One Push Can Change Everything.
Starring: Chris Evans, Dakota Fanning, Camilla Belle, Cliff Curtis, Djimon Hounsou
Director: Paul McGuigan
2009 | 111 Minutes | PG-13
“Did you push me?” – Nick Gant
“Don’t like it? Push back.” – Kira Hudson
I have said numerous times that I have been severely disappointed with the X-Men movie franchise. Push is a movie that attempts to create a world of super powered humans, similar to the X-Men universe, but plants it square into the “real world.”
Nick (Chris Evans) and Cassie (Dakota Fanning) are telekinetic and clairvoyant Americans hiding in Hong Kong from a clandestine U.S. Government agency called Division. Nick and Cassie join together to take the fight to Division to avoid being abducted and turned into government controlled super soldiers.
Watching Push really is like watching a real world version of X-Men except instead of all crazy different kinds of mutations, all of their powers come from their minds in one way or another. The powers are all pretty unique and are perfectly executed for this universe (and budget).
Watchers – can see the future
Movers – can move things with their mind
Pushers – can control what others do
Sniffers – can find other people, think of a bloodhound
Stitches – can heal
Shifters – can temporarily alter the appearance of an object
Bleeders – can scream to the point where glass shatters, fish explode in a bloody mess and blood vessels in people’s heads to rupture, eventually causing the victims to bleed to death
Wipers – can erase memories
In this universe there is likely no time travel, no second mutations and no one coming back from the dead. Although I am sure this stuff could easily be added at some point if writers desired, the Push universe lacks the more confusing and sometimes dumb aspects of the X-Men comics. It also manages to pull me in unlike anything the X-Men movies have been able to do.
It’s tough for a PG-13 movie to not feel like the violence was toned down for less mature audiences. Push manages to pull it off extremely well. The final fight is pretty awesome and finds a way to wrap just about all of the different powers into one fight. A couple movers use their powers to supercharge their punches to hit with significantly more force. Another instance has a mover run out of bullets in his gun at which time he turns everything around him into a telepathic projectile weapon. Kick Ass!!!
Push really seems like it could have developed well with more time devoted to it. More heroes, more powers, more teams with different philosophies. It could have been the mutant movie universe Fox couldn’t manage to deliver. There was a rumor of a television series for a while but I haven’t heard anything about it in quite some time. As it stands, Push is still a really fun movie with an awesome ending.
Action Movie Fanatix 