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DVD review- Push (2009)
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Chris Evans and and Dakota Fanning in Push.
Push is the newest in a long line of movies to utilize characters with psychic and telekinetic abilities. Psychics have played major roles in films as varied as The Dead Zone, Minority Report, and the X-Men series. Telekinesis (aka psychokinesis, the ability to move or distort objects with the mind), while not quite as exploited by Hollywood, has been featured prominently in films such as Carrie, the Star Wars series, and even Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood (where Jason matched wits with a telekinetic girl). Push combines a large cast of battling psychics, throws in an evil government conspiracy, and mixes it all together with a very entertaining action-packed post-Matrix sensibility and slickness.
Chris Evans (The Fantastic Four, Not Another Teen Movie) stars as Nick Gant, a young man with telekinetic abilities (known as a "Mover") hiding out in Hong Kong from a secret U.S. government agency known as The Division. The Division experiments on all types of psychics, using deadly drugs to make them stronger in the hopes of using them as weapons. After Nick's apartment is raided by Division agents who are "Sniffers" (meaning they can smell objects and learn the whereabouts of those who have used the objects), he meets a 13-year old "Watcher" (a clairvoyant, one who can see the future) named Cassie Holmes, played by Dakota Fanning (I Am Sam, War of the Worlds). Cassie tells him that together they are going to find a suitcase containing six million dollars, and from there they set off on a chase involving a multitude of psychics both good and evil, government agents, and Triad gangsters.
Push succeeds in crafting a world filled with several types of opposing psychics. Besides those mentioned already, we also meet "Pushers" (who are able to push innaccurate thoughts or memories into the minds of their victims) and "Bleeders" (who emit high-pitched screams that can cause objects and even the blood vessels of their victims to rupture). Some of these psychics do not have full control of their abilities, allowing for some effective plot twists and characterizations. The action sequences are top notch, ranging from a chase through a marketplace beset with exploding fish tanks to a telekinetic standoff involving floating guns.
Push combines the elements of both action and science fiction movies with well-crafted characters (even the supporting cast is impressive) battling each other and their own paranormal abilities. The film brings up several interesting questions, such as how does one escape their enemies when clairvoyants are being used to track them. Push deserves to find a bigger audience on DVD, especially since the film creates multiple franchise opportunities. Highly recommended for fans of intelligent science fiction thrillers.
DVD features include a commentary with the director, Chris Evans, and Dakota Fanning; deleted scenes; and, a featurette entitled "The Science Behind the Fiction," which details some of the research that has explored psychic powers. Also available on Blu-Ray.
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