Push (2009)

Push is a truly great story universe trapped in a truly crap plot. It may seem odd to recommend a film while making that admission from the get-go, but considering the far-greater numbers of crap universes encompassing crap stories, Push is worthy of exhibition on these grounds alone. And others as well.

A black ops agency known as The Division has been tracking, employing & imprisoning psychics for decades. They have classified and deconstructed all manner of abilities and persons throughout the globe. For tracking, they use "Sniffers", human bloodhounds who can locate anyone, anywhere & anyone they've ever been with. For plotting, they use "Watchers", packs of premonitioners who know exactly what will happen, where & when. Other agents specialize in healing ("Stitchers"), telekinesis ("Movers"), wiping memories ("Wipers"), shielding objects & blocking other abilities ("Shadows").

Then there are "Pushers": the ultimate human weapon. Once they have you in eye-sight, they have complete control. They can implant false memories. Forego true ones. Force you to commit acts of violence against yourmself or others. Or just disappear.

What makes writer David Bourla's world so interesting, however, is not how clearly he defines these abilities, but how clearly these abilities define his characters. "Watcher" Cassie Holmes' (Dakota Fanning) central anxiety is that, while she can see the future, she lacks the means to express this information to others. "Sniffers" prove to be pure fetishists, up in arms over a fresh toothbrush. Low-level "Pushers" are free-wheeling playboys, but those within the throngs of The Division are so far-removed from humanity that nothing they say or do can ever be trusted.

In comparison, Push's story just isn't that interesting. Charting a troop of teen psychics in Hong Kong as they attempt to track down missing "Pusher" Kira (Camilla Belle), the only one of their peers to escape The Division and survive a miracle drug (which they also have to track down; don't worry, it gets messier). Aside from provoking a lame romance subplot with lead "Mover" Nick Gant(Chris Evans), the colorless Kira is entirely disengaging. To cover this, Bourla sautees in two opposing teams of villains: The Division, led cleanly, efficiently & spookily by Henry Carver (Djimon Hounsou), and a family of Chinese psychic gangsters (Orientalism at its finest: their main psychic power is to scream really loud and burst your eardrums). If the story had more to go on, it wouldn't be as easily overburdened, but you don't have to be a "Watcher" to see the twists & turns coming a mile off.

Yet, as sloppy as Push's story is, it remains an interesting low budget blockbuster. Director Paul McGuigan uses kinetic camera, swirling colors & eclectic style to cleverly disguise limitations and ratchet up the action. Hong Kong, cinema's quintessential un-American metropolis, becomes a truly alienating, scary place. Characters are so isolated they're rarely even shown in frame together. But when they are, it's a joy; Hounsou and Cliff Curtis are treats, and Fanning is able to balance tween snottiness with childish insecurity with her unlikely (and barely willing) protector Gant.

Don't pay full price. I didn't. But do check it out.

*** 1/2