Push

[arp2008]

"Synopsis: Push is a sci-fi thriller that takes us into the secret world of psychic espionage. Our hero is NICK GANT (Chris Evans), a young man whose father was genetically altered to be the perfect government assassin. After the brutal murder of his... Push is a sci-fi thriller that takes us into the secret world of psychic espionage. Our hero is NICK GANT (Chris Evans), a young man whose father was genetically altered to be the perfect government assassin. After the brutal murder of his father, Nick swears revenge on the agency that created him.

Hidden in the underworld of Hong Kong, Nick assembles a group of rogue psychics to defeat Division, the covert agency responsible for creating and experimenting with psychic drugs for decades.

Nick teams up with CASSIE HOLMES, a thirteen-year-old girl who can see the future, to track down a missing girl and a stolen suitcase that could potentionally bring the downfall of Division — the key to their mutual revenge. Combining their skills, they outwit assassins and learn about Division's latest secret weapon — a powerful and new experimental drug called R16, which could shift the tides of psychic warfare.--© Summit Entertainment" - http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/10010066-push/

Trailer - http://www.joblo.com/video/joblo/player.php?video=pushtrlr

Impressions, anyone?

[Toku King]

Just saw the trailer an hour ago. Looks pretty good, though the whole government plot is too cliched.

[Legato]

I like it, the movie kinda reminds me of a mixture between Heroes and X-Men. I doubt the movie would do any good since it has a same old, same old vibe when it comes to the plot.

[smartalek]

I saw the trailer, and it looks fun. It has hong kong style choreography and stylized cinematography, so at least the action looks like it will have a good pace to it, and not have it be over edited and shaky.

[The Zapper]

It looks like crap to me. Now, if it's good fun crap, or just crap I don't know. I'll probablly wait until DVD or HBO to see it.

[kalorama]

This story idea has been warmed over so many times that the meat is all dried out tougher than leather. If they can make an interesting or entertaining film out of this, it'll be a real feat.

[Tobias March]

This story idea has been warmed over so many times that the meat is all dried out tougher than leather. If they can make an interesting or entertaining film out of this, it'll be a real feat.

If it's pulpy sf fun like Equilibrium, with an added dose of HK-fabulous I might enjoy this.....

If not we're talking something like Jumper/Paycheque.....brrrr Paycheque. I hate it when they do PKD wrong (which is nearly all the time).

[DWEarhart]

I would only watch this film for Djimon Hounsou and his bad assness. But I wouldn't even watch Never Back Down.

Push, while cliched, could be fun; however, I doubt I'll be seeing it in theaters.

[kalorama]

If it's pulpy sf fun like Equilibrium, with an added dose of HK-fabulous I might enjoy this.....

If not we're talking something like Jumper/Paycheque.....brrrr Paycheque. I hate it when they do PKD wrong (which is nearly all the time).

As bad as they were, Paycheck and Jumper were 100 times more entertaining than Equilibrium, which in addition to being bad and derivative was also dull and pretentious.

[Alexrules]

That's the best name they can come up with?

Isn't there anything in the story that they can use?

Like

"The Legend of Graymal!":redface:

or

"Search for the Seven Keys of Fintoozler!"

'Push'! That's it.:confused:

[mr.brighteyes]

I think it looks great. Dakota Fanning is thirteen? wow. Chris Evans is not a bad lead character and this looks a hundred times better than Jumper.

[Totoro Man]

That's the best name they can come up with?

Isn't there anything in the story that they can use?

Like

"The Legend of Graymal!":redface:

or

"Search for the Seven Keys of Fintoozler!"

'Push'! That's it.:confused:

"the Seven Keys of Fintoozler!" sounds like a Crow T Robot quote... now I gotta go back and watch some of those... hey, was that from "Cave Dwellers", by chance?

[Black Atom]

Just saw the trailer an hour ago. Looks pretty good, though the whole government plot is too cliched.

Coming on the heels of the Jumper thread, I'm going to do you a favor and help manage your expectations.

