Push

Push Information

Push is a 2009 American science fiction superhero film directed by Paul McGuigan. The film stars Chris Evans, Dakota Fanning, Camilla Belle, Cliff Curtis, Joel Gretsch and Djimon Hounsou. The film centers on a group of people born with various superhuman abilities who band together in order to take down a government agency that is using a dangerous drug to enhance their powers in hopes of creating an army of super soldiers.

Plot

People with psychic abilities have been involved with the United States government since 1945. Two "Movers", Nick and his father, are running from the "Division". Nick's father tells him of a vision he received from a "Watcher"; a girl will give him a flower and he must help her in order to help all the people with powers. Nick's father hides him as Agent Carver of the Division arrives. Nick's father is killed.

Ten years later, the American Division tests a power boosting drug on a "Pusher" (someone who can implant thoughts in others' minds) named Kira. Someone drops a clear ball that gets stuck in a door. Rendering the doctor unconscious, Kira steals his security clearance card and an augmentation drug-filled syringe before escaping through the same door.

In Hong Kong, Nick is hiding as an expatriate. A young girl, Cassie, arrives at Nick's apartment, explaining that she is a Watcher and that they are going to find a case containing six million dollars.

Following Cassie's predictions, they go to a nightclub. Nick sees an old friend, Hook, who is a "Shifter". He tells them to go to Emily, a "Sniff" who can help them find Kira. Nick and Cassie find Kira, who had a romantic relationship with Nick. They recruit a "Shadow" named Pinky to hide Kira from the Sniffs. Cassie finds a key in her shoe to a locker in which Kira hid a case. With the aid of Cassie's visions, they piece together the events that led them to meet; Cassie's mother used her visions to set a complex plan in motion that will destroy the Division (her mother dropped the clear ball at the start of the movie, as a watcher, she knew what would happen). Nick devises a plan that involves seven envelopes in which he places instructions; each person in the group is entrusted with one envelope.

Nick uses a "Wiper" to erase his memories of the plan. Hook retrieves the case, which has the syringe Kira stole, and brings it to Cassie. Hook shifts another case to match the case with the syringe. Cassie takes the shifted case to Nick's apartment and waits. Nick regains consciousness: he has no memory of the envelopes or his plan. He opens his envelope, which tells him to return home. He finds the case in his room but Carver introduces himself to Kira as a friend, stating that her memories are false; she is a Division agent who volunteered to take the augmentation injection and suffered amnesia. Carver shows Kira her badge.

Before saying goodbye, Nick assures a worried Cassie that she will survive and everything is going to be fine. She leaves as the Hong Kong watcher tracks her to finally kill her. At the last moment, the Wiper appears and erases her memory, saving Cassie.

Nick goes to retrieve the augmentation drug and confronts Carver and Kira. Carver tells Kira and Nick that their relationship never happened; it was a "push" memory. Kira reveals she has been using Nick and Nick takes the three to the building that contains the lockers and the case. Carver locks Nick in his car's trunk and goes to retrieve the case. They are ambushed by the Triads. In the midst of the fight, Nick is released. He goes to find Kira and is confronted by Victor, another Mover and a Division agent who works for Carver. During the fight between Nick and Victor, the leader of the triad kills Victor in retaliation for killing one of his sons. Nick grabs the case and jams the syringe into his arm, apparently killing himself. After the fight ends and Carver leaves with Kira, Nick wakes up. Cassie appears, and retrieves the true case, revealing that Nick injected himself with soy sauce, as they planned. Asked whether they will see Kira again, Cassie tells Nick that they will see "Miss Trouble soon enough".

Flying back to America with a sleeping Carver, Kira opens her purse and finds her envelope. She remembers Nick telling her to open it when "she started doubting the truth" and opens it. She finds a photograph of herself and Nick in a relationship, and a message written on the photograph that says "KILL HIM" on the upper left corner and "See U soon, Nick" on the lower right. Kira "pushes" Carver, commanding him to put his gun in his mouth and pull the trigger. The screen fades to black, followed by the sound of a gunshot.

