"Code Of The Streets" Finds Everyone Hunting Chico To Establish The Conflict In Luke Cage!

The Good: Good direction, Decent performances and character moments
The Bad: Very basic plot, which is heavily dependent upon the prior episode.
The Basics: In many ways, "Code Of The Streets" is the second part of the pilot episode of Luke Cage as it belabors resolving the last thief for the junkyard robbery in the prior episode.


Whenever a new element is added to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, I find myself fascinated by how the producers of the new work try to find the balance between the established Marvel Cinematic Universe and striking out in a direction unique to the new work. With Luke Cage Season 1 dropping on Netflix today, it is strange to see a new work in the Marvel Cinematic Universe that harkens back so frequently to The Avengers (reviewed here!), as opposed to newer works (including Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D.) which could be called back to. "Code Of The Streets" continues to explore a Harlem still rebuilding from The Incident with Luke Cage hiding out there.

Picking up where “Moment Of Truth” (reviewed here!) left off, "Code Of The Streets" continues the tradition of creating serialized television that builds on the prior episodes and makes an episode that is rich in consequences that resonate throughout the season. As a result, it is tough to discuss "Code Of The Streets" without some references as to where Luke Cage has been already. Given that "Code Of The Streets" resonates with consequences from the shootout at the junk yard where three young men robbed Cornell Stokes in the middle of a gun sale he negotiated, the prior episode is heavily referenced in the new one.

Opening with Luke Cage standing outside the Crispus Attucks Center when a thug puts a gun to his head, the episode flashes back to Detective Misty Knight envisioning the shootout at the junk yard. Back at the barber shop, Pop and Cage discuss how Mariah Dillard and Stokes extort people in the neighborhood. Stokes comes in for a shave and quietly puts out the word that he is searching for Chico. Detectives Knight and Scarfe to get information on Chico so they might find him.

Stokes and Dillard continue their hunt for Chico to recover Stokes's money, while Cage manages to track down the young man. Chico refuses to return to Pop's or return the money he stole. Shortly after Cage returns to Pop's, Chico turns up . . . unfortunately in view of Turk Barrett, who rushes back to snitch to Stokes's people. Knight and Scarfe arrive, searching for Chico. Cage attempts to set up a parlay with Stokes to make peace over Chico and the robbery, though Stokes is unimpressed by Pop using Cage as an intermediary. Acting on Turk's tip, Tone brings a team to the barber shop to try to find Chico . . . and tragedy ensues, setting Luke Cage on his course for the season.

Early in the first season of Luke Cage, the writers and executive producers took time to explore culture and make a number of references to black American authors and artists and "Code Of The Streets" is no exception to that. While the show eventually gets lazy and detail-oriented only for the plot and machinations of the characters involved, in "Code Of The Streets," there is a richness of allusions that helps characterize Harlem.

Luke Cage is given more overt characterization in "Code Of The Streets," which helps to bring him from being a supporting character to leading his own show. Cage continues to be wary of being seen by Shades Alvarez and he confides in Pop that he was originally from Georgia. Cage utilizes his tracking skills, as seen in Jessica Jones and for those who came to Luke Cage from that series, using the tracking skill is a nice touch to tie the two together. And, while Cage clearly recognizes Alvarez, Alvarez does not seem to recall Stokes yet.

While Misty Knight is finally named in "Code Of The Streets," it is Pop who has the most significant effect on Luke Cage in the episode. Pop not only reveals more hints of Cage's backstory, but he helps to characterize himself and his establishment as a true leader and a true community resource. Mentor characters are frequently treated as monolithic in genre works, but Pop is surprisingly well-rounded in his brief time in "Code Of The Streets." The flashback that illustrates Pop's violent past is an excellent blending of showing and telling the character's history.

The other significant character dynamic that is fleshed out in "Code Of The Streets" is the relationship between Cornell Stokes and his cousin, Councilwoman Mariah Dillard. Dillard illustrates a demanding side in "Code Of The Streets" and Alfre Woodard infuses a sense of menace into her. Woodard plays Dillard subtle, while Mahershala Ali continues the rise of Cottonmouth as an overtly dangerous and powerful character. Stokes is dangerous and Ali has the gangster almost always fidgeting with his fingers to help infuse the idea that Stokes is somewhat unbalanced. Ali finds the right contrast between the twitches and physical restraint to make Stokes seem well-rounded and not a parody of a villain.

