Push, 2009

Great affects and good idea, but as a whole there's just something that doesn't work for me.

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Push looks really good, for obviously using The Matrix as a guide. People block bullets, use powers to move things and shoot guns without having to handle them. This film doesn't lack on special effects, just a coherent plot. That's muddied behind a curtain of extravagant, expensive explosions. After some battles, I forgot why they started. The acting is decent, but Fanning is still too young for this role. She's supposed to be 13-years-old in the film. The character acts more like a seasoned CIA veteran. I think Fanning is still two years away from being able to pull-off a tough girl on-screen. It wasn't all that long ago we saw her in Charlotte's Web (2006). That and she's the voice of 8-year-old Coraline in Coraline, which also released this weekend. Push tries to be inventive and original. It really tries hard, but it's downfall comes in the mess of a story with too many holes. It plays like a glorified episode of “Heroes” without real substance. Aside from Fanning, there aren't any notable household names. If you want science-fiction, re-watch The Matrix. One star.

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First of all, "pushing" doesn't mean moving objects. Those are called "movers." There actually have been multinational government projects to develop their 'sensitives.' The Nazi footnote merely attempts to set the movie in the real life present day. It's actually pretty cool if you give it a chance. Camilla Belle is the only weak actor. Evans turns in a good show as all he must do is get beaten up. Dakota is likable for the first time. The superpowers are limited in conception, but really strong for film or franchise. Where X-Men abysmally failed in exhibiting the impossibly wide range of skills (I'll stop at the War Room fight against the fog with a Sentinel head), this smaller set of merely superhuman powers works to Push's advantage. The last duel is certainly worth it even if the "bleeders" are as ridiculous as when we first see them in the market fight. They do have a megahot "watcher" on their team though--so there's that. I read the NY Times reviewer scoff at the contrived story (nazi reference again?) and cringe that brainless teenage boys might actually think it's themselves they're watching up there on screen. The reviewer seemed to think that all of these Super /Mutant movies are emblematic of the laze and unoriginality of today's youth. You can attribute these movies to the X-Men first, and the "graphic novel" deluge that followed. X-Men is truly one of the greatest inventions in pop culture, and we are really sick of movie studios dumping all over us. We are outnumbered by them that gobble up the drivel and leak their bile, but we can be grateful when someone gets it right. This is closer to getting it right than failing. I will admit that after my opening day matinee, we could have had a geek convention right there in the hallway. We all hemmed and hawed during the previews of Crank2, Fighting, and Knowing. God those look awful.

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