 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable" reviews.[32]

Ty Burr of The Boston Globe gave the film 1.5/4 stars and wrote: "Heading straight to streaming platform Paramount+ without the embarrassment of appearing in theaters first, the movie is both blissfully incoherent and weirdly generic, as if it had been assembled from the spare parts of other movies and glued together with stuntwork."[33] From The Hollywood Reporter, David Rooney said: "Infinite is a soulless grind. Juiced up with a succession of CG-enhanced accelerated chases and fight action interspersed with numbing bursts of high-concept geek speak, Antoine Fuqua's sci-fi thriller isn't helped by a lead performance from Mark Wahlberg at his most inexpressive."[34]

In his review for Variety, Peter Debruge called the film "Matrix-meets-The Old Guard wannabe" and wrote: "The more you start to nitpick this movie, the more innumerable its plot holes appear, until the whole thing collapses in on itself."[35] Justin Chang of the Los Angeles Times said: "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[36] revelations of the Jason Bourne movies. Maybe watch one of those tonight instead."[37] Robert Daniels of RogerEbert.com gave the film 0.5/4 stars, saying that "rather than crafting a high-concept science-fiction marvel, Fuqua's Infinite relies on shoddy VFX and ropey world-building for the worst film of his career."[38]

The New York Times listed the film as one of the "Worst Films of 2021".

Accolades

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Year Award Category Recipient(s) Result Ref.
2022
 Golden Raspberry Awards Worst Picture Lorenzo di Bonaventura, Mark Huffam, Stephen Levinson,
Mark Vahradian, Mark Wahlberg and John Zaozirny 		Nominated [39]
Worst Actor Mark Wahlberg Nominated
Worst Supporting Actress Sophie Cookson Nominated

