Weekly Review -- Sci-fi... without the sci or fi

Push (2009) -- A great science-fiction thriller is hard to come by these days. I am talking edge-of-the-millennium greatness, in the vein of a bleak futuristic mystery like Minority Report or a subtle philosophical allegory like Sunshine. Unfortunately, Push belongs to neither of these categories, while cheapening its entertainment value by leaving its own ideas high and dry. Nick Gant (Chris Evans) lives a quiet life in Hong Kong, making money by running gambling cons. He is what is known as a a Mover, occasionally using his dormant telekinetic talents and trying to steer clear of the Division, a covert government agency that murdered his father -- also a telekinetic -- ten years earlier. When Nick comes across Cassie Holmes (Dakota Fanning), a Watcher who sees the future, she enlists him to help her find a powerful Pusher, Kira Hudson (Camilla Belle), a girl whose mind "pushes" thoughts into other people's. The two need to make sure that the Division does not find Kira first, since the agency plans to use her for testing purposes. However, their road is paved with complications and the Division is a ruthless opponent... The plot sounded interesting, the trailer looked awesome, for lack of a better word, and most the cast are usually not associated with bad projects. So, what gives? The movie is almost incomprehensible, moving from flashbacks to bits of characters' histories, from the past to the future, making us feel as though we are running a marathon and not watching an exciting movie. The dialogue has a lot of potential, revealing some unique things about the characters, but the surface is barely scratched and all of the different personalities never explored. This omission is particularly frustrating when it comes to scenes featuring Hook Waters (Cliff Curtis), a Shifter who uses his mind to change the appearance of objects, and Teresa Stowe (Maggie Siff), a Stitcher who can heal and wound people at will. These two psychics make quite an impression in every scene they are in, partly due to Curtis' aura of clout and Siff's seductive siren demeanor, and it is too bad that the screenwriters do not delve deeper into their backgrounds. The dialogue is also the only interesting part of the screenplay, since the rest of it pushes -- oh, yes, pun intended -- and pulls in all directions, not all of them logical. With their incredible abilities, two of the most powerful psychics end up fighting mano-a-mano? What was the point of the underdeveloped Pon family? Why tease with intriguing supporting players if we were never going to get to learn more about them? The myriad unripe plot lines are wrapped up in and seeping out of one another at such speed, you would need a filing cabinet to separate all the layers, yet you would still be hard-pressed to create a cohesive whole. The acting is mostly adequate, with Fanning, Curtis and Djimon Hounsou being the standouts; nevertheless, their inventiveness is lost within the half-baked screenplay. Although Push is far from a good movie, it is not a complete miss. You should give it a shot when tempted, if only for the cool concept that somehow manages to squander its own superpower -- the one to impress the audience.

5/10