Cast

Chris Evans as Nick Gant, a Mover living in Hong Kong in order to stay hidden from Division, whose father was killed by Carver. He was born in America and once had a relationship with Kira. One form of income, although not always successful, is to manipulate betting games involving dice using his ability.
- Colin Ford as a young Nick Gant.
Joel Gretsch as Nick's father Jonah, an advanced Mover whose refusal to join the Division cost him his life. It is implied that he and Hook once worked in the Division together.
Dakota Fanning as Cassie Holmes, the daughter of the greatest Watcher that the Division has ever encountered, and a Watcher in her own right. Like all abilities, hers is not fully developed as this happens through training. She is sometimes confused by what she draws in her premonitions.
- Cassie's mother Sarah Frank is uncredited; a powerful Watcher who was captured by the Division to prevent her use of powers against them. It is through her that most of the events occur as she helped Kira escape Division HQ, paid Wo to erase Kira's memories, as well as get Teresa in the right place to heal Nick, and told Nick's father to tell his son to follow the one who gave him a flower. This alone shows the strength of her Watcher abilities, as she saw this all happen at least a decade ago where most can only see a few hours or days into the future.
Camilla Belle as Kira Hudson/Hollis, a high-level Pusher, a recent escapee of the Division, and the only Division patient to have survived experimentation.
Djimon Hounsou as Agent Henry Carver, a Division agent and a powerful Pusher that killed Nick's father. He is sent to recapture Kira.
Ming-Na as Emily Hu, a Sniffer who helps Nick and Cassie find Kira. She works as a fortune teller in Hong Kong.
Cliff Curtis as Hook Waters, a Shifter. He used to be in the Division and after getting out, his wife died in a suspicious car accident and he knew the Division was involved. Since he moved to Hong Kong he has begun hanging out in high-class escort bars where he uses his shifting ability to pay his way. He implies that Nick's father had a similar past and it is confirmed in the comics that both used to work for the Division. He has a habit of saying "that won't last long" after he uses his abilities.
Nate Mooney as Pinky Stein, a Shadow who hid Kira from the Sniffs. His nickname is derived from the Division's removal of his right pinky finger.
Corey Stoll as Agent Mack, a Sniffer agent.
Scott Michael Campbell as Agent Holden, a Sniffer agent.
Neil Jackson as Victor Budarin, an advanced Mover and Carver's right-hand man.
Maggie Siff as Teresa Stowe, a Stitch who helps heal Nick after an encounter with the Bleeders, as requested by Cassie's mother, who told her to be in a certain place at a certain time and help whomever was there. She is, however, not seen as altruistic, but, instead, out for personal gain rather than helping Cassie and Nick overthrow the Division.
Paul Car as Wo Chiang, a Wiper who lives on a house boat in Hong Kong Harbour.
Xiao Lu Li as Pop Girl, a Chinese Triad Watcher who tries to find Nick and Cassie throughout Hong Kong. Like Cassie, she draws her visions. Her visions are based on others' intentions and decisions.
Kwan Fung Chi and Jacky Heung as Pop Boys, the two Triad Bleeders.
Haruhiko Yamanouchi as Pop Father, Triad Bleeder and father to the three 'Pop' siblings.

Types of Superhumans

Watchers

Watchers have the ability to foresee the future to varying degrees. As knowledge of the future invariably causes that future to change, Watchers' visions of the future in their direct sphere of influence are subject to frequent shifting. Watchers visions are like a sense of deja vu. Watchers can get visions at will. Drinking alcoholic beverages can temporarily enhance a Watcher's abilities (as shown by Cassie). Cassie and Pop Girl are Watchers and Cassie's mother is also an advanced Watcher.

Movers

Movers are powerful telekinetics who are trained to identify the specific atomic frequency of a given material and alter the gravitational field around it, usually causing the nearby air to appear warped. This allows them to move both animate and inanimate objects. Advanced Movers can work at the molecular level, creating energy shields in the air around them or create power fists and kicks, a strike that delivers three times the power of a normal punch. Nick is a Mover, but not a very advanced one, unlike Victor, Carver's right-hand man.

Pushers

Pushers have the ability to implant memories, thoughts and emotions into the minds of other people in order to manipulate them. The skill level of the Pusher determines how many people the Pusher is able to control at one time, and how vivid the implanted memories are. A powerful Pusher can push a large group of people at the same time, basically creating a personal army. A Pusher is able to make a person do anything the Pusher desires, even commit suicide. A Pusher's eyes indicate how powerful they are: their pupils will dilate to certain degrees depending on how powerful the push is (for example, Henry Carver's eyes are rendered completely black, signifying that he is an extremely able and effective Pusher). Carver is a trained Pusher, and Kira as well.

Bleeders

Bleeders have the ability to emit high-pitched sonic vibrations that cause ruptures in a target's blood vessels. While using this ability, their pupils turn into vertical slits, like a snake's, because of synthetic materials implanted in them to protect their blood vessels from the effects of their own ability. They are also sometimes known as Screechers or Screamers. Pop Girl's brothers and father, the Triads, are Bleeders.

Sniffs

Sniffs are highly developed psychometrics who can track the location of people or objects over varying distances. Like bloodhounds, their ability is increased if they have tactile access to an object that has been in direct contact with the subject. Sniffs receive information in the form of images, which is why identifiable landmarks help increase their effectiveness. Emily Hu is a highly trained Sniff, and she uses her powers for money. Carver's associates who kidnapped Kira are also Sniffs.