Director Paul McGuigan uses tension remarkably well in "Code Of The Streets." Before starting the episode with an incredibly tense moment that the viewer knows will be revisited later on and the amazing shaving scene, McGuigan creates an episode of television where the prevailing feeling is that anything can happen. So, it is delightful when the scene does not turn into a bloodbath or a gun fight. The tension when Cage visits Stokes in the club to pitch parlay is cool in that none of the characters are yet aware of Cage's powers. While some of the shots are unfortunately telegraphed - most notably Tone purposely dropping the payment owed to Pop on the floor - most of "Code Of The Streets" looks good.

The appearance of Faith Evans in the Harlem Paradise Club continues to add a flavor and depth to the setting that feels very authentic. Despite its dependence upon the first episode to truly appreciate the magnitude of the hunt that is on for the entirety of "Code Of The Streets," the second episode of Luke Cage is well-crafted and engaging to watch.

[Knowing that single episodes are an inefficient way to get episodes, it's worth looking into Luke Cage - The Complete First Season, which is also a better economical choice than buying individual episodes. Read my review of the debut season here!
Thanks!]

For other works with Mike Colter, please visit my reviews of:
Jessica Jones - Season 1
Men In Black 3
Salt
Brooklyn Lobster
Million Dollar Baby

6.5/10

For other Marvel movie, television season and episode reviews, please check out my Marvel Cinematic Universe Review Index Page for a listing of those reviews!

© 2016 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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A Promising Beginning For Luke Cage Comes In The "Moment Of Truth!"

The Good: Character establishing, Most of the performances, Direction
The Bad: Very basic plot set-up, Minor acting and character issues for smaller parts
The Basics: "Moment Of Truth" opens Luke Cage well enough to draw in an audience, even if it is very much a set-up episode.


When it comes to elements of the Marvel Cinematic (and its broader Television) Universe, there was no element I was more excited about before it aired than Daredevil Season 1 (reviewed here!). I had become a bit of a fan of Daredevil in the Marvel Comic books, so I was eager to see justice done to the series on the small screen. I was very interested in Jessica Jones (Season 1 reviewed here!) when it made its debut on Netflix, but the truth is that at the time, I was very much part of the "why the hell are they choosing this obscure character to focus on?" crowd. But, out of all the Marvel Cinematic Universe, there has been no work I have gotten more excited about without knowing anything about the source material than Luke Cage. The character of Luke Cage made his MCU debut in Jessica Jones and he was captivating enough that without knowing much about the character in advance, I began to genuinely get enthusiastic for Luke Cage Season 1 on Netflix. That begins with "Moment Of Truth."

"Moment Of Truth" is a pilot episode that has inherent advantages and burdens. The advantage it possesses is that the character has been introduced and had initial characterization in another work. That makes Luke Cage instantly accessible to the Marvel Cinematic Universe's audience. The burdens that "Moment Of Truth" has are to both explain just where Luke Cage has been since he disappeared at the end of Jessica Jones and to define his story in a way that both allows him to stand on his own and does not completely redefine the established character. The burden on Luke Cage is more than just finding the balance between fans of the character from the comic books and creating an enthusiasm for people who tune in to just the television show; it is those burdens plus the pressure of growing a character already established while making him accessible to those who turn on Luke Cage without seeing Jessica Jones and start the character's journey with "Moment Of Truth."

And "Moment Of Truth" finds that balance, though the episode is very much a slow burn.

Opening in Pop's Barber Shop, with Luke Cage sweeping up clippings while the young Dante and Shameek getting haircuts and talking basketball, when Patricia Wilson comes in to pick up her son and gives Cage her number. Cage tells Pop that he is not looking for a relationship and he wants to keep laying low. After paying part of his rent, Cage goes to work as a dishwasher at Cornell Stokes's nightclub. Cage is asked to fill in for a bartender. There, Cage meets a mysterious woman and stumbles through flirting with her.

