The trouble with making a movie about groups of people with superpowers in a post-X-Men world is it has huge potential to feel like a rip-off. The TV show Heroes is about the only successful example out there, and the only reason that managed to do it was because it was all about everyday people.
So along comes Push, an original (i.e. not based on a comic book or novel) action flick about — wouldn't you know it — people with superpowers. But despite some flourishes of creativity, some impressive action scenes (although an annoying lack of them), and great use of a relatively low budget to create some wowing special effects, Push is uninspired, unoriginal, and a waste of opportunity.
Push exhibits a world where superpowers are almost everyday occurrences, with abilities such as telekinesis and clairvoyance not out of the ordinary. It focuses on Nick (Chris Evans) and Cassie, two young people with powers who are being hunted by a secret agency that's hell bent on controlling the various superpowers. The two of them must try and track down a young woman who will enable them to evade the agency for good.
Everything from the initial plot synopsis to the poster, trailers, and beyond, gives off the scent of Heroes. A government agency trying to track down and control people with superpowers? And it's something Push never really breaks away from; there are flashes of creativity and some great action sequences (only not nearly enough) in there but you're constantly reminded that you've seen all this before. It would have been different if it had done something shocking with the sub-genre, thrown a wrench in the machine, but sadly it stays within expectations.
Now most of the fans of this type of movie will no doubt lap all of this up. Most won't care that it lounges about in the ditch of the conventional superpower character movies and just enjoy what it has to offer. And yes, there are parts of Push that are genuinely exciting and engaging, such as a brilliantly choreographed chase sequence through a Chinese marketplace and a fantastic near-end fight sequence. And during these sequences, even at points in between which call for it, it has some impressive special effects that defy the fairly low budget (when compared to other special effects-laden films). But that's about it; entertaining in places, wowing in others, but it's a case of "so what?" We've seen this kind of thing done before and beyond some surface glazes of action and special effects there's nothing special to be found here.
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