| Push | |
|---|---|
Theatrical release poster |
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| Directed by | Paul McGuigan |
| Produced by | Bruce Davey William Vince Glenn Williamson |
| Written by | David Bourla |
| Narrated by | Dakota Fanning |
| Starring | Chris Evans Dakota Fanning Camilla Belle Joel Gretsch Djimon Hounsou Li Xiaolu Cliff Curtis Neil Jackson Ming-Na Maggie Siff |
| Music by | Neil Davidge |
| Cinematography | Peter Sova |
| Editing by | Nicolas Trembasiewicz |
| Studio | Icon Productions |
| Distributed by | Summit Entertainment (USA) Icon Film Distribution (UK) |
| Release date(s) | February 6, 2009 |
| Running time | 111 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $38 million[1] |
| Box office | $48,808,215[1] |
Push is a 2009 American science fiction thriller 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.
Contents |
A narrator describes how people with psychic abilities have been involved with the United States government since 1945. Two "Movers", Nick Gant and his father, are on the run from the "Division". Realizing that escape is impossible, Nick's father tells him of a vision he received from a "Watcher"; a girl will give him a flower and he is to help her in order to help all the people with powers. Nick's father throws Nick into an air vent as Agent Henry Carver of the Division arrives. Nick's father is killed.
A decade later, the American Division tests a power boosting drug on a "Pusher" (someone who can implant thoughts in others' minds), named Kira. Hundreds of subjects died from the drug before her; she is the first to survive. Rendering the doctor unconscious, Kira steals his security clearance card and an augmentation drug-filled syringe and escapes. In Hong Kong, Nick is hiding from the Division as an expatriate. He attempts to use his ability to make a living, but his poor skills at "moving" at a dice game leave him indebted to a local Triad controlled by "Bleeders", bred by the now-defunct Chinese Division. A young girl named Cassie Holmes arrives at Nick's apartment, explaining that she is a "Watcher" and that they are going to find a case containing 6 million dollars. They are attacked by Triad Bleeders but escape.
Nick and Cassie go to a nightclub on a hint from Cassie's predictions. Nick sees an old friend, "Hook" Waters, who is a "Shifter". He uses his abilities to make a replica of the clue in Cassie's drawing and tells them to go to Emily Hu, 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" Stein to hide Kira from the "Sniffs". Cassie finds the key 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 Division. Nick devises a plan that involves seven envelopes in which he places instructions; each person in the group is entrusted with one red envelope, and none are to be opened until the right time. While Kira and Pinky leave, Nick and Cassie share a goodbye. Cassie tells him to "take an umbrella, it's going to rain", he replies with "you be careful too".
Nick uses a "Wiper" to erase his memories of the plan, ensuring that Watchers from both Division and the Triads will not be able to interfere. Hook retrieves the case, which has the syringe Kira stole, and brings it to Cassie. He 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 as a side-effect. Carver shows Kira her badge.
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. They are ambushed by the Triads. In the midst of the fight, Carver injures Nick. Nick grabs the case and jams the syringe into his arm, which "kills" him. After the fights ends, Nick wakes up. Cassie appears with an umbrella and smiles at him. "I told you to bring an umbrella" she tells him, revealing it was part of the plan. Cassie 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 Agent Carver, Kira opens her purse, finding her red 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 obviously 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.
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.
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 3x the power than a punch delivered normally.
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).
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 the blood vessels from the effects of their own ability. They are also sometimes known as Screechers or Screamers.
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.
Shifters can temporarily alter the appearance of an object by manipulating the 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.
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.
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.
Stitches are psychic surgeons trained to quickly reconstruct cells to their previous or healthy state. Using only their hands, they can heal and even "unheal" 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.
Porters are skilled teleporters.
Phasers are able to alter their body density and can pass through any and all solid objects. They are also able to phase others and objects through solid objects as well, but they have to be holding on to that certain person/object.
Changers have the ability to shape-shift into anyone person they desire.
Readers have the ability to read the minds and thoughts of others.
Stoppers have the ability to stop time. They can only freeze the objects/people in the rooms they are in. Some stoppers have been noted to be able to freeze entire households. They are able to selectively freeze at will. ( Meaning if there is a big group of people they can freeze how ever many people they desire and freeze and unfreeze certain body parts of others) but this has been noted to take a great more deal of concentration for them. When outside they can only freeze at whatever object they are pointing at.
Shockers have the ability to absorb and create electricity through the palms and fingertips of their hands, because of their ability to absorb electric they can with stand being shocked on a greater scale then the average human being but they are more prone to tempers and fits.
Stealths have the ability to absorb light and are able to bend the light around themselves to make them invisible to the naked eye, which gives them a stealth-like ability. By touching others, they are able to make them invisible alike. Stealths can still be seen by infra-red goggles or animals that hunt by sensing body heat. They are only able to stay in invisible for a certain period of time because eventually the light they absorbed to bend the light around their bodies will dissipate and they will have to absorb more light. Also because of their ability to absorb light and shield it around them, brightly shining lights like the sun or LED lights have no effect on their eyes.
Whispers are skilled telepaths. Experience will increase the amount of people a Whisper can communicate with. As the number of people they communicate with increases, the harder it is to stay connected. They can also connect with strong emotions in the form of a psychic blast that gives the receiver an extreme headache; if the Whisperer focuses hard enough they can immobilize the receiver.
Starters can ignite any object or thing by physical touch.
Timers have the ability to bend time at will, unlike Stoppers. Timers can only slow time down or speed it up, some advanced Timers can even slow time on entire cities or towns.
TimeRiders are powerful time travellers. They have the ability to create their own Time Portal, tapping into the power of "Chaos Space". A dimension that alters the very physics of space-time. TimeRiders can use this space and travel to any time they wish. (for example, a TimeRider can go to 1831, 1912, or 2553) Traveling forward to the future will take more energy than going backwards to the past.
Thinkers have what would normally be called a 'Super Brain'. Their ability makes their mind more powerful then a supercomputer. They can solve mathematics more easily than advanced mathematicians. Their Intelligence Quotients were of 50x that of normal humans. Their vision will be accompanied by holograms of what was needed to help them solve problems. (For example, if a Thinker was looking at 328 x 248, the numbers will be calculated like a normal human calculation, but visually as fast as a calculator. The answer 81, 344 will be shown has a hologram in the answer box.)
Rippers possess superhuman strength. They are strong enough to pull off a safe door with their bare hands, send people flying off their feet with a single hit, break away from restraining cuffs that could hold down an elephant, lift large amounts of weight, throw people and heavy objects like ragdolls and literally rip people in half. Rippers also have superhuman feats of durability able to withstand physical blows from grown men without getting bruised or showing any sign of weakness.
Feelers can feel others' emotions and can tell when they are lying. Feelers tend to become annoying when they start to tell you your mood change every second. It's really difficult to block a feeler, but only powerful shadows can block feelers. Powerful feelers can change their opponents' emotions as well. They can also predict other people's next actions just by knowing their emotions.
Push was generally poorly received by critics.[2] Rotten Tomatoes reported that 21% of critics had given the film positive reviews, based upon a sample of 106.[3] 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.[2]
On its opening weekend, the film opened #6 grossing $10,079,109 in 2,313 theaters with a $4,358 average.[4] 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.[1]
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.”
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.[5] Issues were published between November 2008 and February 2009, and a softcover collection (ISBN 978-1401224929) was published in September, 2009.
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.
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.[6]
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 |
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