Stokes meets in his V.I.P. room with Councilwoman Mariah Dillard, who is running for re-election. Stokes is raising money for Dillard's campaign, by arranging a weapon's sale for a client. But, during the sale at a junkyard, some of Stokes's men get greedy and kill the buyers and steal the money before one of the three traitors from Stokes's organization freaks out and Shameek kills him. Learning of the deal going south, Stokes begins an internal investigation. Stokes is visited by Shades Alvarez, who is acting as an intermediary between Stokes and Diamondback. Together, they track down Shameek and recover half of the money that was stolen, at the expense of the thief's life.

Luke Cage is presented in "Moment Of Truth" as a hard-working man who is a fugitive who was altered without his consent and that starts to deepen his character from his Jessica Jones introduction. In "Moment Of Truth" the viewer learns that Cage was once incarcerated - he claims he was framed, which fits his established character - and we see a flashback to his time inside, which is how he recognizes Shades Alvarez. "Moment Of Truth" references Cage's dead wife, Reva, and in Luke Cage she has more lines right away than she did during her scenes in Jessica Jones.

"Moment Of Truth" very smartly shakes up the formula from the prior Netflix Marvel Cinematic Universe outings as it introduces the primary antagonist right in the pilot episode and establishes a tone that is very much "man vs. society." Cornell Stokes is presented as a corrupt club owner in Harlem, who has ties to Hammer Industries, the corporate antagonist from Iron Man 2 (reviewed here!). Unlike the prior two Netflix Marvel series's, there is no real mystery to who the antagonist is in Luke Cage. By the end of "Moment Of Truth," the viewer absolutely knows that Stokes is the Kingpin of Luke Cage.

The climax of "Moment Of Truth" appropriately lands the episode. Luke Cage opens as a business conspiracy with a gangster and politician (metaphorically) in bed with one another in Harlem while the protagonist works to lay low and fly under the radar. "Moment Of Truth" is a slow burn character arc that leads the protagonist to finally act. The movement of Luke Cage from hiding fugitive to protector of his landlord's restaurant is a slow one, but it sets Cage up as a smart, powerful hero that makes one want to tune in for the next episode right away.

References to "the incident," allusions to Hammer, a callback to Wilson Fisk, and the hints of Jessica Jones are what connects "Moment Of Truth" instantly to the larger Marvel Cinematic Universe.

"Moment Of Truth" is dominated by Mahershala Ali as Cornell Stokes. Cornell is a thin, vicious man who leaps into the power position in Luke Cage with a caliber reminiscent of The Kingpin from Daredevil. Indeed, what Wilson Fisk did with an SUV door, Stokes does with his bare hands and director Paul McGuigan does a beautiful job of lighting Ali with a red light to give him a demonic appearance during his key scene. But long before Stokes beats the life out of a man with his bare hands, Mahershala Ali establishes the character as a credible, smooth-talking operator who has taste and has built a small but powerful club in Harlem. Ali steals his scenes and immediately establishes Stokes as a subtle villain in the Marvel Cinematic Universe who is overtly powerful and violent when he has to be, without any sense of being over-the-top the way many Marvel villains are.

By comparison, Mike Colter returns to the role of Luke Cage with an entirely understated quality. Colter flashes the smile in his eyes even as his mouth remains in a perfect poker face. Luke Cage is a highly-restrained character and "Moment Of Truth" works so well because Colter is able to wonderfully play the part with incredible physical control.

"Moment Of Truth" is well-directed by McGuigan, who is tasked with establishing a complex setting in a comparatively confined amount of time. The flashbacks and dream sequences are judiciously used and the timing and direction for Stokes's "King" scene is impressive. McGuigan finds the right balance between the carnage shown and that which is left off-screen.

