Push Review

There are no spoilers in this review.

PLOT: The action packed sci-fi thriller involves a group of young American ex-pats with telekinetic and clairvoyant abilities.


THE GOOD: Concept. The idea was certainly there and I'm not sure what got screwed up in the production of Push. The story is introduced in a great way and I was immediately sucked in by it. There's a feeling of incompleteness when you're watching the film. Why would he do that? Why couldn't she have just done this? When did that happen? All questions that came up at points of the film for me. Still, the movie is a lot more clean cut than most superhero films. Each person has pretty much one ability, but they share it with many others.


Special effects. The effects are pretty sweet in this movie. Lots of telekinesis, blocking bullets, and fish exploding. Visually, this is a very pleasing movie. But, there wasn't enough.

Editing. Building on my last comment, Nicolas Trembasiewicz's editing of the film was actually pretty good for someone who doesn't exactly have the longest resume. Some pretty sweet transitions, splices, and chops.


THE BAD: Unoriginal. Unfortunately, despite the great concept, the movie turns into a good long episode of Heroes. There's nothing incredibly special about it when it comes to comparing it to other superhero movies. Speaking of comparing, I would say that this movie is a cross between Jumper, Heroes, and Sky High. It has the same production value that Jumper had, but it has all the fun variety of powers. Push is much better than all three of the titles I just referenced (well, the second and current series of Heroes; not the first). As a side note, the title of the movie, the poster, and the trailer are very deceiving. "Pushers" are actually the ones who can push false memories into your head. They are not the ones who can use telekinesis like Chris Evans' character. Those are called "Movers".


Characters. With all the different abilities comes a bunch of different characters. Some of them develop quite well, but most of them you barely get to learn about. My favorite character in the whole movie was Victor Budarin (played by Neil Jackson), Carver's henchman. He has the same power as Nick, the main character, but he obviously has more control and experience with it. There's a scene near the end that involves Victor that is really awesome and fun to watch. However, you don't really learn squat about the guy. The same can be said for a lot of the characters. They have all been somehow connected before, but none of that is really explained in great detail.

Slow. The movie does move slow in certain areas and definitely did not have enough action. Surprisingly, there also wasn't very much humor in the movie. However, a drunk Dakota Fanning and these guys made me laugh at times.


THE END: After reading my review so far, one would probably think that I didn't like the movie, but I actually did. I think the concept, story, and action were pretty good and enough for me to enjoy the movie. It definitely could be better, but it's really not that bad. I'd watch this over something like Fantastic Four or The Punisher any day. I can see this movie growing a cult following or coming out with a sequel/prequel. Wouldn't spend too much money or go out of my way to see Push, but definitely worth seeing.


DISCUSS: What movies would you compare Push to? What did you think of the acting? What would have made this a better movie? Are there any side effects to watching two Dakota Fanning movies in one weekend?