Genre: Sci-Fi/Thriller
Director: Duncan Jones
Writer: Jacob Jones
Cast: Tom Cruise, Anne Hathaway, Nicholas Hoult, Sterling K. Brown, Hayley Atwell
"I remember it all too well." A woman states. "The numbers on the screen began to flicker before going completely off. I tried to add them back in, but it did nothing. Almost as if it was resisting my commands."
The woman sits in the small library, staring at the face of technological expert Jack Crawford (Nicholas Hoult), telling the tale of how the virus came to be. "Next thing you know, I'm fighting for my life while a bunch of numbers are chasing after me."
Jack stares at her, absolutely dumbfounded by the news, asking how such a thing is remotely possible. The woman shakes her head, not wanting to relive the trauma from the event. Despite his skepticism regarding it's legitimacy, Jack offers his services to try and figure out a solution. The two swap business cards and he learns her name, Jenna Lawrence (Hayley Atwell).
The next morning, Jack is hard at work typing in several different codes in a test to see what happens. He takes a few steps back in case anything should happen. To his confusion, everything seems normal. He steps forward, only to find the numbers starting to flicker on and off the screen. Eventually the screen turns off, leaving Jack even more befuddled.
After much hesitation, Jack decides to step forward towards his computer only to be greeted with a harsh ear-piercing screech and staring at decayed, blood red versions of the numbers he put in. Without warning, the numbers leap out of the screen and begin attacking him, their almost lava-like design burning into his flesh.
Looking for an escape, Jack struggles over to his book shelf and picks up two books, throwing them towards the numbers as bait. He runs off, locking the door for good measure. Horrified at what he has seen, Jack steps outside to catch a breather when he hears an explosion from inside his house. He rushes back inside and to his horror finds the entire room having been decimated, with only his computer remaining intact.
Concerned about a reprise, he gingerly touches the start button and it seems to reboot normally until it gets to the starting screen, where instead of his screensaver it shows a message warning him that 'Infinity' is coming. Jack stands by, absolutely stunned. He picks up his phone and calls Jenna, explaining what happened. Worried, Jenna reveals that she's been talking with Leon (Sterling K. Brown), a man known for deciphering viruses and why they exist.
Morbidly curious, Jack offers to tag along. Jenna tells him that she'll ask him just in case. Before hanging up, Jack asks her if she received a message mentioning the arrival of 'Infinity'. Jenna says that she hasn't much to his chagrin. The next day, Jack and Jenna meet up at Leon's Computer Store where they see him discussing with another man. Upon seeing them, Leon welcomes them into the store and promises to attend to them soon.
Upon seeing Jack's face, the man offers to invite them to join the conversation, seemingly understanding the concern they have. He introduces himself as Dr. Parker (Tom Cruise), former mathematics professor turned neurosurgeon and coding expert. Parker asks Leon if he has any idea what may be wrong with his laptop, to which he has no clue. It's something he's never seen before.
Jack and Jenna take a look at the screen, finding the numbers flickering on and off. Having seen where this goes, they urge Leon and Parker to leave quickly. Leon tries to assure them he has this under control only for the screen to go dark. Nothing occurs for a few seconds, leading to Leon to attempt a reboot only for him to receive a similar message on his computer, warning about Infinity's arrival.
Leon stares at the screen, wondering what would happen if he pressed a number. He looks at the keyboard and presses the number 9. All of a sudden, a deformed nine hops off the screen and attacks Leon, stabbing him with his sharp, pointy tail. Jack and Jenna try to stop it but nearly get hit as well. To their surprise, Dr. Parker swarms in and manages to grab the nine from the bottom, giving the others time to escape.
Several minutes later with a crowd of people watching, Dr. Parker exits the store, complete with a nine that is warped beyond recognition. A news reporter tries to ask him what's going on but he scurries away, saying that he will explain tomorrow before finding the others and telling them to get in his car, they're going to his house.
As they make their way to his house, reports of similar occurrences make their way to radio news, including one incident where a child was devoured whole by a group of sevens. They soon pull up at Parker's house- a huge mansion complete with state of the art technology- and meet up in the dining room where Parker reveals that someone has created a one of a kind virus He was going to keep it secret at first to give the populace a semblance of normalcy but now the situation has escalated. He warns them that ‘Infinity’ (Anne Hathaway) is the codename of the virus.