Ultimately, "Moment Of Truth" is a beginning that puts a lot of pieces in play for Luke Cage. As far as set-ups go, it's a decent one, but there are moments that are less compellingly-presented. Why Cage lies to Pops about not seeing anything before the young men go rogue is not satisfactorily explained and Detective Scarfe's shocking ignorance makes it tough to believe off the bat that he might be a Detective. But for the most part, the episode builds well to satisfy those tuning in for something sufficiently complex and smart, even if the story is just at its beginning.

[Knowing that single episodes are an inefficient way to get episodes, it's worth looking into Luke Cage - The Complete First Season, which is also a better economical choice than buying individual episodes. Read my review of the debut season here!
Thanks!]

For other pilot episodes in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, please visit my reviews of:
"AKA Ladies Night" - Jessica Jones
"Into The Ring" - Daredevil
"Pilot" - Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D.
"Now Is Not The End" - Agent Carter

6/10

For other Marvel movie, television season and episode reviews, please check out my Marvel Cinematic Universe Review Index Page for a listing of those reviews!

© 2016 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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Better Than Expected, Victor Frankenstein Fleshes Out The Dark Allegory Of Frankenstein Well!

The Good: Performances, Character, Special effects
The Bad: Underdeveloped romance plot, Predictable plot
The Basics: Victor Frankenstein retells Frankenstein from an engaging new perspective!


It seems like every year since Once Upon A Time hit the airwaves, there are film re-imaginings of popular fairy tale or horror icons. Last year around this time, Dracula Untold (reviewed here!) attempted to fill that niche; this year, it is Victor Frankenstein. Victor Frankenstein is yet another retelling of Mary Shelley's novel Frankenstein and is this year's horror vehicle for Daniel Radcliffe. Radcliffe has been working to get as far away from the role of Harry Potter as he can, while still finding works that appeal to the genre fanbase that made him a worldwide celebrity. To that end, Victor Frankenstein is a fairly good choice for him.

Victor Frankenstein casts Radcliffe as Igor, opposite James McAvoy in the title role. The story is essentially Frankenstein from Igor's perspective and focusing on the young scientist Victor Frankenstein, as opposed to focusing on the monster he inadvertently created. The film works to establish much more in the relationship between Victor and Igor than the science or the morality of the monster and that makes for an interesting take on the well-known story.

Opening with Igor as a hunchbacked clown for a traveling circus, Igor becomes fascinated by how the body works and assists the circus's doctor. Igor is infatuated with the trapeze artist Lorelei and when she falls from the trapeze one night, Victor Frankenstein is in the audience and he is impressed with how Igor quickly diagnoses and treats her injuries. Frankenstein offers Igor an escape from the circus. Frankenstein drains the abscess that has plagued Igor for eighteen years, straightens his back, and offers him a chance to become his assistant. The London Inspector, Turpin, begins an investigation of the escape, while Igor acquaints himself with Victor Frankenstein's lab.

Igor is horrified when he goes out into London and finds that Frankenstein is wanted for murder, but he gives the scientist a chance to explain his perspective. Igor begins working with Frankenstein on his Lazarus device. When they go out to a party together, Igor has to make up for Frankenstein's boorishness when they encounter Lorelei there. Returning to the lab, Victor reveals to Igor that the projects Igor have been working on have been assembled into a living being. Presenting the homonculus to a pathetically small audience, Frankenstein surprises everyone by delivering upon his promise to create life. The chimp-based homonculus escapes and has to be subdued by Igor and Victor. Finnegan, who doubted Frankenstein's technology, hires the scientist to resurrect a dead person for him and Frankenstein agrees, over Igor's objections. While Igor and Lorelei grow closer, Frankenstein becomes obsessed with his experiments and Inspector Turpin works to stop Frankenstein.

Victor Frankenstein is one of the few films in recent memory that has appeared to absolutely bomb and I'm at a loss to understand exactly why. For sure, it was released in proximity to the final movie in The Hunger Games Saga, which meant it was bound to get overlooked. And, for sure, the story is predictable, but . . . it's not like people who made the Harry Potter Saga or The Lord Of The Rings Trilogy box office smashes didn't know where the stories were going.

