push

I always thought plagiarism was illegal.

Fifty years after Stan Lee created the X-Men, Push enters the fray as the latest mutant-driven super-power movie.

The complicated and constantly shifting plot begins 10 years in the past with Nick Gant (Chris Evans) witnessing the death of his father at the hands of a government organization hellbent on capturing everyone born with powers. The story then flashes to the present 13-year-old fellow mutant Cassie Holmes, (Dakota Fanning) desperate for help, approaches on-the-run Nick. The two unite and hatch a convoluted scheme to take down the evil Division.

David Bourla penned the script, borrowing heavily from past successful movies, TV shows and comic books, endowing all his characters with the same powers as those in X-Men or Heroes. Although those movies could have been the jumping-off point for an exciting film, Bourla never dares to stray even slightly from his inspiration, creating a derivative script.

The film supplies virtually no background on the main characters, forcing the audience to try and imagine reasons to care. The plot jerks the viewer back and forth with multiple endings and changes of direction. Perhaps more disappointing than the inconsistent plot is the lack of a conclusion. The clear setup for a sequel is a slight to anyone who wasted their time sitting through this poorly executed film in the first place.