There are many types of superhumans in Push. So many in fact, that it’s a bit overwhelming. There are “Watchers”, “Movers”, “Pushers”, “Bleeders”, “Sniffs”, “Shifters”, “Wipers”, “Shadows” and “Snitches”. Try keeping track of that while watching the film. You also have to keep track of which character can do what, and when. Can our lead, Nick (Chris Evans), move things well all of the time, or just when he is motivated? Can his sidekick, Cassie (Dakota Fanning), see much of the future at all, or is she actually the most powerful character in the film?
These questions are not asked rhetorically either; I’m dead serious when I ask them. They aren’t answered by the film, nor are they really hinted upon. We don’t get conclusions regarding the extent of our protagonists’ powers, and we are also cheated by the ending. The film seems to want to hide as much as it can from its audience, just so that it will come across as being more than it actually is.
It is actually quite a simple story, dressed up by deceit and superpowers. There is a case, something that is wanted by multiple parties. The first party consists of Nick and Cassie, the latter finds the former early on and convinces him to come along on this quest. The second party is the “Division”, represented by an agent named Carver (Djimon Hounsou). The Division wants the case because it contains a drug-filled syringe. The drug in question is supposed to enhance a superhuman’s powers, but also kills them. That is, until someone survives the injection and escapes with the drug. She has hidden the now-sought-after case and ends up joining the first party at one point in the film. The rest of the movie follows each group in their attempt to find the case, and more importantly, find the drug.
At this point, you may be wondering why Nick decides to go along with Cassie’s plan to find this case. If you are, never fear, because we are told right at the beginning of the film. 10 years prior, a young nick is sat down by his father and told that, if a girl gave him a flower, he should help her. This clever bit of foreshadowing, (it’s not actually clever, or really all that much of a foreshadowing technique, but I digress), appears soon after, when she gives him a single flower. She also explains that she can see the ever-changing future, and that she has “seen” that her mother is in danger. This is Nick’s sole motivation; he has to help Cassie, because his now-late father told him so 10 years beforehand.
This could be redeemed if Nick, or any characters for that matter, were likable or relatable in any way. They all speak like they are trying to say memorable quotes, but it all falls flat. There is little emotion uttered by the characters, even when a little emotion might help us care for the characters. We don’t care about Chris, we don’t care about the Division, and we only care about Cassie a little bit, but likely only because she’s a child, one who shouldn’t have to “see” her mother’s death over and over again.
The plot is also odd in its pacing. There is a scene where the girl who originally hid the case, Kira (Camilla Belle), and Nick are left alone in a room, while on the run from the Division. While there, despite the fact that they are supposed to be fearful of being caught, they decide that it would be a good time to “make up”. They had been a couple beforehand, as we have learned, and despite her initially hostile reaction to seeing Nick, (she shoots in his direction many times), a few minutes later it seems that didn’t matter.
Visually, the film does shine. It doesn’t overdo it in the special effects department, and only makes use of the characters’ powers when necessary. Chris is a “Mover”, meaning he can use telekinesis. To what extent, and when, we aren’t told. At the beginning, he can’t even make a die turn over, but a few scenes later, he can make two guns hover and press them against the heads of his opposition. While all of this looks good, it doesn’t distract from the fact that his powers are terribly inconsistent, to say the least.
I don’t think that Push failed due to over ambition. It failed, in my mind at least, because of a poorly written script. All of its problems stem from this, from the poor dialogue, to the overwhelming number of superhuman types, as well as with the lackluster story. Push doesn’t have much, apart from the visuals, going for it, and it doesn’t stay entertaining enough to warrant a watch. The story is, at its core, good enough to work with, but it gets covered up by so many confusing elements that it isn’t worth your time to get a conclusion from. A conclusion, that I’d like to add, doesn’t come anyway.