Two out of
Five stars
Running time:
111 mins
This obviously Heroes-inspired cash-in promises much but delivers very little, thanks to a confusing plot, uninspired direction, poor dialogue and a curiously lacklustre performance from the normally reliable Evans.
What's it all about?
Directed by Paul McGuigan (Lucky Number Slevin), Push stars Chris Evans as Nick Gant, a second-generation telekinetic (or mover) who's been hiding out in Hong Kong ever since a shadowy government agency known as the Division murdered his father a decade ago. However, when 13-year-old clairvoyant (or watcher) Cassie Holmes (Dakota Fanning) tells Nick that she needs his help, he finds himself drawn into the search for Kira (Camilla Belle), a powerful pusher (someone who can implant thoughts in people's minds) who has escaped from Division HQ, where they were experimenting on her.
However, Division (led by Djimon Hounsou as Agent Carver) are hot on Kira's tail thanks to their supply of human bloodhounds and Cassie and Nick soon find themselves in the firing line. Will they be able to rescue Kira and prevent Division from creating an army of superpowered psychic types?
The Good
Incredibly, for a film about people with psychic superpowers, there's only one central action set piece (not counting the climax) and if you've seen the trailer then you've already seen it. The film also has a great premise that's served the likes of Smallville well over the years, but the scriptwriters don't seem to know what to do with it.
The Bad
To be fair, Fanning is excellent, but the normally reliable Evans seems to be on a go-slow – you're expecting his usual wise-cracking, quick-witted persona and all you get is a couple of digs at Fanning’s crappy hairdo. In addition, the script is extremely dull (it could really have used some humour), the dialogue is flat and the ridiculous, overly complicated plot falls apart the moment you think about it.
Worth seeing?
Despite a strong premise and a promising cast, Push lacks a sense of fun and is ultimately worse than a bad episode of Heroes.