"This film's concept works. It's the final product that doesn't."

This February's super-power film has one thing in common with Jumper (last February's super-power film). Both aren't very good. However, they get there in very different ways, and that's worth talking about. Where the writers of Jumper didn't even bother trying to tell a story the makers of Push tried way too hard.

Dakota Fanning, Djimon Hounsou, Chris Evans, and Camilla Belle provide the acting talent. They are up to it. Dakota Fanning, in particular, seems like she's got a chance to age gracefully out of this whole schoolgirl deal. The film starts with Chris Evans as a youngster. He's got powers, his dad has powers, and they are tracked by a shadowy band of government assassins known as "The Division." Essentially, it's a mash-up between Heroes and X-Men: United. On the subject, have you noticed the rise in super hero films featuring shadowy government types? Iron Man, Jumper, Transformers, The Incredible Hulk ... it seems as though no one quite trusts a man in a suit with power these days. Social morays aside, the world of Push is fairly well set up.

Pushers can put thoughts into your brain. Movers are capable of telekinesis. There's another group that can change objects into other objects. Bleeders scream really loud, causing severe aural pain and death. A group called Shadows make it so another group called Sniffers can't find you. And Watchers can see the future, though it's constantly changing, so this skill is a bit like a TiVo on the fritz. The concepts presented are, again, distilled and elegant versions of the X-Men universe. This film's concept works. It's the final product that doesn't.

Where Push gets bogged down is in all the details. Dakota Fanning and Chris Evans square off against Hounsou's part of "The Division," with way more twists and turns than needed. In fact, I'm not entirely sure the plot was logical, only after step eight or so I gave up trying to follow anything. A prime example of a great concept shoddily executed can be found in the baddie pusher. He's capable of throwing people off of roofs without touching them, as well as stopping bullets merely with his mind. And yet, he engages in fist fighting way more than you'd think was called for. Does he just chuck everyone off a roof, as befits his power? No. He throws a few off roofs from 100 yards away, only to engage in one-on-one action with guys ten yards away. It looks more theatrical this way, but it's also completely illogical. It's a case of overselling and then not delivering.

There's also a convoluted subplot involving Fanning's mother, in which she attempts to change the future through random acts, and an ending that says "Sequel me!" But the dark streets of China eventually wear thin, and the gritty Bourne / Eternal Sunshine / Lost in Translation mash-up doesn't ever reach the level of innovative. It's definitely a fun movie to watch for a bit, just nothing you'd force your friends into seeing, even if you could push thoughts into their heads.

Grade: C

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