Victor Frankenstein fleshes out the familiar story with some entertaining false starts and characters who are more than just generic mad scientist and comical sidekick. To that end, Igor is well-played by Daniel Radcliffe. Radcliffe is able to make Igor into an intriguing character who is fleshed out with his own motivations and a sense of romance that is appealing. Radcliffe breathes life into a role that usually is that of a sidekick and the only truly unfortunate aspect of it is that Igor has to be straightened into a dashing young man that looks like Daniel Radcliffe before he can catch the eye of Lorelei.

Despite the perspective of Igor dominating the narrative, Victor Frankenstein is absolutely ruled by the acting talents of James McAvoy. McAvoy hinted at the potential to play dark and unsettled in X-Men: Days Of Future Past (reviewed here!), but in Victor Frankenstein, he truly lets loose. McAvoy plays Frankenstein as twitchy and obsessive in one of his most expressive roles to date. He plays off Charles Dance in their brief scenes together and McAvoy's active eyes contrast brilliantly with Dance's stone-cold facade. McAvoy and Radcliffe play off one another exceptionally well, with Frankenstein and Igor becoming a genius team that is very easy to watch and appreciate.

As one might expect of a period fantasy film, the costumes and special effects are of tremendous importance to Victor Frankenstein. The costumes look incredible and when the visual effects are focused on long enough, they are impressive enough to augment the story well.

Ultimately, Victor Frankenstein works as a well-developed character study and showcases the talents of two great talents in a way that they have not previously been able to. But the romantic subplot and religious fanaticism of Turpin might turn off an audience just looking for a generic monster movie. Victor Frankenstein is not that and, as a result, it works far better than most monster flicks.

For other films currently in theaters, please check out my reviews of:
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2
SPECTRE
Bleeding Heart
Hotel Transylvania 2

6.5/10

For other movie reviews, please check out my Film Review Index Page for an organized listing!

© 2015 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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The Next Decent Set Of Suspects Arrive In Lucky Number Slevin!

The Good: Funny, Well-written, Clever, Decent characters, Good acting
The Bad: Minor formulaic aspects
The Basics: When Slevin assumes the debt of a friend and is charged with killing a gangster's son, he finds himself caught between two gangs, an assassin and law enforcement.


Don't you hate reviews of crime films that continue to compare the criminal-de-jour flick to The Usual Suspects? I mean, for the past fifteen years, reviewers have been complaining about crime movies that simply aren't living up to being the next The Usual Suspects (reviewed here!) or (for those who enjoyed it) the next Reservoir Dogs (reviewed here!). With Lucky Number Slevin, the complaining stops. This is the film fans of The Usual Suspects have been waiting for, not because it is as good or as original as The Usual Suspects, but rather because Lucky Number Slevin creates a story that is as distinctive and clever in its own right. It's a solid movie and a pleasure to watch.

Following a series of killings, culminating in the murder of The Boss's son, a young man is abducted by thugs of The Boss. Mistaken for his friend Nick, Slevin finds himself in the unenviable position of owing The Boss $96,000, a debt the Boss wants him to pay off by killing the son of a rival gangster, The Rabbi. The Rabbi, for his part, wants several thousands of dollars himself and Slevin finds himself bouncing between The Boss, The Rabbi, and local law enforcement.

As Slevin is played like a pawn, he befriends Lindsey, a neighbor across the hall in the building Slevin is staying at. Lindsey discovers there is another player in the mix, Smith, who appears to be a professional assassin working for both The Rabbi and The Boss. Pressured to do their bidding, Slevin decides to play the game and see where it goes.

And the viewer, while not surprised by much in the movie, is taken for a rather enjoyable ride. In fact, most of the problems with Lucky Number Slevin involve our perceptions and the desire for this movie to defy all conventions. Thus, Slevin's relationship with Lindsey is somewhat disappointing and formulaic. The addition of Brikowski, the lead detective monitoring The Rabbi and The Boss, also feels somewhat formulaic, like one cannot have a crime movie without paying token service to law enforcement.

The former critique, though, is redeemable in the movie's resolution. Writer Jason Smilovic has a keen ear for dialogue and a clever ability to create characters that make sense. Thus, the ultimate resolution to the Slevin/Lindsey relationship somewhat defies our expectations, but does it in a way that fits perfectly with the characters as they are established. It's a brilliant twist that makes the film cohesive and ultimately work beyond the depth of a simple crime flick.

