Push (DVD)

Director: Paul McGuigan
Writer: David Bourla
Genre: Sci-Fi - Fantasy - Thriller
Country: USA
Certification: 12+
Language: English/Cantonese
DVD Release: 29th June, 2009

MAIN CAST:

Chris Evans [Nick Gant]
Dakota Fanning [Cassie Holmes]
Camilla Belle [Kira Hudson]
Djimon Hounsou [Henry Carver]


In 1945, with Hitler intent on ...
...an invincible army, one that would be made up of men and women possessing incredible abilities; the 'Watchers' would be able to see into the future, 'Movers' would be able to move people and objects with their mind, 'Shadows' would be able to camouflage people and items from others, 'Pushers' would be able to implant thoughts into other people's minds in order to manipulate them, 'Wipers' would be able to wipe people's minds of memories, 'Bleeders' ... more

Director: Paul McGuigan
Writer: David Bourla
Genre: Sci-Fi - Fantasy - Thriller
Country: USA
Certification: 12+
Language: English/Cantonese
DVD Release: 29th June, 2009

MAIN CAST:

Chris Evans [Nick Gant]
Dakota Fanning [Cassie Holmes]
Camilla Belle [Kira Hudson]
Djimon Hounsou [Henry Carver]

In 1945, with Hitler intent on ruling the world, German scientists were busily working on creating an invincible army, one that would be made up of men and women possessing incredible abilities; the 'Watchers' would be able to see into the future, 'Movers' would be able to move people and objects with their mind, 'Shadows' would be able to camouflage people and items from others, 'Pushers' would be able to implant thoughts into other people's minds in order to manipulate them, 'Wipers' would be able to wipe people's minds of memories, 'Bleeders' would emit a high-pitched screech that would make people's ears bleed and subsequently kill them, 'Stitchers' would literally be able to manipulate scar tissue, 'Shifters' would be able to change the appearance of objects temporarily and 'Sniffers' would be able to hunt the enemy down... fortunately, the end of the war effectively put an end to the German experiments, however, other countries, having learned of these experiments, decided to embark on a few experiments of their own.

The United States, not one to pass up on state-of-the-art weapons, even if they are in human form, set up their own 'Division' after the war and managed to create 'special' people of their own, unfortunately for the government, not all of these 'special' people want to spend their lives as guinea pigs.

'Push' begins ten years into the past with Nick Grant witnessing the death of his father [a first generation 'Mover'] at the hands of 'Division' thugs. Nick, who is a second generation 'Mover', abilities inherited from his father, manages to escape and spends the next ten years hiding from 'Division'. Just before his death, Nick's father had told him that he would need to stay off the 'Division' radar... he had also warned Nick that a young girl holding a flower would come to him one day and that he should help her. Having managed to stay off the radar, unfortunately for Nick, the 'Division' catches up to him moments before he meets the prophesied young girl with the flower, who is also a 'Watcher' [albeit not a very good one], and from that moment on he will be hunted by 'Watchers', 'Bleeders', 'Sniffers', 'Movers', 'Stitchers' and 'Pushers'... and if that isn't bad enough, his ex-girlfriend, who is a 'Pusher', will suddenly appear, much the worse for wear, with 'Division' thugs hot on her heels... one of these being the man responsible for Nick's father's death. Add to this volatile brew an Asian army of 'special' people who are also intent on getting their hands on Nick's ex-girlfriend and you've got yourself a time-bomb... but wait, what are they all after? The answer is... a suitcase containing a drug capable of enhancing people's abilities--unfortunately, up until now, people injected with it have died - the exception is Nick's ex-girlfriend, which is why everyone wants her and the drug she managed to stash after escaping 'Division'.

With so much happening, and all at the same time, the viewer can't help but feel that he/she is being pushed, prodded, stitched, moved and manipulated for the sole purpose of some bright spark's greed... yes, the movie manages to capture the viewer's attention, but the special-effects and a few sketchy scenes end up putting a damper on what could have been a really great movie.

Firstly, the special-effects... I absolutely hate special-effects that use superimposed imagery, excessively bright colours, alternate quick and slow motion, and flashing lights during action scenes in order to enhance what isn't actually there. In this case, with all of the action scenes focusing on telekinetic and psychic characters using their paranormal abilities to fight, abilities that are obviously imaginary, the special-effects team obviously had no idea how to capture the essence of each character's abilities on camera or even on a computer, therefore the action scenes come across as chaotic and disjointed snippets that are actually difficult at times to follow. There is a constant 'inferno' surrounding the action scenes, much like the one portrayed on the DVD cover and the movie poster... the action scenes always seem to be blurred in bright yellows and reds, and the visions of the 'Watchers', contrary to the action scenes, are usually a dull greyish colour that are more like old snapshots than actual visions.

Moving away from the special-effects, the storyline, in itself, is actually very good and somewhat believable, the characters possess just enough depth to make them come across as 'real', and the action scenes, regardless of the lousy special-effects, are fast-paced and furious, as they should be, with very few dragging scenes. This said, you'd think that 'Push' would be a good movie, but it isn't... because it's incredibly messy. There's just too much happening all at once, and there are times when the characters seemed to actually lose the plot! I felt, at times, as though I were watching 'Jumper', 'Next' and 'Wanted' simultaneously, the images superimposed one on top of the other and spray-painted with bright yellows and reds - the word 'psychedelic' doesn't even begin to explain the visuals!

The acting itself is okay--who can resist Dakota Fanning as Cassie Holmes, the vulnerable teen 'Watcher' who hides her fears beneath a 'tough cookie' façade. Cassie isn't a very good 'Watcher', but who cares; she's got a great sense of humour and a heart of gold. Cassie is the only character who possesses 'real' depth, an edge that is imperfect yet incredibly endearing - she is sweet and defenceless and even though she is terrified of dying, she's gutsy and plucky and great fun to watch... unfortunately, the same can't be said for any of the other actors who managed only to scrape by.

I didn't actually hate this movie... it managed to hold my interest to the very end, however, it left me feeling dissatisfied.

There was simply too much happening all at once - it would have been nice to be allowed time to understand what was going on in a scene before it was eclipsed by another. Action is a good thing, don't get me wrong... but sometimes too much of a good thing isn't all that... um... good.

 

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