PUSH - Review

On Saturday I received a text message from Dylan. "Push is rad". That's all it said. I was somewhat interested in seeing this film. Ever since I saw Pitch Black in theaters I have had this sort of fascination for non-summer blockbuster sci-fi films. Usually they totally blow, films like Jumper and Ultraviolet come to mind. I wanted to like Ultraviolet because it was made by the director of another small sci-fi flick called Equilibrium. So I am really weary of checking out one of these films. Since Dylan gave a ringing endorsement and Stevi didn't have an interest in seeing Push, i decided to check it out today. Armed with a Christmas giftcard I would have very little regret if the movie blew.

I have to tell you, this movie is not as rad as I had hoped, but i definitely was not disappointed. The movie sets up the world that the characters inhabit within the opening credits. Long story short, offspring of individuals that were experimented on by Hitler's scientists run around the world and try to kill each other.

There are Pushers, Sniffers, Watchers, Stitchers and so on. The film centers around Chris Evans (johnny storm) who has the ability move shit with his brains! You have probably seen the commercial where he is making guns float around a room. He is joined by a girl played by Dakota Fanning, who has the ability to see different possible future scenarios. Together they are the Brains and Muscle who are thrust into a super over the top conflict that is full of twists and turns.

I thought that the movie was pretty good and the payoffs with the twists and turns were pretty well worth it, but, i think in the hands of a more seasoned director, could have made this a really great little film. There should have been so many more "Holy Shit" than there actually was. I also feel that this movie may have suffered from editing. I have a feeling that the deliberate pace of the film may have not pleased some test audiences, so the movie was cut down to get out only the "necessary" information, while losing some of the character arcs and intricate mythology that i feel was sorely lacking.

All in all i thought it was a pretty good movie. It was what it was, but i would love to see a directors cut, especially since i have this sneaking suspicion that the film was also cut to give it it's PG-13 rating.

★ ★ ½