Infinite

Directed by Antoine Fuqua (perhaps best known for editing music videos for Toni Braxton, Prince, and others) and starring Mark Wahlberg (Ted, Transformers: Age of Extinction), Infinite’s trailer is a study in fastidious synch between sound and image, at times clearly and unabashedly splicing directly to the rhythm.

The plot and style of the film is a mix between movies such as Highlander (1986) and the high concept sci-fi of Christopher Nolan. As such, it’s little surprise to hear the Inception “braaam” upon the first shot, at 0:11—quickly followed by a single piano note, repeating. However, before this, we hear footsteps before even the first shot, during the Paramount studio logo. It’s probably the most unusual and creative sound editing decision taken here; it does help prepare the scene to follow.

Following some expository dialogue, the music and image synch really picks up at 0:38 and especially at 0:42. Notice how as the interrogator lays out the items on the table, it’s more than likely cut specifically that way to achieve a quick rhythm. This is followed by the interrogator preparing his gun, once again in synch. As the interrogation continues, we hear a subtle layering of woodwinds and strings until the point where Wahlberg’s memory of past lives is triggered, sounding a bit like a flashbulb going off (appropriately enough).

What makes this trailer notable, while not unique, is its studied devotion to the synch point—it seems there’s not a gun shot that goes to waste, instead deployed in service to the underlying beat. Notice also how there’s no melody to speak of—the closest we get is perhaps around 1:06, with the semitone motif in the winds. It’s stylistically terse and guarded, yet also safe in its use of a small laundry list of tried and tested trailer music tropes. One wonders at times just how and whether we might tire of the Inception sound or the single piano note favouring a new sound; for now, it feels a bit like the end of trailer music history.

On the other hand, that consistent commitment to tailoring each edit to the beat lends the trailer a sense of thoroughness and flow that many undoubtedly find compelling. Whatever the case, it is noticeable.

Infinite is streaming on Paramount plus as of June 10th.

— Curtis Perry