PUSH is a film that, upon its initial release, was panned by many critics who called it too flashy and fun. Duh! It is flashy and fun! The problem is that most people want to see a superhero film based on a comic book, which PUSH is not The movie’s back story has been produced as a series of comic books. It is based on government psychic experiments that took place during and after World War II.
PUSH is about a group of young people who have developed psychic powers that they have inherited from their parents. The government has developed an organization called the Division, whose job is to track down these psychics using other psychics who are part of the government’s cause. The government wants to experiment on the innocent psychics using a performance-enhancing drug that will help make them more powerful, so that they can be used as a psychic army. Nick Gant (Paul Evans) has the ability to move things and is known as what the psychic world calls a Mover. He has watched his his father killed by agents of the Division, led by Agent Henry Carver (Djimon Hounsou). Years later, Nick is living in Hong Kong when he gets a knock on the door and finds two Division henchmen who are looking for Kira (Camilla Belle), a Pusher, a psychic who can invade a person’s mind and make them do whatever she wants. She is the only living survivor of the performance-enhancing drug. She has escaped with the drug and is headed to Hong Kong with it. During the journey, Nick meets and a young girl named Cassie Holmes (Dakota Fanning), a Watcher who can see the future and has been sent by her mother to help Nick find Kira. Together they go on a mission to find Kira and help her expose the Division for what it really are.
How could I not like a story that took its basis from real life? It is no secret that our Government has done experiments with psychic phenomena. There is even a documentary on the DVD in which a guy who worked for this division of the government talks about what kind of experiments they did. The script is based on a what-if concept using these stories of government experiments. The script has an even balance of both character development and story that go into the script. It also has its fine share of action and terror.
The acting is fair. Dakota Fanning gives the best performance is the film in a part that is a bit out of her element. She usually plays the innocent little girl, and in this film she still holds that appearance, but is a fighter as well. Paul Evans, the Human Torch in the FANTASTIC FOUR movies, is in another superhero role. He is much more compelling here, as he has a more developed character with which to work. Camilla Belle is great as the mind-controlling Kira, and while Djimon Hounsou will probably never give as good as a performance as he did in Amistad and BLOOD DIAMOND, he still plays a decent villain in this film. The rest of the supporting cast includes Neil Jackson of the Blade television series, Cliff Curtis and Maggie Siff.
For a film that was produced for only thirty eight million dollars; it came off like a film produced for twice that much. The set design and locations were beautiful and the visual and special make-up effects were decent. One thing I found out about this production is that it was entirely shot on location and not in a studio. This explains why this film was made for such a mire budget of thirty eight million, but one may thing by how visually stunning the film is that it was shot on a sound stage. Just goes to show that shooting on location is always better.
The Blu-ray disc has a few special features, including an audio commentary with Director Paul McGuigan and some members of the film’s cast. There are also deleted scenes with director’s commentary as well. The featurette, “The Science Behind the Fiction,” is a mini documentary about how governments around the world have experimented with psychic phenomena and how it relates to this film.
PUSH is one of those films that I really had a good time watching. I liked the overall premise of the story and the little bits of trickery that are put into the story’s plot. The film can be looked at as a superhero film, but it seems a bit more realistic than the usual costumed hero movie. I know that I am in the minority when I say that I loved this film, but I did. I think anyone with a sense of wanting to have a good time seeing a fun film and escaping realty for a while will really enjoy this one.
– Horror Bob
- Interview with J.R. Bookwalter - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Andrew J. Rausch - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Rick Popko and Dan West - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Director Stevan Mena (Malevolence) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Screenwriter Jeffery Reddick (Day of the Dead 2007) - January 22, 2015
- Teleconference interview with Mick Garris (Masters of Horror) - January 22, 2015
- A Day at the Morgue with Corri English (Unrest) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Writer/Director Nacho Cerda (The Abandoned, Aftermath) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Actress Thora Birch (Dark Corners, The Hole, American Beauty) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Actor Jason Behr, Plus Skinwalkers Press Coverage - January 22, 2015