References

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  1. ^ "Infinite – WGA Directory". WGAEast. March 31, 2020. Archived from the original on April 24, 2021. Retrieved April 23, 2021.
  2. ^ "INFINITE (2021) Movie Trailer 2: Mark Wahlberg & Chiwetel Ejiofor Have Been Reincarnated and Enemies for Centuries". film-book.com. 7 June 2021. Archived from the original on 2021-06-10. Retrieved 2021-06-10.
  3. ^ Szalai, Georg (2021-07-01). "Paramount+ Takes 'Infinite' for International Markets". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2021-07-29.
  4. ^ Tartaglione, Nancy (2021-07-01). "'Infinite': Mark Wahlberg Sci-Fi Thriller To Debut On Paramount+ In Streamer's Overseas Markets". Deadline. Retrieved 2021-07-29.
  5. ^ "Keep it Reel: 'INFINITE'". 2021-07-16. Retrieved 2021-07-29.
  6. ^ Maikranz, D. Eric (April 6, 2021). "Want To See Your Book Become A Movie? It'll Take Perseverance And Patience". BookBaby. Archived from the original on March 29, 2024. Retrieved March 29, 2024.
  7. ^ Hipes, Patrick (December 11, 2017). "The Black List 2017 Screenplays: Post-WWII Tale 'Ruin' Is No. 1 – Full Rankings". Deadline Hollywood. Penske Media Corporation. Archived from the original on December 13, 2017. Retrieved April 27, 2022.
  8. ^ Fleming, Mike Jr. (March 15, 2017). "Paramount Buys Ian Shorr Sci-Fi Spec Infinite". Deadline. Archived from the original on April 24, 2021. Retrieved April 23, 2021.
  9. ^ Kit, Borys (November 1, 2018). "Antoine Fuqua in Talks to Direct Immortal Thriller Infinite (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on April 24, 2021. Retrieved April 23, 2021.
  10. ^ McNary, Dave (February 12, 2019). "Chris Evans in Talks to Star in Antoine Fuqua's Past-Lives Drama 'Infinite'". Variety. Archived from the original on September 29, 2019. Retrieved September 21, 2019.
  11. ^ Fleming, Mike Jr. (February 12, 2019). "Paramount Taps Chris Evans, Antoine Fuqua For Tentpole Infinite". Deadline. Archived from the original on April 24, 2021. Retrieved April 23, 2021.
  12. ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony (June 28, 2019). "Mark Wahlberg In Talks To Replace Chris Evans In Paramount's 'Infinite'". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on June 30, 2019. Retrieved September 21, 2019.
  13. ^ Kit, Borys (June 28, 2019). "Mark Wahlberg in Talks to Replace Chris Evans in Antoine Fuqua Thriller Infinite". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on June 28, 2019. Retrieved April 23, 2021.
  14. ^ Kroll, Justin (August 14, 2019). "'Kingsman' Actress Sophie Cookson to Star in 'Infinite' With Mark Wahlberg (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Archived from the original on September 16, 2019. Retrieved September 21, 2019.
  15. ^ Kroll, Justin (August 29, 2019). "Dylan O'Brien to Star Opposite Mark Wahlberg in 'Infinite' (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Archived from the original on September 23, 2019. Retrieved September 21, 2019.
  16. ^ Kit, Borys (September 10, 2019). "Chiwetel Ejiofor to Play Villain in Mark Wahlberg Action Thriller 'Infinite' (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on September 11, 2019. Retrieved September 21, 2019.
  17. ^ N'Duka, Amanda (September 10, 2019). "Jóhannes Haukur Jóhannesson Cast In Paramount's 'Infinite'; Jasper Polish Joins 'Force of Nature'". Deadline. Archived from the original on September 16, 2019. Retrieved September 21, 2019.
  18. ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony (September 13, 2019). "Paramount Action Pic 'Infinite' Adds Jason Mantzoukas & Rupert Friend". Deadline. Archived from the original on September 21, 2019. Retrieved September 21, 2019.
  19. ^ "Tom Hughes Cast In 'Infinite'; Jasmin Savoy Brown To Star In 'Conductor'; Isabel Arraiza Joins 'The Little Things'". 28 October 2019. Archived from the original on 2019-12-12. Retrieved 2019-10-28.
  20. ^ "Mark Wahlberg movie Infinite closes Cardiff road for stunt". BBC News. 21 October 2019. Archived from the original on 2019-10-28. Retrieved 2019-10-28.
  21. ^ Phillips, Jamie (September 18, 2019). "Is filming at Farnborough Airport for new Mark Wahlberg film Infinite?". Archived from the original on September 20, 2019. Retrieved September 21, 2019.
  22. ^ "The Snow Centre". facebook.com. Retrieved 2019-11-13.
  23. ^ "The Snow Centre". facebook.com. Archived from the original on 2021-06-19. Retrieved 2019-11-13.
  24. ^ Fleming, Mike Jr. (April 14, 2020). "Paramount Moving Mark Wahlberg-Starrer 'Infinite' To Memorial Day Weekend 2021; Antoine Fuqua & Lorenzo Di Bonaventura Discuss Challenge Of Cutting A Movie In Surreal Moment". Deadline. Archived from the original on April 25, 2020. Retrieved April 14, 2020.
  25. ^ "Infinite (Music from the Motion Picture)". Soundtrack.net.
  26. ^ McNary, Dave (May 8, 2019). "Chris Evans' 'Infinite' Gets 2020 Summer Release Date". Variety. Archived from the original on September 29, 2019. Retrieved September 21, 2019.
  27. ^ Fleming, Mike Jr. (April 14, 2020). "Paramount Moving Mark Wahlberg-Starrer 'Infinite' To Memorial Day Weekend 2021; Antoine Fuqua & Lorenzo Di Bonaventura Discuss Challenge Of Cutting A Movie In Surreal Moment". Deadline. Archived from the original on April 25, 2020. Retrieved April 14, 2020.
  28. ^ Haring, Bruce (2021-03-04). "'A Quiet Place Part II' Moves Yet Again, Now Set For 2021 Memorial Day Weekend". Deadline. Archived from the original on 2021-03-05. Retrieved 2021-03-04.
  29. ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony (May 6, 2021). "Mark Wahlberg & Antoine Fuqua Sci-Fi Thriller 'Infinite' Skips Theaters & Heads To Paramount+". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on May 6, 2021. Retrieved May 6, 2021.
  30. ^ "Триллер "Бесконечность" с Марком Уолбергом выйдет в России сразу на Paramount+ и Paramount Play". Film.ru (in Russian). August 19, 2021.
  31. ^ "Infinite (2021)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved March 14, 2024.  
  32. ^ "Infinite Reviews". Metacritic. Fandom, Inc. Retrieved July 12, 2021.
  33. ^ Burr, Ty (June 9, 2021). "To 'Infinite' (but not beyond): Mark Wahlberg's new movie is on Paramount+". The Boston Globe. Archived from the original on June 10, 2021. Retrieved June 10, 2021.
  34. ^ Rooney, David (June 10, 2021). "Mark Wahlberg in Antoine Fuqua's 'Infinite': Film Review". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on June 10, 2021. Retrieved June 10, 2021.
  35. ^ Debruge, Peter (June 10, 2021). "'Infinite' Review: Mark Wahlberg Reincarnation Thriller Will Leave You With Déjà Vu Screen". Variety. Archived from the original on June 10, 2021. Retrieved June 10, 2021.
  36. ^ Movie Media. "Infinite is a hitting rock". Movie Media. Archived from the original on 2022-06-03. Retrieved 2022-06-02.
  37. ^ Burr, Ty (June 9, 2021). "To 'Infinite' (but not beyond): Mark Wahlberg's new movie is on Paramount+". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on June 10, 2021. Retrieved June 10, 2021.
  38. ^ Daniels, Robert (June 10, 2021). "Infinite review". RogerEbert.com. Archived from the original on June 10, 2021. Retrieved June 10, 2021.
  39. ^ Lewis, Hilary (February 7, 2022). "Razzies: Filmed Version of 'Diana' Stage Musical Tops 2022 Nominees". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved February 7, 2022.
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