Parents' Guide to

Push

By James Rocchi, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 15+

Sci-fi thriller has more style than story; some iffy stuff.

Movie PG-13 2009 121 minutes
Push Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

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age 13+

Based on 6 parent reviews

TheoDoyp
TheoDoyp Adult
January 29, 2016
age 13+

Push movie review

I give Push 3 Stars out of 5. The film's central idea is interesting. Look, this film wasn't to great but there where certain aspects i liked but more of the ones i didn't. It's a good looking film in blu-ray (hd) and it feels as if what the film was made for. It's very stylish/stylised like CSM said and some things the film tries to showcase didn't work at times (for me). The content is suitable for teens and up for the violence (although it's mostly stylised it's quite intense and extensive at times.) Overall this was an alright Sci-Fi thriller but might dissapoint fans to this genre or for others, it'll be a masterpiece.

This title has:

Too much violence
JLFM
JLFM Adult
May 8, 2012
age 14+

Dumb movie, and definitely not appropriate for kids

This title has:

Too much violence
Too much swearing
Too much drinking/drugs/smoking
See all 6 parent reviews

What's the Story?

In Hong Kong, Nick (Chris Evans) lives a life of shabby exile. He's one of a number of people who are skilled psychics or have other special abilities; governments use these "genetic abnormalities" as tactical weapons, but Nick wants no part of that world. But he winds up with little choice in the matter when 13-year-old clairvoyant Cassie (Dakota Fanning) knocks on his door. She wants to enlist him in a scheme to steal $6 million -- and save her mother, who's being held by the conspiratorial agency known as "Division" ... which just happens to want to make people like Nick and Cassie into living weapons.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (6):
Kids say (32):

Stylishly shot, PUSH is a high-tech thriller that tries to combine the run-and-gun realism of the Bourne films with the high-flying fantasy of comic-book cinema. The simplicity and restraint in the film's central idea is interesting: The "special talents" can do incredible things -- see the future, move objects with their mind, control others'' thoughts, act as psychic bloodhounds -- but they can only do one incredible thing. But director Paul McGuigan's execution is too clever by half, losing our interest (and the thread of the plot) in a tangle of convolutions and tricks, when all we want is a smart story cleanly told.

Still, it's hard to have a bad time watching Evans and Fanning, and the film looks incredible -- the neon wasteland of Hong Kong at night gleams and throbs like an electric bruise. With a cleaner script and some judicious editing, Push could have been a nice addition to the recent explorations of the street-level side of comic-book action. Unfortunately, the film as it stands feels like a bungled attempt to kick off a franchise that will never happen.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about whether teen drinking seems less serious in a sci-fi setting. How does the movie portray Cassie's use of alcohol? Does it seem realistic? What would the consequences be in real life?

  • Families can also discuss the onoing appeal of superhuman fantasies. Why are they so popular? How does this movie compare to ones like Sky High and Spider-Man?

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