The dialogue works wonderfully and Lucky Number Slevin is funny in a number of places simply for the rhythm of the dialogue and its delivery. So, for example, Slevin and Lindsey both ask, "Why is he called 'The Rabbi?'" to be responded with, "He's a Rabbi." and the joke works even though we hear it twice. That takes some excellent writing, but it also puts pressure on the director to play the scenes in a way that does not feel repetitive. Director Paul McGuigan succeeds.

To be fair, McGuigan is playing with a stacked deck. Lucky Number Slevin has an impressive cast and this director seems to know how to use them. So, while Bryan Singer took (mostly) unknown or smaller-time actors and used them to create a realism in The Usual Suspects, McGuigan takes established actors of impressive caliber and places them in roles where they are able to flex their dramatic muscles.

Morgan Freeman and Sir Ben Kingsley play The Boss and The Rabbi, respectively. Freeman - who was simply a "type" in Dreamcatcher - reminds us of the distinctive strengths he has as an actor to infuse character into his characters. Freeman takes fast lines and adds to them a light in his eye, a coldness of tone or the barest hint of a smile as appropriate to make The Boss come alive. Kingsley brings a rigid dignity to almost every role he takes and as The Rabbi, he is articulate and clever with the ability to connote - and late in the film, express - a deep wound. He is a master and his presence makes the film pop.

Despite my issues with Lindsey in the film as a type - i.e. we all need a romantic subplot, apparently - I cannot take issue with Lucy Liu, who plays her. Liu is funny and smart, keeping the viewer watching her. After years of watching her play cold on Ally McBeal, it is refreshing to see her playing a character who is so alive, interested and connected in Lucky Number Slevin. Bruce Willis, who plays "Smith," is playing a role we've seen him in before. This is essentially the same role he played in "The Whole Nine Yards," so he is not as noteworthy as he could be, though he does the role well.

It is Josh Hartnett who has to carry the film as Slevin. I'm not into a lot of the popular, young actors, but I have to say Hartnett pulls off the acting challenges of Slevin amazingly well. Slevin has to convince the audience who he is and of his indifference to being the victim of a mistaken identity. Hartnett does that. So, while the plot might be somewhat predictable and it does not take much to realize that Slevin is going to be surrounded by a bloodbath, Hartnett proceeds with the story with the convincing portrayal needed to make the viewer suspend our disbelief to all that is happening around him.

Lucky Number Slevin is satisfying, even if it is not surprising. In fact, one of the strengths is that it is not necessarily attempting to be clever. The opening of the movie establishes the story as a potential tale of vengeance and as it plays out, the chips fall in ways that make sense and are entertaining. So, the movie does not hinge on the end reversal, it becomes a movie where the viewer takes a certain amount of pleasure in watching a wrong be revenged in a methodical, sensible - if criminal - way. It's enough to make one want to watch this a few times and it's enough to make a reviewer stop complaining about how there's nothing in the genre to compare with The Usual Suspects.

For other films featuring Morgan Freeman, please check out my reviews of:
The Dark Knight
Wanted
War Of The Worlds
Batman Begins
Million Dollar Baby
Dreamcatcher
Unforgiven
Driving Miss Daisy

8.5/10

For other movie reviews, be sure to visit my Movie Review Index Page for an organized listing!

© 2012, 2007 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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Push Not The X-Men Rip-off I'd Feared, But Not Good Either.

The Good: Moments of concept and execution, Moments of character/acting
The Bad: A lot of the editing, Predictable character arcs, Some truly lackluster acting, Ultimately: mood.
The Basics: An average film, Push disappoints those who enjoy films about extraordinary people hunted by sinister conspiracies.


When I saw the lone preview I saw for Push, I immediately became concerned. Having generally enjoyed the films in The X-Men Trilogy, I became concerned that Push would simply be a cheap Rip-off. In all honesty, with so many "common people are superheroes" stories out there - like Heroes and The 4400 on television - it is a tough sell to try to fit into that niche and in the first trailer for Push all that impressed me was that Dakota Fanning looked nothing like the cherubic girl who had blown away audiences with her earliest performances for her maturity.

