Infinite - 4K Blu-ray Review

[Michael Scott]

Infinite



Movie:
4K Video:
Video:
Audio:
Extras:
Final Score:



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Movie
I remember when Infinite came out early 2021. The trailer looked interesting, but reviews were HORRIBLE for the thing, so I ended up doing the typical streaming thing, and just sticking it on my queue, never to be watched again. That is until Paramount announced the 4K and Blu-ray release and I glanced at the credits. Huh, this was directed by Antoine Fuqua, who just so happens to be one of my favorite dumb action directors. The Replacement Killers is probably my favorite Chow Yun Fat action flick outside of Killers, and The Equalizer was soooooo much better than it ever had a right to be. Even his bad movies like The Equalizer 2 or Southpaw are at least interesting enough to watch, so I decided that I might as well check it out and review it for your guys.

Well, this is a bit of a strange situation for me. While I thought that The Equalizer 2 wasn’t a bad film, it certainly wasn’t what I would consider a worthy sequel to the 2014 Denzel hit. I wasn’t exactly expecting Infinite to be some smash hit, but I didn’t foresee that it would actually be worse than The Equalizer 2. Something which actually depresses me, as I really DO love Antoine’s action films. No matter how dumb it is, the movie is at least rather entertaining (think The Magnificent Seven remake). Infinite sadly feels like a movie that had a ton of potential with the ideas that Antoine and the writers had at their disposal, but botched it in the execution.

The plot is actually stupidly simple, blending elements of The Matrix and textural tones of James McAvoy’s Wanted ludicrousness. Mark Wahlberg is Evan McCauley, a man who has struggled with what he thought was Schizophrenia his entire life. He’s had memories he’s never experienced, skills he never learned, and the memories that DO bleed through into his consciousness tear him apart. This all changes when a mysterious man named Bathurst (Chiwetel Ejiofor) claims to have known him in his past lifes. After triggering the latent memories to a certain extent, Evan is rescued by the beautiful Nora (Sophie Cookson) who vomits exposition over who she, Bathurst, and Evan really is.

It seems that reincarnation is real, and there are a select few humans who can actually REMEMBER their past lives and experiences, effectively becoming immortal in different bodies. They are called the Infinite (the infinity symbol is literally plastered all over the film like an Xbox logo), with the good guys believing that they are there to guide humanity (dubbing themselves “The Believers”), with a secondary opposing group who have dubbed themselves the Nihilists. The Nihilists are led by an ex Believer named Bathurst, who believes that this immortality is a curse, and is looking for a way to end all of humanity. Evan (who was known as Treadway in his former lives) has the location of a super secret doomsday weapon created by Bathurst locked away in his mind. A weapon that if Bathurst finds will destroy ALLLLL life on earth and end his suffering, but also end everyone else. Now it’s a race against time for Evan to regain his past memories and help the Believers fight of Bathurst’s unrelenting advances.

Yes, Infinite is this simple. The Believers want to save humanity, Bathurst and the Nihilists (kind of on the nose you might say) wants to destroy it. The film literally jumps forward without any rhyme or reason, filling in the near 1 hour and 46 minute runtime with nonstop action, and rather weak action choreography (which is rare for Fuqua). The dialog is hamfisted and pretty cringey, especially when it comes to the exposition vomiting. I have no idea how Fuqua did it, but he actually made a barely passable action movie for once, something I didn’t really think he had in him. Usually he’s wildly entertaining to at least good, but Infinite feels like the crazy weapons and silly goofiness of Wanted, just without the fun and action. Marky Mark has horrible chemistry with Sophie Cookson, and about the only decent person in the film is Chiwetel Ejiofor, who is just eating up the scenery with the other the top Bathurst.




