Convoluted but a fun escape
Director: Paul McGuigan
Notable Cast: Chris Evans, Dakota Fanning, Camilla Belle, Djimon Hounsou, Cliff Curtis, Ming-Na
I’m probably going to catch hell for saying I liked Push, but I don’t care. It’s escapism. No more, no less. It’s a movie about heroes that isn’t based on an established comic-book series or characters; but it has similarities to TV’s Heroes.
The film moves at a high pace and that’s a good thing. The style amps up the vibrant energy so that we shy away from logical fallacies of the plot. When you start to dissect Paul McGuigan’s film in retrospect, light bulbs will spring to life, followed quickly thereafter by an “A HA!” But for that initial viewing you get caught up with the moment – not knowing what’s going to happen next.
As the preface/opening credits illustrate, in our world there are humans who have been genetically altered. Experimentations during the Second World War created a breed of paranormals with special mind-related abilities. They have names associated for the skills they possess. There are “watchers” (those who can predict the future); “movers” (shift objects with their minds); “pushers” (influence the thoughts of another); “shifters” (change the appearance of things); and “stitchers” (those who can heal). The powers they possess are so great that a government agency called Division is rounding them up with the intent on turning them into weapons. Division has a serum that will cultivate and enhance those powers, but so far all the test subjects have died – except for Kira (Camilla Belle), a pusher that managed to escape after surviving the injection. Now she is on the lamb, being pursued by Henry Carver (Djimon Hounsou), the pusher who is in charge of the program.
In Hong Kong, Kira crosses paths with Nick (Chris Evans), her former lover and a mover, who has been hiding from Division and Carver. The serendipitous moment is initiated when a 13-year-old girl named Cassie (Dakota Fanning), a watcher, shows up to Nick’s hole-in-the-wall apartment asking for his help. The trio has a two-fold problem before them: Carver and his men, and a HK gang (also endowed with special abilities) – both of which are engaged in some paranormal power struggle for supremacy. Both groups are looking for a briefcase, to which Cassie might know the location.
Nick, Cassie and Kira are in the middle. They don’t care about power, but they wish for autonomy, and Cassie wants to rescue her mother, who is still a prisoner in Divison’s stronghold.
David Bourla’s screenplay uses the briefcase as a MacGuffin as an excuse to drive the narrative. But it makes for a middling second act with its evolving subplots. Push can be confusing, because not everything is clear to the audience. This is especially true of pushers, since they can implant false memories. Characters are then forced to question what is fact.
It is a challenge to bring something new to the superhero genre. While I wouldn’t outright call Push innovative, it is different. And for many of the actors involved it was their first venture into the genre. Dakota Fanning gives the best performance as she continues her expand her resume, transitioning from child roles into maturity. In one scene she even gets drunk – that’s a way to show range, Dakota! Chris Evans, not as funny here as he was as Johnny Storm in the Fantastic Four films, has a stoic, almost frozen-face demeanor. When Djimon Hounsou’s starts monologuing, with an air of calmness in his voice, Evans is trying to act tough, even though he’s outclassed. But out of all the characters and their abilities, the best is Cliff Curtis as a shifter. Curtis, from Whale Rider and Sunshine, is just cool in his role of Hook Waters, shifting pieces of scrap paper to 500 HK dollar notes. He is a friend of Nick’s who helps him in his problems with Division.
Push will definitely have some haters, because of its handheld-shot camera style and its convoluted story. The ending is open-ended, allowing for a sequel if one were ever to be developed. And actually, there are so many avenues for what is to occur next. But since this will be out of theaters by the time Watchmen arrives, it may just be wishful thinking on my part.
FINAL RATING (ON A SCALE OF 1-5 BUCKETS):
