Push

Review by Matthew Rodgers

It’s no push to say that Paul McGuigan’s lo-fi actioner is the most valiant attempt to create an original science fiction landscape since The Wachowski Brothers threw out the rule book in 1999. Everything since “woah” has been derivative – Equilibrium – or downright lazy – Jumper. But Push attempts to put a different spin on the ostracised superhero tale, it’s just a shame that the timing is off, because it has arrived in a world suffering from Heroes fatigue (ratings for the smash hit show continue to plummet) and with slight delusions of grandeur.

It takes the high risk move of dropping itself into a presumed mythology; yes we are presented with a brief A to Z voiceover from Dakota Fanning’s Cassie, but once the kinetic action begins you get the feeling that you’re missing something. It feels like watching a sequel rather than an origin story. The Matrix may have fumbled its own Reloaded and Revolutions but the creation of that cinematic universe was given time to breathe, and at points even stopped for Fishburne spewed expository dialogue. No such thing here.

Instead we are plunged head first into the fugitive life of Nick Gant (Evans – Sunshine), a novice “mover” (he has the ability to erm, move things) that is being pursued by a shadowy government agency known as Division. To his aid comes 13-year-old Cassie, a watcher (take a guess) who must assist Nick in order to fulfil their own entwined destinies that will play out on the Manga fused streets of Hong Kong.

The sparse budget means that the special effects are either low-key or reserved for the finales explosive smackdown. In both instances they are effectively rendered; the thump of a “push” or “move”, given a good sound system, reverberates in he viewers chest, a “screech” is ear-piercing to the point of over doing it and the visual trickery of the users pupils are a nice little touch, of which there are many. It’s the natural elements to the characters “superpowers” that give Push a scuzzy, dirty air of realism, and its this inventiveness that separates it from the sub-standard pack.

The cast are uniformly excellent, even if you don’t get to know them as well as you might wish. The double act of Fanning and Evans impresses the most. She is scarily mature in her first real “grown up” role, coming across as a neo-noir version of Jodie Foster in Taxi Driver, her crush on Evans’ character adds the emotional investment that’s otherwise lacking. Evans himself continues to be anything but pigeon holed in the embryonic stages of his career, picking interesting fare such as this to balance up the mainstream guff like Fantastic Four. Here he is our POV, as initially perplexed with proceedings as the audience; it’s his charisma that carries the film past the frantic market chase opening.

Djimon Hounsou and Camilla Belle do not fare as well in their respective roles. He is little more than a shady bad guy with a clichéd “you killed my father” link to our hero, and she becomes a convenient victim who also has, wait for it, a link to our heroes past.

Credit must go to McGuigan for creating a stylish, street smart slice of science fiction – the memory loss finale is mind boggling genius – and had he not intended to launch a franchise rather than make a singular stand alone movie, we might have looked forward to some further adventures from these characters. Unfortunately the measly haul of $20M in the USA has put paid to that. Push will have to remain an excellent misfire destined for cult status.