He rushes into his room, getting another laptop and begins his demonstration on how the virus works by typing in several different numbers. Parker explains that the virus can strike at any time, so even it isn’t happening immediately, chances are it will happen. Once it does, you know what happens. ‘Infinity’ wants to control the world, using the power of mathematics and stealth. As a result, creating an antidote is of paramount importance. If they fail to do so, humanity’s chance of survival is infinitesimal at best.
Jack offers to help Dr. Parker create an antidote, believing he may know a way to breaking the code of ‘Infinity’. Jenna and Leon vow to help warn the public and spread the word about ‘Infinity’. The four then make a solemn vow to protect the Earth and defeat ‘Infinity’ before their power grows too much. As everyone makes their way out however, the computer’s screen goes off. Fearing the worst, everyone prepares for another number attack. Instead, the lights go off as an weird, earthy voice echos from the computer. It declares themselves as ‘Infinity’ and expresses gratitude for them finally catching on, but warns them that they will be unable to stop them from reaching their destiny. As a gift, she fries the laptop’s motherboard causing it to shut down.
That evening, a horrified Dr. Parker tries and fails miserably to get some sleep. Inside his mind, Dr. Parker wanders among a dark, empty cave with seemingly nothing but his thoughts. All of a sudden, the lights turn on and he is surrounded by mangled numbers, all with demented faces. He hears the twisted voice of Infinity as they taunt him. Saying that it's march to domination is inevitable. Dr. Parker tells the voice that he'll never back down, only to be smacked on the head by a flamewall. Infinity tells him that they have only three days before the true power of Infinity is unleashed and wishes him luck on his futile attempts to stop them before leaving with a hint. ("Always the first, never the worst.")
The next morning, Jack is busy at work alongside Leon, trying to find the cause of the virus and how to destroy. Leon wonders where Dr. Parker is and goes on the look for him. It doesn't take long as Leon comes across him as he enters. Slightly disheveled but determined, he tells Jack that he talked to Infinity in his dreams and alerts him of the news.
To Jack's frustration, he can't seem to find any clues that lead to the creation of Infinity. Whoever created it may have cleared their tracks. Leon tells them that whoever created it is unimportant, saying that creating the antidote comes first, drawing suspicion from Jack. Parker manages to break the argument up and suggests several codes for them to try. None of them successful.
All of a sudden, the computer screen turns off. Realizing what this is a sign of, Parker arms them with guns and knives. The numbers pop out of the screen, this time with a sickly green tint and stick themselves onto them. Jack manages to break free first, stabbing one with a knife and helps Leon and Parker before they succumb.
Inside Jenna's house, she nervously awaits a call from either Jack, Leon or Dr. Parker as she attempts several math problems in her head. All of a sudden she hears screaming from the room upstairs. She rushes up to her son's room, finding him trapped in the screen and being devoured by several numbers. Jenna can only watch in horror as they eat through his flesh, body and mind and he becomes a number of his own.
That evening, Jack bids Leon a goodnight before coming towards Dr. Parker, he warns him that Infinity came to his dreams last night and that he may come for him next, telling him to be prepared. Jack takes in the advice as he sleeps on his bed, preparing for whatever happens in his confrontation with Infinity.
Upon hearing it's voice, Jack assures them that they come in peace and wishes to ask a few questions. His main ones being how they were created and why they are doing this. Infinity refuses to answer the first question but tells him that they have seen the world and how it has been too corrupted to live in. As such, they consider their conquest as their way of blowing everything up and starting over. Jack finds their plans extremist and vows not to make them come true.
Suddenly, everything goes dark. Infinity's voice can no longer be heard. The only thing he sees is the number 666, staring back at him with big bulging eyes. It screams harshly, forcing Jack to plug his eyes and use his knife. As he does so, Infinity begins to laugh, calling him a stupid man. If this is his response to the devil's number, they cannot wait to see their response to when their plan takes effect. They leave him with a cryptic message. ("The sticks times three are meant to be.")
The next morning, Parker comforts Jessica over the loss of her child when Jack opens the door. He asks Parker if they can talk and the two enter his bedroom. The two converse over having similar nightmares and share their numbers. They ponder what this could mean when they hear explosions coming from outside. They hurry toward the door and find that the entire neighborhood is being infested by Infinity's legion of numbers. Parker takes a glance at one of the numbers, his face turning to sheer horror. The number stares back, a macabre font casting fear on those who see it.