Still, as I arranged my schedule for a three-movie day, Push became the first film on my docket to take in. And truth-be-told, I was eager. I had only seen one trailer and I was ready to be surprised. So, I went into the theater fresh and ready . . . and when I left almost two hours later, I was so ambivalent it took me several minutes to realize I was disappointed. Truth be told, I am not even certain why I was so letdown by Push, as I had no real expectations for it. Still, at the end of the viewing experience, all I felt was unsurprised and unimpressed and I wanted my money back.

Ten years ago, Nick was abandoned by his father, a telekinetic being hunted by the infamous Division, in a bid to save the boy's life. Told only to expect a girl who would give him a flower at a point in the future and to save the world with her, Nick is shoved away and he witnesses a powerful Division Pusher, Carver, apparently kill his father. Ten years later, a young woman breaks out of a Division facility after being injected with a serum intended to boost superpowers in those who possess them. And two days from now, all hell breaks loose in Hong Kong as a deeply in debt Nick finds himself on the run from both Division agents and the Chinese mob.

But Nick's troubles are only just beginning, as he is met by a Watcher named Cassie Holmes, who sees a dark future for those who possess powers like she and Nick do. Nick, rusty with his own telekinetic powers as a mover, begins to trust Cassie when what she draws begins to come true and Nick's shortfalls with the Chinese mob begin to take a decidedly more dangerous and supernatural turn as they send Bleeders after him and Cassie. As Cassie begins to do battle with her Chinese counterpart, Nick finds the woman who supposedly possesses the case everyone is searching for and it turns out to be his old girlfriend, Kira. In a deadly game of cat-and-mouse, Nick and Cassie call in every favor and use every resource to save Kira, who appears to now be the first potential supersoldier for the U.S. government, and stop Carver from getting his hands on her and the serum that made her the way she is!

First, what Push does well is establish the precepts of the universe it takes place in. As the opening credits roll, a handy "history of psychic warfare" presentation is given by Cassie. Cassie informs us that it all began in 1945 with the Nazis attempting to develop psychic warfare. Those experiments continued after the war and powerful first generation Watchers, Movers, Pushers, Bleeders, Sniffers and Stitcher have given rise to second generations of the same, though many of them are rusty with their talents because they have been on the run from Division Agents. As Cassie ominously states, the problem is the psychics Division has access to just keep dying as lab rats in their attempts to create a standing army of psychic warriors.

Second, Push sticks to those precepts pretty well. Writer David Bourla and director Paul McGuigan do a decent job of creating a well-rounded universe and then playing by the rules they laid out, instead of simply ignoring them when they become inconvenient. As a result, there are some genuine twists and turns that work and Bourla does not fall back on too many of the obvious standards. For as little as I ultimately enjoyed Push, I was pleased when Nick's father did not resurface and many of the deaths that happen on-screen would be virtually impossible to undo. As well, there is some decent conceptual comedy in that Cassie admits that sometimes she gets things wrong and that while her ability to see the future manifests itself in drawings, she is quickly revealed to be a poor artist. This adds some texture to the movie that it might not otherwise have and that level of detail is decent.

In that regard, Push pulls a number of its punches to get the PG-13 rating. For sure, the inebriated thirteen year-old scene works, but a number of the deaths - like a Division Agent who blows his own brains out in the background - are relegated to background scenes or off-camera work. Arguably, more disturbing than the lack of blood and the on-screen deaths is the length (or lack thereof) of Cassie's skirt. For a thirteen year-old, Cassie is sporting a lot of leg and there is no real good reason for it.

