3 Short Paragraphs: Infinite

 2021, Antoine Fuqua (The Equalizer) -- download

I started reading The Resurrectionist Papers sometime last year. I got about a third of the way through and noticed it wasn't telling me any story of interest. I find, for middling speculative fiction, I either have to love how the story is going, or love the style of the writing. This had neither. So it fits unfinished on one of my phones, a wasted digital purchase. As Charles de Lint advised -- there are far too many good books out there to waste time on bad or boring ones. Then I read a post on Reddit where the screenwriter was announcing his script had been produced and was being released soon. Alas, I cannot find that post right now, but it involved someone finding a book (...Papers) in a room in ... Tibet? Somehow finding it led to them writing the script. Or revising someone else's script. I cannot recall correctly, but it was a very Hollywoodish anecdote about taking an exciting source and turning it into... well Hollywood Accessible. At this moment, I am wondering whether THAT was as much fiction as the movie.

ANYWAYZ.

Despite my boredom with the book, the premise still drew me in. There are people who reincarnate, but do so with full memories of their past intact. They can use that knowledge to draw upon their past. And since they know they are going to reincarnate upon their next death, they set aside resources for their "heir". And there exists a society all about pulling these people with infinite lives together, for safety, from one of their own who has been around long enough and seen enough of humanity to have had enough; our time must end. All of our times. He has a Doomsday Device. Evan McAuley (Markie Mark, Boogie Nights) emerges as the newest member of their fraternity, but one initially without the usual memories, but as a man with skills he cannot explain and an affinity for violence that hasn't helped him much. But once he finds out what he is, and who he is, a more challenging reference, he adapts quickly to save the world.

This is Antoine, who I have already claimed a fondness for. I once said of him, "he does a little bit more with the action genre that raises the bar." This is not that. This is a fun and introspective idea that decided to go the other direction, to milk the ideas out of it, and deliver a COVID-blamed milquetoast actioner, albeit with some fun performances. Chiwetel Ejiofor (Serenity) as Bathurt, the first of their kind, the "oldest" man in existence, who reincarnated from the First Peoples, is manic, broken and a lot of fun to behold. But the rest are middling, stylish that seemed to be built on that Purple Suited Producer (that bastard) waving his hand in the direction of Underworld and saying, "Do something that reminds me of that." He could have tried for John Wick or The Matrix but instead went with ... this.

And what's up with that movie poster? It seems like a placeholder or that they thought they were doing a Hitchcockian thriller.