The best streaming services move in strange circles. Mark Wahlberg's 2021 sci-fi action-thriller, Infinite, was first distributed by Paramount+, has since appeared on Amazon Prime, and now it's finally come to Netflix.
With Paramount+ being one of the smaller streamers out there – but one that's well worth it in my view, seeing as I did the unthinkable and subscribed – it makes sense to get movies in front of wider audiences. And Netflix is the biggest.
I'd never heard of Infinite before now. Such is the way that various 2020-2021 releases ended up lost in the sands of time (or during that naughty viral episode that we don't like to talk about any more). Yet here it is – and rapidly climbing the Netflix charts, destined for number 1 perhaps?
Infinite trailer
What's Infinite about?
Marky Mark Wahlberg plays Evan McCauley, who keeps having flashbacks to places he's seemingly never visited. But it's more than that: he's got skills he's never knowingly acquired, too.
Thinking he's "insane", the bottle is his best friend to try and keep his apparently overactive mind in check. But, as it turns out when a group of 'Infinites' seek him out, he's actually part of something much bigger.
These flashbacks are actually memories from multiple past lives. Real places, real skills, real life. Among those memories, McCauley holds some secrets, too. Secrets so valuable, in fact, it turns out he's a key part in being able to save humanity.
Is Infinite a well-rated movie?
Which all sounds like a lot of fun, doesn't it? Infinite holds a significant cast, too, with Wahlberg joined by Chiwetel Ejiofor, Sophie Cookson, Toby Jone, Jason Mantzoukas and more.
But the movie hasn't flown on high with critics or, by and large, viewers. It holds a mere 17% score on Rotten Tomatoes, with audience figures doubling that – but still only landing at 34%.
Rather than calling it 'insane', as per the premise, one critic calls it "inane", while others litter reviews with negatives: "overcluttered", "underwhelming", "predictable", and you get the idea.
However, with director Antoine Fuqua at the helm, who also directed Denzel Washington's latest, Equalizer 3, that might give you a taste of the inventive action to expect – and that, for me, is big enough a lure to plod through the predictable parts.
Plus, who doesn't love Wahlberg? And reincarnation! So Infinite isn't going to be high-brow nor for everyone, but it's got all the makings of a fun, action-packed weekend movie. The kind of 'silly science' sci-fi that can be a mindless blast.
