Push Review

[Music] A.R. Rahman - Musuam and Escap (Slumdog Millionaire OST)

I know I haven't posted to this blog in a terribly long time, but I need somewhere to collect my thoughts on a movie review I'm writing. I want to get everything out of my head so I can cull it down for posting on the KUHF website. Here we go:

PUSH.

(Summit Entertainment. 1 hour, 51 minutes. Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of violence and action, brief strong language, smoking and a scene of teen drinking. Directed by Paul McGuigan.) Chris Evans (Nick Gant), Dakota Fanning (Cassie Holmes), Camilla Belle (Kira Hudson), Djimon Hounsou (Henry Carver). Music by Neil Davidge.

Division, a government agency that specializes in weaponizing people with psychic powers, produces a drug that enhances said powers, though it kills most of its recipients. When Kira, the lone surviving test subject escapes to Hong Kong with a sample, three groups race to claim the drug: Division, a local gang and our heroes Nick Gant and Cassie Holmes, two American ex-pats with their own scores to settle with Division. Capable performances, a furious pace and a nicely executed setup combine to form a very competent action film. Evans seems right at home, having previously played Johnny Storm/the Human Torch in the Fantastic Four films, and Fanning shows a nice bit of range, driving the story and providing exposition without grinding the proceedings to a halt. Hounsou's Carver is calm, ruthless and calculating, which is a nice respite from the typical scenery-chewing that these types of movies attract. Good performances from Nate Mooney, Ming-Na and Cliff Curtis round out a very competent cast. The action sequences are well-choreographed and cool to watch, though some suffer from overly enthusiastic camerawork. The plot introduces the "world" of the film ably, giving us enough information to keep track of the proceedings while withholding or obscuring enough to keep things interesting. It will keep you guessing, though it does get a little murky in places. However, a good chunk of the film involves two people who can see the future trying to outwit one another, which has a way of complicating things. This leads us naturally to the best part of the film, the psychic powers.

The best way I can think to describe the powers on display is to imagine the X-Men, if, instead of the unique abilities, their powers fell into distinct categories. The categories are well-defined and given punchy names: Movers are telekinetic (can move things with their minds); Pushers can push thoughts or orders into other's minds (the power of suggestion); Watchers can see glimpses of the future; Shifters change the appearance of objects; Sniffers can see the location and history of an object or person through scents; and Shadows can mask people from detection. There are several others that are mentioned but never explained, such as the Bleeders, while a couple of others are demonstrated but never really explored, such as the exact nature of the powers of a lady simply named Stitch. (As a sidebar, watching two Movers have a fistfight is pretty visceral and very entertaining.) The film gives us enough information about the powers it presents, but it left me interested enough in the setting and the unresolved plot threads to make me wish for a sequel. That is not to say that the plot doesn't attain some modicum of closure, but the film could have stood to be a tad longer, giving it time to tie up a few things (I'm really curious about Dakota Fanning/Cassie's mother). All in all, I can easily recommend this film.

**EDIT** The film's website does shed some light on the powers, such as the Stitches and the Bleeders. Granted, the pretty laggy and poorly designed, but informative nonetheless.

Okay, I think that about wraps it up. Now to edit that down.