Shifters

Shifters can temporarily alter the appearance of an object by manipulating patterns of light interacting with it. Once the illusion is established, it remains with the object for a short period of time. For example, a Shifter could touch a one dollar bill and alter it to appear as a one hundred dollar bill until the effect expires. The object shifted must have roughly the same dimensions as the object it is shifted into. The length of time that the effect will last is based on the Shifter's experience. Hook Waters, an ex-Division agent and Nick's friend, is a highly experienced Shifter.

Wipers

Wipers are skilled at either temporarily or permanently erasing memories, an invaluable asset in espionage. Experience will dictate the accuracy of their wipes, though there is always the danger that they will eliminate a desired memory. Wo Chiang, a fisherman who lives on a dock, is a Wiper who uses his powers on those who request it for money. He also erases part of Nick's and Kira's memory, and saves Cassie from Pop Girl by sneaking behind her and wiping her entire memory.

Shadows

Shadows are trained to block the vision of other clairvoyants, such as Sniffs, making any subject within their target radius appear "dark". Experience will enhance the size of the area they can shadow and the intensity of their shielding effect. Shadows need to be awake to manifest their ability, so it is common for a detail of two Shadows to operate in shifts while protecting a person or object for extended periods. Most Shadows are effective only against Sniffs, but some extremely powerful Shadows are able to block even Watchers. Pinky, a friend of Nick's, is a Shadow, and he is effective only against Sniffs. Like other characters, he also uses his powers for money. An old woman hired by Kira to hide the syringe has the ability to shadow an entire building, even from Watchers.

Stitches

Stitches are psychic surgeons trained to quickly reconstruct cells to their previous or healthy state. Using only their hands, they can heal and even un-heal whatever they have done. For more detailed work, Stitches use a silver-based cream on their hands which acts as a conductor for their ability.

Reception

Push was generally poorly received by critics. Rotten Tomatoes reported that 21% of critics had given the film positive reviews, based upon a sample of 106. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the film has received an average score of 36, based on 21 reviews.

On its opening weekend, the film opened #6 grossing $10,079,109 in 2,313 theaters with a $4,358 average. As of Nov 2010, the film has grossed $48,858,618 worldwide, and $16,285,488 in DVD sales in the US alone making $65,157,106 (not including worldwide DVD sales) surpassing its budget cost of $38,000,000 by over $27 million.

Variety: "A confused jumble of parts in search of a whole, Push plays like a mix-tape sample of scenes from Heroes, Fringe, Alias and The X-Files as it follows good guys gifted with paranormal powers trying to stave off bad guys with the same?"

The Hollywood Reporter: "While the concept of corralling assorted Movers (those with telekinetic talents), Watchers (clairvoyants) and, of course, Pushers (mind controllers with the ability to alter one's memories) and placing them against a stylish Asian backdrop is intriguing, the picture seldom rises to the occasion. ?monotonous?"

Screen Daily: "The most compelling thing about Push is its setting. The film was shot entirely on location, which affords it a fresh look and feel, be it in a chase through a local fish market or the juxtaposition of modern skyscrapers and bamboo scaffolding?[The screenplay] is a jumbled mess of narrative clichés."

Comic

Wildstorm, an imprint of DC Comics, published a comic book mini-series that acts as a prequel to the film. It was written by Marc Bernardin and Adam Freeman (who write The Highwaymen for Wildstorm) and Bruno Redondo supplied the art. Issues were published between November 2008 and February 2009, and a softcover collection (ISBN 978-1401224929) was published in September, 2009.

Home release

Push was released on DVD and Blu-ray on July 7, 2009. The DVD included deleted scenes, a commentary, and a 'making of' featurette. Wal-Mart released the film as a double-feature DVD with Knowing.

Television series

On January 19, 2010, Summit Entertainment, E1 Entertainment, and Icon Productions announced that they were developing a television series based on the film. David Hayter will write the pilot and will executive produce with Dark Hero Studios partner Benedict Carver. It is unknown if the actors and actresses from the original film will reprise their roles.

Soundtrack and score

No official soundtrack has been released, although the full score is available to stream online on the official Neil Davidge website.

Artist	Title
The Kills	What New York Used to Be
Yin Xiangjie	The Love Of Boat Trackers
Radio Citizen and Bajka	The Hop
Working for a Nuclear Free City	Rocket
Neil Davidge	Original music for Push
UNKLE	Glow
Daniele Benatie and Fernando Paterlini	Everybody Ciao
South Rakkas Crew	Elevator China
The Notwist	Consequence
South Rakkas Crew	China Funk
The Old Ceremony	Bao Qian
Jiang Xianwei	A Visit to Suzhou