DVD review (region 2 & Blu-ray)
Directed by Paul McGuigan
Starring Chris Evans, Camilla Belle, Dakota Fanning, Djimon Hounsou
Release date 29 June 2009

Nick (Evans), Kira (Belle) and Cassie (Fanning) are three psychic-powered fugitives on the run from a secret government agency, headed by the persistent Henry Carver (Hounsou)…

Ordinary people with superpowers are being hunted down by a sinister clandestine agency… Sound familiar? Yes, Push shares more than a few similarities with NBC’s mega-hit show Heroes, though Paul McGuigan’s film can also be seen to follow in the tradition of previous psy-fi thrillers such as The Fury (1978) and Scanners (1981). McGuigan and writer David Bourla attempt to shoehorn as much plot into their film as Heroes has managed over three seasons (so far), and the result feels like it’s just a snapshot of a much larger story that continues far beyond the events on screen (the film sets up ample opportunities for both prequels and sequels).

It's certainly a fast-moving film: there's barely time to catch your breath over these 111 minutes. But the downside of such a convoluted narrative is that most of the dialogue simply ends up as exposition, and when they’re not running or jumping about, the characters are endlessly babbling about Pushers, Movers, Bleeders and Stitchers. It’s enough to make your ears bleed…

The heroes and villains wind up merely as devices to impart plot points instead of fully fleshed-out characters, which is a shame as the cast do their best with the material. Chris Evans and Camilla Belle are likeable enough as the romantic leads, and (in a role that has already generated considerable controversy/publicity) Hollywood’s favourite precocious kid Dakota Fanning bags the most intriguing character: a short-skirted hard-drinking 13-year-old who feels like a refugee from Larry Clark’s Kids. But moments of human interaction that don't service the wider narrative are few and far between. Even chief baddie Carver (Djimon Hounsou) spends most of his time chinwagging about plot points instead of doing anything particularly wicked – though he is blessed with a white beard and a tendency for sipping red wine to mark him out as a villain.

Where Push really scores, though, is in its visuals. And by this we don’t mean the usual numbing succession of CGI effects. McGuigan came from a background of photography and documentary filmmaking before making the equally great-looking (and equally flawed) Gangster No 1 and Lucky Number Slevin, and he draws on both of his former careers here. The handheld cameras and depth of focus bring an immediacy to proceedings, as do the crunchingly realistic fight scenes (it’s no surprise to learn the movie shares a stunt co-ordinater with the Bourne movies). And the film is as beautifully framed as a photograph, tapping into all of the explosive colours and energy of its Hong Kong setting, with the walls, ceilings and floors bursting with blues and greens and yellows.

This all culminates in a scattering of 10/10-worthy action sequences, which incorporate special effects and an eye for realism in unique ways: no slo-mo, swirling cameras or overstylised overkill here. One early scene, in which the ‘Bleeders’ (who have the ability to make ears bleed by emitting a pounding, ear-splitting sound) give chase to Nick and Cassie in a packed Hong Kong market, is particularly thrilling, with the Bleeders shot in comic book close-up and fish tanks shattering everywhere. It's enough to plant a mile-wide grin on the faces of action junkies everywhere.

If the narrative wasn’t quite so busy, Push could have lived up to its title and genuinely pushed the boundaries of the genre. For all its flaws, it remains a refreshing attempt to fashion an indie-actioner that, if we’re honest, is a lot more exciting than the last two seasons of Heroes. Matt McAllister

VERDICT: 7/10
The plot is overstuffed and the characters undeveloped, but this is a gorgeous and unique actioner.

Click here to read an interview with Paul McGuigan.