Mark Wahlberg’s reincarnation war movie Infinite should have been a TV series to keep it from getting into clichéd action territory.
WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Infinite, which is now airing on Paramount +.
Paramount + Infinite focuses on reincarnated soldiers embroiled in an eternal battle as the Believers want to use eons of knowledge to help humanity progress, while the nihilists aim to end existence. It culminates in Evan / Treadway (Mark Wahlberg) trying to stop the sinister Bathurst (Chiwetel Ejiofor). However, when the first one looks for an apocalyptic bomb, it becomes quite clear Infinite It should have been a TV series instead.
The main reason for a long series is that there just isn’t much to connect with in terms of the enemy dispute or who they are. The audience discovers halfway through that they are old friends who spent centuries together, but eventually fell out when Bathurst became bitter with humanity. This feels cliché but I had Infinite I really got information about their story, not just together but as individuals, it would resonate more.
A series could have episodes dedicated to Treadway’s past as a samurai, an African warrior, and someone who fought in the jungle. This informs viewers why you are making epic swords today, allowing you to organically showcase the experience of those cultures, be it culinary, linguistic, or fighting style. The flashbacks of these lives would have also enhanced his arc of schizophrenia by showing Treadway like many people, making it clear why he needed mental help. Not to mention, seeing him harness energy and nature beforehand would have made his wind-bending antics in the end less ridiculous.
A show could also develop the backstories of the other Believers, illustrating how Abel and Nora developed their Hawkman-Hawkwoman dynamic, finding their way to each other in each lifetime. Add more nuance like the gun maker in Kovic, and the party-loving Artisan seemed to want to get away from the war. This connection would make viewers feel the members die, considering in the movie, where there is little character development, it just feels inconsequential.
A Infinite The series would have also helped us understand Bathurst more, especially why it was the rare event of receiving all the memories in the womb, which broke her mind. As such, he could expand the rift between himself and Treadway, how he hired Shin to be his bodyguard, and what happened to the love between him and Garrick that saw her stay with the Believers. All of this would put Dylan O’Brien’s heist with Treadway in context, as his camp steals the Bathurst bomb at the beginning of the film.
This also adds much more diversity to the story, allowing souls to possibly inhibit different genders in various lifetimes while giving characters of color time to shine through with their respective eras. With a director like Antoine Fuqua, it is likely that something more patient would have created a better story and avoided mistakes seen in similar media, such as The old guard. After all, these movies feel like typical action movies, using reincarnation and immortality as a hook. But through a television series, Infinite could offer the right motivations for your characters.
Directed by Antoine Fuqua, Infinite stars Mark Wahlberg, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Sophie Cookson, Rupert Friend, Jóhannes Haukur Jóhannesson, Jason Mantzoukas, Toby Jones, Dylan O’Brien and Liz Carr. It is now available to stream on Paramount +.
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Reference-www.cbr.com