Rating:

Rated PG-13 for sequences of strong violence, some bloody images, strong language and brief drug use




4K Video: Video:

Luckily for the film, Infinite was digitally shot and finished with a 4K master, so it looks glorious in 4K UHD (sadly Paramount continues to not include the Blu-ray as well, so I can’t compare to the 1080p disc). Bright, shiny, full of dark greens and blues with shiny primaries, Infinite really thrives on 4K. The details are superb, ranging from the weapons Marky Mark carries, to the lines starting to crease the aging actor’s face. Blacks are deep and inky with no signs of crush or other major issues, and I didn’t see any artifacting as well. The CGI DOES look a little bit cheap, and the higher the resolution, the easier it is to see, which is the one detriment to the encode. It just feels like it was made on the cheap to imitate a proper blockbuster, and the CGI belies that fact.



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Audio:

The Singular Dolby Atmos track is a kicker as well, with your typical big, brash and bold action sweeps that Antoine Fuqua loves to revel in. Bass is tight and powerful during battles, and the surrounds are intensely immersive and energetic. That end battle on the air craft between Bathurst and Treadway is just jaw dropping. You can hear the whistling of the escaping air, the clashing of blades, and the sonic pressure that makes you feel like cabin pressure is pushing you into your seat. Technically well done with perfect vocals, it’s hard to have anything negative to say about the audio mix.













Extras:

• They Call Themselves Infinites—Join the cast and crew for a deep dive into the concept of reincarnation, character development, creative direction, and set design.
• The Kinetic Action of Infinite—Get a behind-the-scenes look at the vehicles, stunt drivers, and technology used to achieve the exhilarating action scenes in the film.
• Anatomy of a Scene – Police Station & Forest—An in-depth look with the cast and crew at the creation of two of the film's major scenes that helped shape the story and pave the way for the climactic ending.
• Infinite Time—Explore the creation of the film's ground-breaking effects, including a breakdown of the on-set fight action and the stunning visual effects work employed in post-production.

Final Score: ​

I wanted to at least like Infinite, and it many ways I did. The movie is quite passable, but sadly that’s where the good ends. It’s just “passable”, and pretty much coasts throughout the entire run time surviving on CGI, explosions, and vague ideas of what “might have been” if they had actually a decent script. Yeah, the 4K UHD is absolutely stunning with great video and audio, with a moderate amount of extras, but Infinite is an infinitely forgettable movie. Low rental really.


Technical Specifications:

Starring: Mark Wahlberg, Chiwetel Eijofor, Sophie Cookson, Dylan O'Brien, Jason Mantzoukas, Rupert Friend, Toby Jones
Directed by: Antoine Fuqua
Written by: Ian Shorr, Todd Stein, D. Eric Maikranz (based on the book)
Aspect Ratio: 2.39:1 HEVC
Audio: English: Dolby Atmos (Dolby TrueHD 7.1 Core),
Subtitles: English SDH, French, Spanish
Studio: Paramount
Rated: R
Runtime: 106 minutes
Blu-ray Release Date: May 17th, 2022

Recommendation: Low Rental

 

[Epoxy1]

Totally agree...the premise was promising, the screen play was horrendous. I give credit to the director for a well-shot film, but beyond that, there's nothing to really like about the movie. (Then again, there is some eye candy in there )

 

[Michael Scott]

Totally agree...the premise was promising, the screen play was horrendous. I give credit to the director for a well-shot film, but beyond that, there's nothing to really like about the movie. (Then again, there is some eye candy in there )

and what makes it sadder is it's Antoine Fuqua. The man gave us Training Day, The Equalizer, Tears of the Sun and The Replacement Killers ......

I'm really starting to wear thin with these "streaming exclusive" movies. They just can't seem to bring the magic of theatrical releases

 

[Epoxy1]

and what makes it sadder is it's Antoine Fuqua. The man gave us Training Day, The Equalizer, Tears of the Sun and The Replacement Killers ......

I'm really starting to wear thin with these "streaming exclusive" movies. They just can't seem to bring the magic of theatrical releases

The pandemic really harmed theatrical movies the most. It's as if the creative spirit was put on hold. Let's hope the next couple of years has some great movies to enjoy. The reviews of Maverick are through the roof and I look forward to seeing that soon.

 

[Todd Anderson]

Haven't seen this... and, if I'm being honest, I'll never see it. But I agree with both of you on the state of streaming exclusives. We've had a couple of hits, but I'm ready for Hollywood to return to Hollywood!