Even while I was paying close attention to “Push,” I wondered why they didn’t include Cliff Notes with my ticket. Screenwriter David Bourla (“Larceny”) weaves a complicated web where seemingly regular people are able to do extraordinary things: moving objects with their mind, controlling others telepathically and looking into the future.

Some people with unique skills, such as protagonist Nick Gant (Chris Evans, “Street Kings”), have been on the run from an organization called The Division. They are heroes in a real world setting, without fancy costumes, living among regular people and staying one step ahead of a seedy ambiguous organization.

The Division wants information from Nick about Kira (Camilla Belle, “10,000 BC”). Apparently she has the key to a secret that could threaten the Division’s existence. Cassie (Dakota Fanning, “Coraline”), a teenager who can see into the future, wants Nick’s help in rescuing her captive mother from The Division.   Read full article.

Take everything cool about the “The Matrix,” “X-Men” and the hit TV series “Heroes,” throw it out the window, and the result is 2008’s “Jumper.” Now, take “Jumper,” replace Hayden Christensen with Chris Evans, make the plot even more convoluted, and you’re left with “Push.”

The trailer for “Push” promises a visual fiesta, sweet action sequences and cool sci-fi twists – a typical, post awards-season popcorn flick. Unfortunately, director Paul McGuigan (“Lucky Number Slevin”) creates a painful experience here.

“Push” follows a group of government-altered humans with supernatural powers. The characters have titles corresponding to their abilities. “Watchers” can see the future. “Movers” are telekinetic. A “Pusher” can manipulate people’s thoughts.

Then there are the obscure ones: “Bleeders” and “Sniffs.” When a Bleeder attacks someone, they scream as loud as they can and everyone within earshot of this scream falls to the ground in agony while bleeding out their ears and eyes. A Sniff is like a bloodhound – they track people by sniffing items the person has recently touched.   Read full article.

Standard formula for an action movie is simple.

You take the American everyman, throw in a blatantly obvious love interest, make sure there’s no relevant back story, add in some easily killed bad guys and a mastermind with a convoluted plan to take over the world and start blowing things up. 

It’s a formula that works and requires little to no changes to make audiences line up to see it.

“Push” takes that formula and mentally shoves it out the window.  

The story is engaging, the bad guys are a pain to get rid of, and nobody wants to take over the world. 

Everyone, including the “hero,” is out to further his or her own agenda, and nobody is really concerned with the well being of society.

“Push” takes place in an unspecified time where people with psychic abilities walk among the commoners and the governments of the world are well aware of their existence. 

Every government has their own “Division,” a group of trained people responsible for rounding up these individuals and turning them into soldiers.

Needless to say, nobody wants to be forced into being a soldier for a shady government organization, so the plot revolves around a group’s avoidance of the supernatural drafting agency.   Read full article.

Cast: Chris Evans, Dakota Fanning, Camilla Belle, Djimon Hounsou

Plot: It’s hard to follow, but basically a shady government ‘Division’ is tracking down people with special powers to experiment on them and turn them into weapons. Watchers can see the future, Pushers can put thoughts in your head to make you do something, Wipers can erase your memory and Movers can move things. We’re not quite sure what Sniffers and Bleeders do, though some people can scream very loudly and make their victims bleed from their ears.

Nick (Evans) is a Mover, told by his father just before he dies that in the future he must help a girl with a flower. She turns out to be 13-year-old psychic Cassie (Fanning).

They’re on the hunt for a case worth $6 million and Nick’s old flame Kira (Belle), a Pusher, holds the key. On all their tails is Division villain Hounsou.

Good points: The Hong Kong setting is interesting and there are a couple of flashily exciting action scenes. The use of floating guns is quite clever and there are one or two witty lines.   Read full article.

Walking into the theatre, I was really excited for the movie Push. But to my demise, the movie started out slow.  It was hard to swallow all the surreal things people could do. The movie starts off with young Nick, the main character being advised by his dad.

Then a few years later we see Nick played by Chris Evans trying to win a dice game with his telekinetic powers. Then he remembers the words of his father when he meets a little girl that gives him a white flower. She has special future telling skills  and is trying to help her mother.

Their goal soon becomes to find a girl that can lead them to a case that contains a medical injection to enhance their special powers. The problem is that it kills them. Now who would want this to happen? The Agency, the bad guys in this movie are trying to find people with these special powers to survive this injection and then use them.

Nick and Cassie find them selves trying to fight off members of the agency as they look for the girl that will lead them to the medicine. Once they find the girl they were looking for, Kira Hudson, played by Camilla Belle, they realize that she does not have the injection they need. What they instead find is the agency following them.  Read full article.