They run inside and lock the door, Parker revealing that this is the third kind of number. The worst one of all. As he says, the number teleports in the room. The humans stay close to each other, not wanting to tempt fate. Unfortunately, Jack can't hold in a sneeze and the number gets extremely close to his face, shaking violently before suddenly disappearing.
Not wanting to tempt anything, Jack decides to call in early and wishes Parker and Jenna the best of luck. Once he leaves, Jenna's phone begins to vibrate. She picks it up, receiving a pattern of numbers. Then another. And another. The numbers begin to overlap one another, making it impossible to decipher. Suddenly, the phone shuts off, Infinity's voice giving them their daily clue ("Four score times seven, it's heaven."). The phone explodes, wounding Jenna. Panicked, Parker calls a doctor.
That evening, Jack tries out several more codes on a backup laptop only to be met with futility. All of a sudden, the screen freezes and the number from earlier pops up from behind his chair. Infinity begins to communicate from the computer, saying they remember their talk and has come to realize that he has a bit of sickness in him. There is potential for him to help Infinity's cause. Jack tries to refuse, but Infinity insists he consider, promising to cease their conquest if he does. Tempted, he says he'll sleep on it…
All of the sudden, the number strikes and Jack collapses onto the floor. Infinity tells him that it is not an order, it's mandatory and leaves Jack motionless. The next day, Leon finds his lifeless body and alerts Dr. Parker and Jenna. The three try their best to awake him but to no avail and begin to mourn the potential loss…
Meanwhile, inside the world of Infinity, Jack stumbles around trying to find their lair. Suddenly, a parade of codes hail his return and take him to 'see' Infinity. Jack begs them for mercy, saying that he needs to save the world from their reign. Infinity considers it fruitless, tomorrow marks the 'Day of Infinity'. The day the virus goes worldwide. Jack asks them to reconsider, there are so many wonderful people that would be hurt by their actions.
And that is why the scum of Earth will be purged first. Big corporations, corrupt businessmen and politicians, those are the first to fall. Then it wreak havoc on every government they can find until the world is transformed. The reason Jack is here is because Infinity wants him to join the cause. He'll never see any of the people he knows regardless, so why fight with them? In spite of this, Jack refuses saying he'd rather die in the code rather than work with them.
The screen turns into a neon shade of blue, a swarm of black numbers charging after him. As a desperate attempt of escaping. Jack shoots a hole through Infinity. It wounds them and the numbers fade away. Seeing an opportunity, Jack escapes through the hole before getting one final hint ("Believe in the power of zero.").
Jack wakes up, ordering everyone to sit by the table. Once everyone does so, they go over the hints they've received, constructing a new code that they believe is the key to defeating Infinity. Leon gets a laptop and Dr. Parker steps forward, entering in the code: 1066624. There is nothing but silence, leading them to believe they've stopped the virus…
And then, every computer around the world explodes, an array of colors lighting up the sky. Back at homebase, Dr. Parker is the first to wake up, staring at the emotionless face of a woman. This is Infinity. She thanks them for jumpstarting her reign of terror early, revealing that the hints were to build the code that begins the 'Day of Infinity' early. As everyone realizes what has happened, Infinity reveals one last surprise. "Take a look at the man who made it all possible...Dr. Parker."
Everyone stares at him, shocked. Feeling a deep sense of guilt, he reveals that he created the code as a test to see if numbers could turn into anthropomorphic creatures and live with humans. One night, he got a papercut and the blood seeped into his computer, getting under the 'six' key. That was her first taste of damage and it only grew. He tried stopping her, but to no avail. Leading to the harsh reality. There is no way to stop Infinity. There never was.
He apologizes to everyone, specifically looking at Jack as a swarm of numbers attack them, converting them into a part of their code. Infinity leaves, thanking Parker for everything. Despondent, Parker looks at the remains of the computer and storms off to his room, packing his things. Before heading out, he glances at a picture of his family and lowers his head in shame, the thoughts of what he had done casting a grim shadow in his mind.
All throughout the world, Infinity’s master plan comes to action. The connected world implies as technology turns against their masters. Banks fail, governments fall and civil riots occur. Humans get swallowed by the might of Infinity's number army, unable to compete with their futuristic weaponry. At the top of the Empire State building, she takes a look at the destruction she's caused and smiles, giving one final proclamation.
"WELCOME...TO THE WORLD OF INFINITY!"
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