Does anyone else remember this movie from 2009? I mean I sure hope this little action, super hero-esque genre film isn’t completely forgotten because of the convoluted premise and wonky script, things that certainly hurt its standing with the critic community. For me though, Push is a pretty fun little movie about people with kinetic powers basically battling one another to save a particular women who seems to be the key to stopping some big, scary government plot to develop super soldiers out of the kinetic enabled super humans. Yeah, something that cool sadly got bogged down with plot issues and some lackluster pacing concerns. Oh well, at least I get to watch Chris Evans basically wreck shit with his mind.
Lucky Number Slevin director Paul McGuigan takes the helm for this action thriller concerning a group of telekinetic American ex-patriots who band together in an attempt to take down the clandestine government agency that’s genetically transforming normal citizens into powerful psychic warriors. The Division is a shadowy government operation devoted to making humankind the ultimate weapon. Those who accept this transformation have the power to move objects with the mind, see the future before it happens, create new realities, and dispense of their enemies without so much as a single touch; those who are unwilling to participate are immediately terminated. Nick Gant (Chris Evans) is a “mover,” a second-generation telekinetic who went into hiding after the Division killed his father more than a decade earlier. He lives a life of anonymity in Hong Kong, a densely populated place where fugitive psychics such as himself are safe as long as they can keep their unique gift secret. Suddenly into Nick’s life comes 13-year-old “watcher” Cassie Holmes (Dakota Fanning), a clairvoyant who needs his help in tracking down escaped “pusher” Kira, who may hold the key to bringing down the Division once and for all. A “pusher” is the most powerful kind of psychic due to his or her ability to influence the actions of others by planting thoughts in their minds. Now, as Nick emerges from hiding in order to help Cassie find Kira, the Division’s human bloodhounds are hot on their trail. In order to elude the authorities, they’ll need to disappear into the seedy underbelly of the city while relying on a team of rogue psychics to help cover their tracks. But Division Agent Henry Carver (Djimon Hounsou) is a powerful pusher who has made it his mission to stop them at all costs, regardless of the collateral damages that may occur in the process. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
I got to admit though, with this movies shortcomings, namely the plot and iffy, iffy acting, I really enjoy this movie at a base level. It has the same level of general excitement that I have for the 2008 movie Jumper. Yeah, both really played up this super power based characters, but I still enjoy a little bending when it comes to science fiction and fantasy movies. Push is by far the better of the two and that is due in part to the frenetic action that takes place, cause watching super powered people battle one another is at least exciting to me.
Push set up this interesting world of kinetically amped humans having a rather large array of powers. Some can basically use the force to create an aura of kinetic force around them, thus levitating or throwing people/objects around. Others use the power to see into the future and others are pushers, people able to implant suggestions and thoughts into the mind of others. It’s a great little subset of powers on display, but they aren’t really developed or talked about more since it is window dressing for the action and a means to have a diverse array of people on hand. The action sequences are really cool to look at though when the different powered people have at it. The best is between Chris Evans and similar powered individual who just go into crazy looking telekinetic battles with floating, enhance push punches and just massive amounts of collateral chair throwing.
Overall, you can’t really hate this movie for trying to be like the television show Heroes with their premise. I mean it’s fun to look at, the plot is just all over the place, and Evans and Hounsou make for formidable adversaries. Fanning just kind of is there to add a few lines to push the plot along, but still you can’t expect much from a movie that is flimsy and meant to showcase more of the battles than anything else. Go into the movie with an open mind and some wanting to see fairly cool premises and fights take place on a chaotic scale and you are assured a good time.
