The villains of the reincarnation-themed action movie Infinite want to kill every creature in the world so they’ll never experience it all again. never having to relive it all. Having seen the movie, I know the feeling.

OK, so maybe this is a bit tough. But it seems fitting that Infinite (airing today, June 10, on Paramount Plus) is skipping theaters and going straight online. Concept and execution absolutely scream straight to the video.

Mark Wahlberg’s front-page film was initially delayed by the COVID pandemic, before being announced as the first major film from the Paramount film studio to be available on its recently renamed streaming service. from CBS All Access to Paramount Plus. Coming soon, PAW Patrol: The Movie, out online and in theaters in August, and a first streaming for A Quiet Place, Part II, expected in July.

To be fair to Infinite, it has a big budget shine. From a car chase through the streets of Mexico to a climactic stunt involving a motorcycle and cargo plane, the money is on the screen with a parade of pretty sets, glittering supercars and spectacular action. Whenever the going gets tough, director Antoine Fuqua isn’t afraid to send an armored Aston Martin through a police station in a show of auto carnage that would give the Fast and Furious crew a whim.

By the way, this opening car chase includes a moment where our hero kills a police car by skidding the wheels of his Ferrari in a pile of bricks and carefully pulling a brick through the windshield of the car chasing her. Yes, that’s the kind of movie it is.

If that sounds kinda funny, yes it is. There are a few neat pieces of fight choreography and a few suitably looped stunts, and the basic concept is quite intriguing. The film is based on the 2009 novel The Reincarnationist Papers by D. Eric Maikranz, originally self-published with an award promised to any reader who presents the book to a film producer. His big idea is that reincarnation is real, and there are people in the world who remember their past lives.

These people, known as the “infinites”, string these memories together in a long existence through the ages of mankind. On one side of this secret society there is a bunch of cool dudes who collect knowledge and understand that existence transcends the physical form of our bodies. On the other, the nihilists, vaguely religious perverts who have seen Avengers: Endgame and decided to steal Thanos’ genocidal plan and its visual effect of turning into ashes.

Stuck in the middle is Mark Wahlberg. He’s perfectly interpreted as a hero who wanders around asking what’s going on. It’s not great to act, it’s just that no one seems to know. Much of the film shows Wahlberg standing in a shiny room, looking confused as people explain things to him, and not all things lead to anything. Like, could the Infinites have some superpowers or something? The film does not seem safe. He’s an 80-minute actor stretched out over 146 minutes, and there still appear to be bits and pieces missing (Rupert Friend is briefly seen as a villain, suggesting that part of the film was left on the floor of the editing room).

Sometimes the left hand in the film doesn’t seem to know what the right hand is doing: the script tries to build a mystery out of the possibility that Wahlberg’s strange visions could be a symptom of his disturbed sanity, seemingly forgetting that a excruciatingly the added voiceover already explained it in the first 10 seconds.

Watching Infinite made me feel like my life was passing before my eyes. Specifically, the part of my life last year that I witnessed the direct-to-video action of the same sort of sci-fi Netflix video. The old guard. This movie also featured immortal warriors facing the boredom of Eternal Life as they slice up armies of mercenaries with swords.

The similarity extends to the presence of Chiwetel Ejiofor, who appeared in both films. Infinite shifts into high gear whenever Ejiofor, Liz Carr, and Toby Jones try to fight good deed in scenes that truly address the philosophical weight of eternal life. This trio of British actors praises levels of seriousness and excitement missing in other scenes in which Wahlberg and various interchangeable types with sharp-cheeked mannequins appearing with vaguely defined fighting skills and no discernible personalities stand out. around exposing themselves to each other. Seriously, some cars have more character than some people. Aside from the always watchable Jason Mantzoukas, as the obligatory comedic cameo who seems to think he’s in a movie different from everyone else.

As with The Old Guard and other recent action movies (like the one from Netflix Army of the dead or Project power, for example), Infinite clearly has an eye on starting a franchise. But for a movie about people remembering past lives, Infinite is too forgettable.