This movie has a chance to be moderate-to-good popcorn fare if it can deliver on some cool special effects and fight scenes. I wouldn't expect much more than that from it. If you come back here after seeing it complaining about plot holes, you'll only have yourself to blame!

*This whole post is meant to be sarcastic/jest if that's not clear.

[QuietRiver]

Well, they're putting out a miniseries that serves as the prequel to the movie right now. I think there are summat like 3 issues out. At the very least, the Push comic is good. If they keep it anything like the comic version, the movie might not actually be that bad.

For some reason, the plot summary for the movie is just making me think its Wanted with psychics...

[Tobias March]

As bad as they were, Paycheck and Jumper were 100 times more entertaining than Equilibrium, which in addition to being bad and derivative was also dull and pretentious.

Equilibrium was not good. When Sean Bean quoted Yeats I groaned inside. Then outside as well for good measure.

Yet despite that I still thought it brainless fun, whereas Jumper and Paycheck were obnoxious (I especially didn't like Paycheck for taking off a PKD story. Blasphemy. Plus I'm having trouble remembering any of it)

Wait - here's that terribly exciting chase scene (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WZvC3YTqm9k)

[kalorama]

Brainless? Yes (although the director clearly though he was being clever, which just made it worse). Fun? Not so much. The movie's pretentiously dour pontificating tone pretty much choked off any possibility for fun as far as I was concerned. Paycheck and Jumper at least had Paul Giamatti and Sam Jackson on hand to provide some scene chewing diversion.

[Tobias March]

Brainless? Yes (although the director clearly though he was being clever, which just made it worse). Fun? Not so much. The movie's pretentiously dour pontificating tone pretty much choked off any possibility for fun as far as I was concerned. Paycheck and Jumper at least had Paul Giamatti and Sam Jackson on hand to provide some scene chewing diversion.

You're underestimating the strong affection viewers of British television have for Sean Pertwee :smile:

[Alexrules]

"the Seven Keys of Fintoozler!" sounds like a Crow T Robot quote... now I gotta go back and watch some of those... hey, was that from "Cave Dwellers", by chance?

Yes. I love that episode. Ator rules!:biggrin:

[Christopher Cross Is God]

For some reason the trailer reminded me of Jumper.


Equilibrium was not good. When Sean Bean quoted Yeats I groaned inside. Then outside as well for good measure.

Yet despite that I still thought it brainless fun, whereas Jumper and Paycheck were obnoxious (I especially didn't like Paycheck for taking off a PKD story. Blasphemy. Plus I'm having trouble remembering any of it)

Wait - here's that terribly exciting chase scene (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WZvC3YTqm9k)

As bad as Jumper was, it was far better than Equilibrium.

Equilibrium surprised me. I figured with Christian Bale & Sean Bean, it couldn't be bad, but it was..........Really bad.

[Deep_Sleeper]

Looks cool. But so did Jumper.

I'll probably check it out. I'll hate myself if it turns out to be another Jumper.

[Infernorhythm]

I'm dead excited for Push. Chris Evans, Djimon Honsou, Neil Jackson, good cast. Story looks interesting, and having seen a fight scene from the film, I can say the action looks very unique.

[KenK]

I'm dead excited for Push. Chris Evans, Djimon Honsou, Neil Jackson, good cast. Story looks interesting, and having seen a fight scene from the film, I can say the action looks very unique.

It's got telekinetic punching! How is that anything but ridiculously cool! (I'm not being sarcastic, in case anyone is wondering.)

[Legato]

Looks cool. But so did Jumper.

I'll probably check it out. I'll hate myself if it turns out to be another Jumper.

That is what's making me hesitant. But the cast is enough to give it a shot.

[kalorama]

Like Jumper, this one will be a rental.

[choptop]

If it's pulpy sf fun like Equilibrium, with an added dose of HK-fabulous

what is HK-fabulous?

[kalorama]

what is HK-fabulous?

The new fragrance from Calvin Klein.

[Infernorhythm]

So I just saw Push, and I highly recommend it.

It was smart, grounded, and never approached camp or any "wait...what?" moments. This is not a Heroes or X-Men ripoff. It's original, inventive, and very good.

