Push

ReelViews James Berardinelli

The strength of Push is its relentlessness. The movie doesn't pause for anything and, when it provides exposition, it does so without bringing the action to a grinding halt.

Philadelphia Inquirer Steven Rea

Push has a cool, sinewy style, energy to burn.

The Onion (A.V. Club) Tasha Robinson

Superhero fans will likely be into Push just for the cool-factor of watching embattled heroes and villains in tense war of wits, wills, and skills. That broader audience is less likely to come along for the ride.

Washington Post Dan Zak

As fantastical as all that sounds, the pleasure of Push comes from its glamorized grit, its no-nonsense pacing and the committed performances of the actors roughhousing in the gray area between heroism and villainy. It's pure popcorn, popped fresh, doused in butter and sprinkled with soy sauce.

The New York Times Jeannette Catsoulis

Imaginatively filmed by Peter Sova, Push has a dizzying, chaotic energy that pulls you along. Paul McGuigan directs with maximum efficiency and minimum use of computers, creating effects that feel satisfyingly tangible.

Seattle Post-Intelligencer Sean Axmaker

Mostly it's a series of dream-image clues scribbled out by juvenile seer Fanning, followed by super-powered smackdowns between agents and mercenaries with slangy titles like watchers, stitchers and sniffers.

Entertainment Weekly Lisa Schwarzbaum

A weightless, style-driven thriller set in a photogenically chaotic Hong Kong.

USA Today Claudia Puig

A supernatural action thriller, is jangly, jarring and violent. But more disconcerting is watching the sweet-faced Dakota Fanning swear, get drunk and pack heat -- in both fists, no less.

The Globe and Mail (Toronto) Liam Lacey

Suggestive of "X-Men," "The Matrix" and the television show "Heroes," Push is one of those time-mangling thrillers that manages to seem both complicated and superficial.

New York Daily News Joe Neumaier

Fanning's watcher is watchable, yet the kid-actress extraordinaire is so polished it kind of makes your head explode.

Chicago Tribune Glenn Whipp

Director Paul McGuigan ("Lucky Number Slevin") has never been keen on plot logic, and that might be fine here if he offered anything other than Peter Sova's lush images of Hong Kong.

Boston Globe Wesley Morris

At the very least, a movie like this requires coherence to stay afloat. Barring that, it needs a star to distract us.

Premiere Patrick Parker

This completely rips off "Heroes," which itself ripped off a great deal from the "X-Men," so no real imagination here...except for the "Sniffs," who creepily track people by smell.

Chicago Reader Cliff Doerksen

A ragbag of shopworn ideas nicked from Philip K. Dick, this sci-fi thriller never stops finding new ways to make no sense.

The Hollywood Reporter Michael Rechtshaffen

Despite its high-profile cast and a sizable marketing push from distributor Summit Entertainment, audiences won't require any paranormal powers of their own to realize they've seen this one before.

Village Voice Aaron Hillis

Seems to have been made up as it was being filmed.

Miami Herald Rene Rodriguez

A curiously inert and talky action picture about good-looking mutants on the run from bad (but equally good-looking) ones, Push wastes a decent idea and stylish direction on a script that's much more Ingmar Bergman than Stan Lee.

TV Guide Cammila Albertson

If your tolerance for repetition in genre films is already low, this one will probably push you right over the edge.

San Francisco Chronicle Mick LaSalle

Two awful things about Push are at least interesting: The first is the way in which the story is confused. The second is that the story makes no sense.

New York Post Kyle Smith

A grubby cut-price sci-fi thriller.

Austin Chronicle Marc Savlov

I saw the original version of this same story 28 years ago. It was called "Scanners" and it blew my mind for real. Push just blows.