Movie Review: Push (2009)
Plot holes and logic problems prove disastrous
Photo: Summit Entertainment
I was excited to see Push, probably because we had been without an effects driven film since The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor and not even that really counts in comparison. Hancock or Hellboy 2 are probably better comparisons, and that was way back in July 2008. So I was feeling up to checking out Push and I had already prepped myself for a visual effects film working on a small budget, so a lot of leeway was assumed to be needed. As it turns out the effects are just fine, it's the story that hurts it as Push has so many plot and logic problems you can't get passed them no matter how hard you try, especially since one of them is the driving force of the story.
Push is set in the real world, except operating in this world is a group called Division which has been tracking down and trying to perfect the more unique members of society. By unique I mean these people can move things with their minds, put thoughts in your head, smell things really well, see the future and some can even scream really, really loud. They are given names like Movers, Pushers, Sniffers, Watchers, etc. It sounds a little silly, but you can see where it would become necessary. Imagine if you wanted to summon a Sniffer and instead had to say, "Hey, get me one of those guys that smells really good." So many problems could arise as a result of that statement and I am not about to get into them here. So, suffice to say, Sniffer works much better.
The cast includes Chris Evans, Dakota Fanning, Camilla Belle, Djimon Hounsou and Maggie Siff. For more information on this film including pictures, trailers and a detailed synopsis choose from the following menu.
Review
"Push" is a Summit Entertainment release, directed by Paul McGuigan and is rated PG-13 for intense sequences of violence and action, brief strong language, smoking and a scene of teen drinking.
What Push boils down to is a lot of people seeing the future, sniffing, pushing, moving and yelling their way around town to find an enhancement drug that for some unknown reason was never duplicated, stored and kept in a secure lab in the first place. And therein lies the problem with this picture. The filmmakers go throw hell trying to explain what powers people have, how they are used and what they are called, but they do it all and forget the simple things. For example, if you want a guy dead and you can put the thought of suicide in his head… Why hesitate? This is a film that solves its own problems while making a whole batch more at the same time.
The one thing I really did like about the film was Dakota Fanning and the story's use of her and her character. Fanning plays a 13-year-old girl and was 14 when the film was shot, an age in Hollywood where an actress is no longer considered a child actor and hasn't hit the age where she is being chased by paparazzi. It's an awkward age for us all and the film reflects it perfectly with Fanning dealing with coming into her teens as well as her character's detachment from her mother. She throws occasional fits and even rebels one night and gets drunk. It all fits and it makes for a very well designed character and helps ease the audience into Fanning's life after Charlotte's Web. It was a pleasure to see.
Chris Evans was also his usual self as I believe he is still in need of a breakout role somewhere in his near future where it will either be decided he is going to be stuck doing teen actioners his whole life or if he actually has the talent I believe he has. As much as Fanning has to work to make her teen years work for her career, Evans needs to get out of the wife-beater Creatine stage and decide if he wants to be an actor or a Calvin Klein model. Hounsou as the menacing bald man is hardly worth a mention as the role is a throw away and Camilla Belle is still yet to truly impress me even though she does nothing to hurt or help this picture.
Director Paul McGuigan did all he could with the limited budget using camera effects, flashy editing and a few effects here and there to make this film seem like it was bigger than it really is, but in the end it is all for naught. While the idea of people out there with extraordinary powers is interesting, introducing them to us and then having us watch them try and battle an already established league of bad guys is all-to-familiar and loses its appeal rather quickly especially when the details of the story leave it wide open for so much scrutiny.
You can tell Summit fully envisions a follow-up film based on the open ending and considering it is a small budget feature a decent box-office return would likely make that a possibility, but I wouldn't expect this one to go too far after opening weekend. It just doesn't have "it".
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Scanners rip-off…
Or maybe it's just a long and better episode of Heroes….
http://www.televisionwithoutpity.com/mwop/moviefile/2009/02/push-best-heroes-episode-ever.php#more
My paper (KC Star) gave it one star. Ouch.
Overall the movie I will give a so-so rating. But on the other hand I am surprised that I have not seen any news reports about the PACP (Parents Against Child Pornography) boycotting this movie. In the movie there are moments where Casey (played by Dakota Fanning) is barley covered by any clothing at all. I personally see this child star being the next Hollywood teen drama story of drugs, alcohol, sex and dealings with the police. Like our current stories of Paris Hilton, Britney Spears, and Lindsay Lohan. This makes you wonder why her parents/guardians allow such sensitive rolls with the way current underage tv/movies stars are turning out these days. I can understand playing to the sex appeal of men but not by a child to gain overall draw to a hopeful blockbuster. The story line is moderate at best. Good action takes, cut rate cinematic filming techniques, and halfway decent acting by some of the cast, make up a so-so soft-core B rated action movie. I would only recommend it to start of the summer of big box office action hopefuls like the new X-men, Transformers, and Terminator movies coming out later this year. The one positive mention of the movie is that there was a little more dialog to the story than just straight action, making for good mention of character background and history between characters. Which for some viewers make for a nice reprieve from Hollywood no-stop action flicks.
She doesn't rebel. She uses the alcohol as a method to improve her Watching abilities. They even bother to specifically state as much in the movie (twice clearly so), which makes the character intent very clear and not at all about "rebelling". :)
Truthfully I don't think Push was so much about the drug itself as about Division trying to get Kira back because she was the lone survivor. It seemed like they wanted to find her more than the drug. But yes, it does seem odd that they spent a lot of time tracking and hiding and whatnot the drug even though in the beginning of the movie when Kira steals the syringe you can clearly see another one right next to it. That's why I think it's not so much about her stealing it, but them finding her because she survived (think Resident Evil: Apocalypse, something like that). Overall though I thought it was an interesting movie that kept me watching the whole time. The effects were nice; not gaudy and overused but like they fit in where needed, kinda like the first few Harry Potter movies. Plus I love Djimon Hounsou. :3