That said, Push breaks even at best. As the movie began, I kept waiting for a moment when I would actually start caring about the characters. Unfortunately, Bourla and McGuigan fail to convince the viewer that any of the characters on screen deserve the lives they are fighting for, when they bother to fight at all. The best "common person superhero" stories make the viewer care by making a statement and expanding a concept outside the usual plot-driven story being told. So, for example, the films in the live-action X-Men saga easily use "mutants" as a metaphor for homosexuals and the struggles that gays, lesbians and bisexuals go through to live their lives, even ordinary ones. An episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation (and now Heroes) took the superhuman and mulled the consequences of mass producing him for a slave race or a standing army of disposable individuals. Push is nowhere near as clever.

Lacking in metaphor, lacking in a broad social context or even a statement that psychic warfare is somehow wrong, Push falls down as a terribly banal action-adventure flick. At no point do any of the characters distinguish themselves from the regular humans, outside the simple use of their abilities. Similarly, the end result, which is stated in the beginning as creating a branch of warriors with psychic abilities that would be virtually unstoppable, is never judged or adequately explored. "That's bad" might have been a good way to go about addressing it. As it is, Nick lamely declares himself apolitical at one point and the result is that Carver actually looks somewhat reasonable when he demands Kira be turned over; after all, she is the property of the U.S. Government. In other words, Push uses characters of extraordinary ability and it makes little or no statement on what their abilities mean.

At its worst, Push is utterly ridiculous. So, for example, when one Agent leaves the bathroom in Hong Kong and puts a bullet in his partner's brain, the entire establishment clears out. No one calls the police or tries to stop him in any way from going back into the bathroom from whence he came. So, while there is some attention paid to the survival instinct of the psychics, none of the mundane humans - if there even are any in the movie, which is up for debate - are defined with any realism.

None of the characters truly "pop" either. They are virtually all defined by their abilities. The sniffers are pretty dumb and their attempt to bring in Kira is so witlessly lacking in safeguards or precautions that they don't deserve to be on the federal payroll. The result is that a number of fine performers are given little or nothing to do. Djimon Hounsou plays Carver with a generic villainous quality that those who know his work have seen before. Camilla Belle is woefully miscast as Kira, at least once one knows that she and Nick had a relationship in the past. She looks far, far too young for the part.

Dakota Fanning does a decent job or a decent job with the material she is given. She enters the film with a decent presence and her delivery of lines like "I'm getting sick of drawing dead bodies" has a real resonance. Moreover, she is not playing on being cute or overly mature. Here, she plays a girl who has some real emotional damage and a similar reservoir of strength to call upon, which she does. Fanning adds a more edgy role to her repertoire as Cassie and she is almost convincing in her drunk scene as well. Much of the film rests on her performance and she plays the uncertainty perfectly.

At least as much rests on the back of actor Chris Evans. Evans, possibly best known for his role as Johnny Storm - the Human Torch - in the cinematic Fantastic Four endeavors (reviewed here!), is either unfortunately cast or unfortunately used as Nick. Evans plays the everyman fine for a few moments, but largely, his performance seems to be attempting to repress his winning smile and not always succeeding. Instead, he trolls through much of Push appearing more sure than his character is supposed to be and generally more quick-witted and unshaken than his character. In other words, Evans appears to certain through too much of the film, something his character is not intended to be. Evans never seems genuinely shaken and that becomes more of a liability to the story as it progresses.

Push is somewhat plagued by clunky editing and it is worth noting that director McGuigan does a good job with frenetic camera movements in some of the action sequences and they work wonderfully. But there are also some choppy edits that are more sloppy than stylistic. As well, too much of the story is telegraphed, like a flashback to the beginning the moment Cassie first mentions her mother (which visually implies something). Similarly, Bourla's characterization of Cassie involves some pretty sudden mood swings and because there is nothing bigger than the psychics and their immediate struggle, it is hard to care.

Ultimately, Push serves as entertainment and it flops by not being ambitious enough to try to be something more. Instead, those who enjoy superhero type films or stories of the extraordinary among us, are left feeling like they have watched a cheap knockoff of something much, much better.

For other films that focus on heroes in the process of becoming, please check out my reviews of:
Unbreakable
X-Men: First Class
Kick-Ass
Super
Green Lantern
I Am Number Four

5/10

For other movie reviews, please visit my Movie Index Page!

© 2012, 2009 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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