Totally watchable, totally forgettable.
Push (2009)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:118
Fresh:27
Rotten:91
Average Rating:4.3/10
Consensus: The sci-fi thriller Push is visually flashy but hyperkinetic and convoluted.
Australian Theatrical Release:
Sep 10, 2009 Wide
US Box Office: $31,730,682
Synopsis:
A riveting action-thriller, Push burrows deep into the deadly world of psychic espionage where artificially enhanced paranormal operatives have the ability to move objects with their minds, see the...
A riveting action-thriller, Push burrows deep into the deadly world of psychic espionage where artificially enhanced paranormal operatives have the ability to move objects with their minds, see the future, create new realities and kill without ever touching their victims. Against this setting, a young man and a teenage girl take on a clandestine agency in a race against time that will determine the future of civilization.
The Division, a shadowy government agency, is genetically transforming citizens into an army of psychic warriors—and brutally disposing of those unwilling to participate. Nick Gant (Chris Evans), a second-generation telekinetic or “mover,” has been in hiding since the Division murdered his father more than a decade earlier. He has found sanctuary in densely populated Hong Kong—the last safe place on earth for fugitive psychics like him—but only if he can keep his gift a secret.
Nick is forced out of hiding when Cassie Holmes (Dakota Fanning), a 13-year-old clairvoyant or “watcher,” seeks his help in finding Kira, (Camilla Belle), an escaped “pusher” who may hold the key to ending the Division’s program. Pushers possess the most dangerous of all psychic powers: the ability to influence others’ actions by implanting thoughts in their minds. But Cassie’s presence soon attracts the attention of the Division’s human bloodhounds, forcing Nick and Cassie to flee for their lives.
With the help of a team of rogue psychics, the unlikely duo traverses the seedy underbelly of the city, trying to stay one step ahead of the authorities as they search for Kira. But they find themselves square in the crosshairs of Division Agent Henry Carver (Djimon Hounsou), a pusher who will stop at nothing to keep them from achieving their goal.--© Summit
Starring: Chris Evans, Dakota Fanning, Camilla Belle, Djimon Hounsou
Starring: Chris Evans, Dakota Fanning, Camilla Belle, Djimon Hounsou, Neil Jackson, Ming-Na, Cliff Curtis, Nate Mooney, Lu Lu
Director: Paul McGuigan
Director: Paul McGuigan
Screenwriter: David Bourla
Producer: William Vince, Bruce Davey
Composer:
Studio: Summit Entertainment
Reviews for Push
Director Paul McGuigan serves this up with a flashy swagger but there is no disguising the fact that it is an incomprehensible mess.
an overheated stewpot of divisions, sects and subsects of extra-special, special and quasi-special mentalists, all running around like their pants are on fire ... maybe in search of a viable plot?
Kinetic and convincing, this uses a limited budget to thrilling effect, giving us a sort of X-Men-meets-Trainspotting twist. We hope a sequel follows this early promise.
In time this would-be thriller comes to rest with a fist fight, a hanging ending and the implicit promise of a sequel. Of all the calamities that Fanning predicts, Push 2 is one she missed.
It’s fun teen stuff but wrecked by director Paul McGuigan’s confusing use of constant flashbacks.
No amount of local colour and effects-heavy fisticuffs can save Paul McGuigan’s film.
Silliness rules the day: plot holes abound and are plugged with techno-pounding action sequences and more nonsensical guff. As a TV pilot, this might have worked; as a film, it’s loud, confusing and inane.
Though ostensibly action sci-fi, McGuigan's film pushes the boundaries of genre, playing out its paranormal parameters like a game of multi-dimensional chess.
“What if nothing we did made any sense. Would that throw them off the scent?” Nick asks. You bet.
The lack of any convincing over-arching plot, the muddled use of alternating futures and squashed-together gaggle of wafer-thin characters renders the project a near complete failure when it comes to thrills and entertainment.
British director McGuigan clearly hoped to make more than a dopey, effects-laden actioner. Unfortunately, he’s made an uneven and pretentious one instead.
If the words “A bit like Jumper but not as good” strike fear into your heart then you might want to avoid this turgid superpower stinker.
Sloppily conceived but directed with flair, Push is bound to split the vote. Look closely and its disparate pieces fit clumsily together; step back and the overall effect has an undeniable allure.
Going to see this film doesn’t make much sense. It’s obviously been cynically conceived as a franchise starter, but abruptly flicking to the end credits seemingly mid-movie is not a good way to start one.
This obviously Heroes-inspired cash-in promises much but delivers very little, thanks to a confusing plot, uninspired direction, poor dialogue and a curiously lacklustre performance from the normally reliable Evans.
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