Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #885 in DVD
• Released on: 2009-06-29
• Rating: Suitable for 12 years and over
• Format: PAL
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 107 minutes

Synopsis
Scotsman Paul McGuigan (WICKER PARK, GANGSTER NO. 1) directs this high-energy sci-fi thriller set in Hong Kong. Nick (Chris Evans) is a 'mover', meaning he can move objects with his mind. As a child, he escaped from Special Agent Carver (Djimon Hounsou) of the Division, a U.S. government operative who rounds up those with psychic gifts so that the government can perform experiments on them with the goal of creating a psychic army. Ten years later, Chris is lying low in Hong Kong when 13-year old 'watcher' Cassie (Dakota Fanning), who can see the future, shows up on his doorstep. Together, this odd couple sets off on an adventure that brings them to Kira (Camilla Belle), who has escaped the Division and is on the run. Kira possesses a dangerous gift: she is a 'pusher' who can plant ideas and make anyone believe anything she wants. Along with some other psychic friends, Nick, Cassie, and Kira go on a frenetic quest that may bring down the shady Division and set its psychic captives free.


PUSH's psychics are a bit closer to superheroes, albeit without the costumes: 'sniffers' can see the recent past by smelling an object, 'shadows' can keep people and objects hidden, 'shifters' can temporarily change the appearance of an object, and so on. The special effects in the fight scenes featuring Agent Victor Budarin (Neil Jackson), who can shield himself from bullets and send people flying across the room with a whisk of his hand, are particularly well done. Evans holds his own as the reluctant hero, and Fanning is, as always, a formidable presence on screen. Hong Kong itself is another character in the film, providing a crowded, fast-paced, anonymous backdrop for the action.

Customer Reviews

You love this film and you want this dvd
You remember seeing it at the cinema, don't you? how you were so desperate to see it that you took the day off work. and how worthwhile it all was. you loved this film so much you've been waiting ever since to own a copy of it. and now's your chance...

you don't remember it? that's because the above is a push. or would be if they were real. a suggestion that can be implanted into someone's mind. they will believe it. and they will, if it's a suggestion to do something, carry it out.

the people who do this are called pushers. they have the mental ability to do so. and they're not the only ones. in the world of push there are all sorts of mental powers in existence. movers can make objects move with their mind. watchers can see the future and draw what they see. and that's just the start. all of this is as a result of research into such powers carried out by the nazis in world war two. the research got into allied hands after the war and these psychics, and the shady organisation called division that most of them work for, came about as a result. all of this is explained in voiceover exposition during the opening credits sequence.

set in hong kong the film centres on nick, who is trying to make a living using his power as a mover to win dice games. he's not doing too well. into his life comes 13 year old watcher cassie [dakota fanning, growing up somewhat in terms of characters she gets to play] who needs his help in a scheme that could bring down division. but there are plenty of other people in hong kong with powers. and with division getting in on the act as well, nick and cassie have a lot of work to do to stay alive and change the future.

this is not a superhero movie. it's a story of ordinary people who just happen to have special powers. they dress like normal people and they live in the real world. and hong kong and the location work done there for the filming provides a very effective backdrop to that.

all the actors are pretty good, and the plot does twist and turn nicely. this is not a special effects movie either, but it does manage some good set pieces thanks to cunning visuals and clever camera work. it is alas a bit slow in the middle, when the film rather marks time waiting for things to come together for the ending. but the final act is superb, twisting and turning so many times you'll be constantly surprised. and it features the best bamboo based fight since house of flying daggers. it's probably the only such scene since then, but it's a very good one.

all in all a highly effective thriller with science fiction elements and well worth a look.

the dvd comes in a box with a lenticular cover. Which means the cardboard covering to the box actually serves a purpose for once.

the only language tracks and subtitles are in english.

it's sparse on extras. there's a commentary from the director, plus chris evans and dakota fanning.

a short feature running for nine minutes called the science behind the fiction that feature the director talking about the movie and a former us military man talking about real life attempts at using mental powers. you may doubt the veracity of the latter but he's fascinating to listen to.

there are four deleted scenes which run for three minutes in total added together. these can be watched with or without a commentary from the director as to why they were cut. the fourth does show the fate of a character that you didn't get to see on screen so it's worth a look.

and that's push. a very interesting new movie world, and one I enjoyed seeing. this doesnt appear to have set the box office alight so there may not be any sequels, and that's too bad. but if you like the film you may want to read Push when it's out [a few months yet at the time of writing this] this is a graphic novel that collects a six issue comic series which is a prequel to the film. and is well worth a look

Push fails to pull it together
The ordinary-people-with-super-ability genre is becoming a bit crowded these days. Push is the latest addition, and it seems determined to draw us in to this world enough to spawn a franchise. A respectable cast and interesting idea have been thrown together - this is a world where experimentation into enhancing psychic abilities has led to a group of people in the world who can use their mind to either move items, change their shape, or see the future, as well as various other interesting talents. `Division' is the government's attempt to use and develop these gifted people, and represents the bad guy. The story requires you to stay on your toes to keep up, involving Division's hunt for a runaway `pusher' (she can push thoughts into your mind and make you believe them) and her friends who are trying to save her (Chris Evans and Dakota Fanning). It's all set in Hong Kong, giving everything an interesting look and atmosphere, and providing the other element, the local family of psychics (the screamers are quite interesting..) who want the girl too. To say more would spoil the plot in case you do decide to persevere. I wanted to like this - I like the concept, like the locations.. but somehow it just failed to make me care much, and while the ideas of the psychic abilities are explored a little, it is only at the expense of our characters who might show a range of emotion, but never become anything more than two dimensional ciphers to further the machinations of the plot.
What really lets the film down, downgrading it from a popcorn-chewing-watchable 3 stars to a 2 stars, is a let-down ending. Rarely have filmmakers been quite so blatantly left everything hanging for a sequel.. the last time I remember was Jumper - and what happened to that franchise. Probably that's a good benchmark - if you liked Jumper and did not mind the ending, then you may well like this.
In the end, the film strives so hard to become a franchise, that it forgets to stand on its own two feet. Memorable in places, but the sum is ultimately less than the parts.

I enjoyed it!
Well acted, fun, boisterous romp. Unusual theme. and easy to follow, although I will say others with me lost the plot completely, but still enjoyed it. Watchers, pushers, movers, bleeders, sniffs, etc etc, Hong Kong is full of them and it's mayhem all the way. Very good!