WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Infinite, now streaming on Paramount+.
Paramount+'s 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 with Evan/Treadway (Mark Wahlberg) trying to stop the sinister Bathurst (Chiwetel Ejiofor). However, as the former seeks out an apocalyptic bomb, it becomes pretty clear Infinite should have been a TV series instead.
The main reason for a long-form series is that there's just not much to connect with in terms of the enemies' feud or who they are. Audiences discover midway that they're former friends who spent centuries together, but they eventually fell out as Bathurst grew bitter toward mankind. This feels clichéd but had Infinite really gotten insight into their history -- not just together but as individuals -- it'd resonate more.
A series could have episodes dedicated to Treadway's past as a samurai, an African warrior and someone who fought in the jungles. This informs viewers as to why he's making epic swords in the present day, organically allowing him to display the experience of those cultures, whether it's culinary, language or fighting styles. Flashbacks to these lives would have bettered his schizophrenia arc, too, by showing Treadway as 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 finale less ridiculous.
A show could flesh out the other Believers' backstories, too, illustrating how Abel and Nora developed their Hawkman-Hawkwoman dynamic, finding their way to each other in every life. It adds more nuance as the weapons-maker in Kovic, and the party-loving Artisan seemed to want away from the war. This connection would make viewers feel for members when they die, considering in the movie -- where there's little character development -- it just feels inconsequential.
An Infinite series would also have helped us understand Bathurst more, especially why he was the rare case to receive all the memories in the womb, which broke his mind. As such, it could expand on the rift between him 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 place the heist with Dylan O'Brien's Treadway in context, as his camp steals the bomb from Bathurst at the start of the film.
This also adds a lot more diversity to the story, allowing souls to possibly inhibit different genders in several lives while giving characters of color time to shine with their respective eras. With a director like Antoine Fuqua, chances are something more patient would have created a better story and avoided mistakes seen in similar mediums, like The Old Guard. After all, these films just feel like typical action movies, using reincarnation and immortality as a hook. But via a TV series, Infinite could deliver proper motivations for its 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's now available to stream on Paramount+.
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