Push

Push is a stylish and gritty take on the super hero genre


Synopsis:
A small group of people, with different psychic abilities, fight to free themselves from the experimentation and exploitation that has made their lives a struggle.


Review:I remember reading the reviews for "Push" last year and dismissing it completely. It has an aggregate score of 36 on Metacritic, and that's usually well South of a score that I would entertain giving a shot in my most cooperative, let someone else pick, movie mood. But, somehow, or other, I ended up seeing it at home and am really sorry I wasn't tricked into seeing it at the movies, because I would have walked out pretty happy. Now, I'm not saying it's some world beating cinematic tour de force, but it was well shot, has a clever story, and was much more compelling than I ever could have expected it to be.


Nick, our hero, has been running from the secret government organization that killed his father for 10 years. Before he dies, his father tells him to look out for a certain thing and, no matter what, Nick had to follow it through. Why was his father killed, and why is he on the run? Well, Nick is gifted with telekinesis, which allows him to move objects with his mind and the government uses people like him to find the path to unlock the potential of these extraordinary abilities. They do bad stuff to them to make it happen.


There are others out there with similar powers to Nick's. While he can move things, others can see the future, heal, manipulate sound, create illusions, or alter people's memories. As we see him at the beginning of the movie, Nick gets by on gambling and parlor tricks that use his abilities, and he's clearly trying to keep a low profile. But, he's soon found by the agency that killed his father, and they think he can help them find something very important that's missing. After they are convinced he can't help them, they leave with the promise they'll be watching. As he packs up to go on the lam again, Cassie shows up at his door with the call to adventure!


So, why doesn't "Push" deserve an aggregate score of 36? There's rarely a time when someone says to me, "you have to look at it for what it is... A popcorn flick," and I don't scoff. It's the same with kids movies. "Ratatouille" is a "kid's" movie, and it's a fantastic film. There's no excuse for crap like "Alvin & the Chipmunks, The Squeekquel." Movies can be for some random audience or other and still be good. "Sherlock Holmes," I imagine, would be justified away as a popcorn flick. It had action, quippy dialogue, some sort of love interest thrown in to spice it up, and it was plenty shallow enough for those with a short attention span. But, the action wasn't that great, there wasn't much going on to care about, the love interest didn't have much chemistry. So, it fails as a popcorn flick because it didn't do what it was supposed to do very well... entertain. "Push," on the other hand, succeeds as a popcorn flick because it does what it's supposed to do, and very well.


It's full of action and quippy dialogue. It has lots of beautiful people, thus, a sheen of shallowness. And, there's romance. Why does it work? First of all, it's very nice to look at. The bright colors of Hong Kong at night create a beautiful palette with which to compose great action scenes, and help reinforce the drama. It's mixed with a gritty style that makes everything feel very intense. Every shot seems very thoughtfully composed and it's edited in a rhythm that is quite appropriate for the style of the film.


The characters, while being attractive in that typical popcorn flick way, all seem to have a weight to them that makes you care a little bit. Dakota Fanning, as Cassie, does a good job of being a girl way past her age that, under a veneer of toughness and bravado, barely contains her fear of the future that she sees. Nick genuinely seems to care about her as the film goes on. The characters convincingly work together because it really does seem like something's on the line. While all of the main characters have these special abilities, they are also very human, and it's shown quite well that they are relate-able. So, everything that happens has a little more emotional weight behind it.


The love story is reinforced by the events that surround it. Things happen to the characters that show the viewer that they have a real history that means something. We're not just told that they have a history and expected to build some believability around it in our own heads... the filmmakers went through some effort to convince us.


And, the action! Yeah, the action is cool. Maybe not everyone likes to see people with special powers, but this kind of escapism is perfect for the popcorn flick label, and I'm all for it as long as it serves a good story. There are all kinds of psychic pyrotechnics that add an excitement to the story that really drives it forward, and can put you on the edge of your seat. Nick's powers are cool to watch as he starts to get better at using them, and the penultimate showdown is very cool. And, none of them had to be wearing silly costumes to do it.


Finally, the story is executed in a way that keeps you guessing a bit how it will all work out in the end... an actual mystery of sorts. Everyone's powers work well in the story to make it happen, and that's rewarding to see play out to make it all work. The dialogue never seems like it's meant to be telegraphing what's happening, which is also a welcome relief. Sure it's pretty flashy, but the artistry and brains are there, and I like it.


I still can't get why it got such low reviews. Some of the critics seem to turn off their fun meter for things that deserve it, and turn it on for things that are irredeemable. "Push" is a clever, well shot, wolf movie draped in straight-forward action, lamb's wool, celluloid. I hope it makes it to some sort of cult status, cause I think it deserves it.