The cast is perfect. Chris Evans and Dakota Fanning play off each other surprisingly well, and there's a scene with Dakota Fanning that was shocking (in a good way), and downright brilliant. Djimon Honsou and Neil Jackson are great as the antagonists, and both manage to come across as menacing without hamming it up.

The action is very inventive. It's not revolutionary like the Matrix's action scenes, but it's nevertheless surprisingly cool. It actually had a plot (unlike Heroes or Jumper), which had some great twists, and it never felt predictable.

Definitely worth seeing.

[Tien Long]

Really? I somewhat disagree. Just saw the movie today, and was totally pumped to see it, but i felt really confused during several points. I think i got hung up on what the exact nature of the Watcher's powers and the exact nature of these special wbeings relationship to Division (so everyone who has special powers was at one time part of division). Plus, I think the sound was off in my theater, since I couldn't make out a lot of the dialogue, which in itself didn't particularly have anything stand out. It pissed me off because i don't think I got the entirety of Nick's plan during the latter half of the movie. It was a great plan and it was executed very cleverly, but I still don't get how he implemented it. Indeed, there were alot of clever and surprising twists and turns throughout the movie, which i would have enjoyed more if i wasn't so hung up on what the hell a Watcher did.

I do agree with the reviewers somewhat, that this movie was a little convoluted and I do wish that there was a bit more going on between the rest of the characters. Still, the movie had a lot of inventive moments and some really great action scenes. Prepare to get this on DVD, since I think you'd need to watch it multiple times to understand it.

[Infernorhythm]

Really? I somewhat disagree. Just saw the movie today, and was totally pumped to see it, but i felt really confused during several points. I think i got hung up on what the exact nature of the Watcher's powers and the exact nature of these special wbeings relationship to Division (so everyone who has special powers was at one time part of division). Plus, I think the sound was off in my theater, since I couldn't make out a lot of the dialogue, which in itself didn't particularly have anything stand out. It pissed me off because i don't think I got the entirety of Nick's plan during the latter half of the movie. It was a great plan and it was executed very cleverly, but I still don't get how he implemented it. Indeed, there were alot of clever and surprising twists and turns throughout the movie, which i would have enjoyed more if i wasn't so hung up on what the hell a Watcher did.

I do agree with the reviewers somewhat, that this movie was a little convoluted and I do wish that there was a bit more going on between the rest of the characters. Still, the movie had a lot of inventive moments and some really great action scenes. Prepare to get this on DVD, since I think you'd need to watch it multiple times to understand it.
On the idea of it being convoluted, I think people were preparing for a mindless action film. This wasn't that. It had a plot, and the action moved the plot along. There were twists in it, and they were pretty surprising, but made sense. Sorry to hear the sound was off in your theater, I didn't have that problem. See it again, it might make more sense. Also, not everyone worked for Division, they were just aware of it. The only one they explicitly said worked for Division was Hook.

As for Watchers, here's what I saw: A Watcher saw things based on decisions made by people. It's like a fork in a road situation. You choose to take a certain path. That creates a certain future, which the Watchers see. Things can be changed though. No path was permanent. When Nick nearly died in the beginning, one future began to fade, as we saw the Chinese Watcher witness. Watching is kind of like a security system, it can be fooled.The big plan at the end took that into account. If no one knew what they were doing, and only followed instructions, they could keep the Watchers off their backs.

I've got to say, Honsou and Jackson make a great villainous pair. Although, between this and Quantum of Solace, I wish Jackson would get more lines; he hardly spoke. He rocked in Blade: The Series, give him a chance to do more than body language.

[Tien Long]

Good explanation on what a Watcher is. Still, didn't the Shadower (sp?) also once work for Division as well?

Thinking about it over, maybe I should see the movie again. At the same time, I hope (though I know will not likely happen after reading some of the reviews) that there meet be a sequel simply b/c I liked to see Evans and Fanning work together again. Both had a really good chemistry in this movie.

[FroFroYo]

I loved the movie- everything about it, really. Even the ending, although a lot of people said they didn't like it. I don't understand why, though. Besides the fact that it left things open for a sequel, which I am pretty sure was the point, I thought it wrapped everything up nicely. It was said that it left a lot of things open, but I couldn't think of any. Otherwise, Infernorhythm summed everything up nicely, and I dont have much more to add.

[Cleric of Hell's Brigade]

I liked the movie quite abit.


Especially the bad guy Pusher (didn't catch his name in the movie). He was awesome.

[Kaos]

Looks good. Great cast as well.
Chris Evans is a joker, Dakota Fanning is dope and Djimon Honsou is a badman.

[Infernorhythm]

I liked the movie quite abit.


Especially the bad guy Pusher (didn't catch his name in the movie). He was awesome.

Henry Carver was his name. I loved Djimon Honsou in Blood Diamond, and while I never pictured him as a villain actor before this, he was brilliant as a bad guy. That scene where he met Cassie was pretty chilling. Push definitely had one of the scariest interpretations of mind control.

[Tien Long]

I loved the movie- everything about it, really. Even the ending, although a lot of people said they didn't like it. I don't understand why, though. Besides the fact that it left things open for a sequel, which I am pretty sure was the point, I thought it wrapped everything up nicely. It was said that it left a lot of things open, but I couldn't think of any. Otherwise, Infernorhythm summed everything up nicely, and I dont have much more to add.

Yeah, I really liked the ending. Not only did it leave open the possibility for more sequels, but it also continued the movie's great pattern of twists and turns. I liked the fact that the movie, in it's very last scene, was still able to pull a unique trick on the audience.

Sadly, my fears of there not being a sequel are probably going to be proven true. The movie wasn't even able to break the top 5 this weekend, and will probably be pulled out of theaters at the end of the month.

[Dreadstar]

This movie ended up exceeding all my expectations. To be fair, my expectations were pretty damned low. As long as you don't think too hard about the internal logic of some of the powers and scenes showing them, it's fairly entertaining.

Just don't go in expecting art or outstanding acting and you'll be fine.

[kalorama]

This movie ended up exceeding all my expectations. To be fair, my expectations were pretty damned low. As long as you don't think too hard about the internal logic of some of the powers and scenes showing them, it's fairly entertaining.

Just don't go in expecting art or outstanding acting and you'll be fine.

Pretty much my feeling as well. The only part I'll diverge from is the rating of the acting. It's certainly not Oscar caliber, but it was a lot better than I was expecting given my generally low opinion of Chris Evans and Dakota Fanning. I thought they both turned in sold, effective performances within the limited framework of the story.

[Dreadstar]

"Solid" and "effective" as adjectives for the acting is OK by me. Neither reaches into the realms of "outstanding."

[Your Imaginary Pal]

Not a terrible flick, I'd say it was better than Wanted, and stuck to it's internal logic.
But some of the last films I saw were the Spirit and Punisher War Zone.
This made up for those films.
I'd give it 3.5/5.
Entertaining exciting and well thought out.

[blazoner]

To simplify things:
After the Nazi's were defeated, every major government on the planet began programs to enhance Psychic abilities. Each had a different name, but the US program was known as the "Division". These programs were all working on the same things, and apparently, not all of the subjects were willing.
The characters on the run in the film are 2nd generation, meaning they are the children of these test subjects, so they never volunteered for anything.
The patient with the glass ball is Cassie Holmes' mother, who sets the stage for the escape.

I really enjoyed this film.

p.s. When I saw Casino Royale in the theater, the sound was horrendous, so I hated it. I'm glad I took the time to see it on Blu-Ray, it was actually quite good.

[chickrockguitar]

I finally saw this today, and I thought it was pretty good!
I'd like a Sequel. I'd go and see it.

[felix77]

The Hong Kong locales were the strongest point in this move. Real atmospheric.
Fanning and Evans have a nice Brother-Sister relationship as well.

The concepts of the "Watchers" battling was interesting and there was a nice Minority Report touch at the beginning (Remember the rolling ball?).

Consider this a good Heroes Episode that was actually done well for once.