Review: Chew: Part II (3/5); Push (2/5)

Che: Part II
(Steven Soderberg):
Benicio del Toro, Benjamin Benitez, Julia Ormond, Armando Riesco, Catalina Sandino,

‘Guerrilla’, or Part two of Steven Soderberg’s biopic of the Cuban revolutionary, takes up with his arrival into Bolivia. The revolutionary fighter explains in a letter to Castro that his work is done and the struggle must continue elsewhere. Che (Benicio del Toro) smuggles himself into Bolivia as a bald, middle-aged man before he retreats to the hills to begin his ill-fated guerrilla campaign. He is betrayed, captured and executed. Part two has a more settled feel than the first. Soderberg’s approach is quiet and unhurried and the film has a stillness that is very absorbing. The director is clearly striving for greatness and yet, I can’t say I’m taken with this project. The two films, taken together, are visually impressive: Soderberg and his cinematographer Peter Andrews have captured in broad and very intimate strokes the sweep of a very turbulent period in history. Yet, they’re austere and cold. Benicio del Toro’s Che is distant and unknowable. The film does not bother to present or probe the dark side of his nature. You come away knowing little about the revolutionary which is a lot to ask for four hours of film watching.

Push
(Paul McGuigan):
Dakota Fanning, Djimon Hounsou, Chris Evans, Camilla Belle, Cliff Curtis.
Running time: 111 minutes. Two stars.

Push is a muddled Matrix-inspired superhero action thriller about a plot to take down The Division, a secret US government agency turning telekinetics into dangerous weapons. It’s set in Hong Kong where telekinetic Nick (Chris Evans) is in hiding and is tracked down by clairvoyant Cassie (Dakota Fanning). The format is very standard: Nick must awaken to his powers within, save his super-powered girlfriend (the sullen, lacklustre Camilla Belle) and take down the agency and a gang of super-powered Hong Kong telekinetics.. Unfortunately, Chris Evans who plays him, hasn’t yet awoken to the fact that he’s supposed to be a movie star. He’s got five o'clock shadow and that all American rugged look. But he has the onscreen presence of a cardboard cutout. Thank goodness for the mercurial presence of young Dakota Fanning, who brings an uncanny intelligence to everything she does. Director Paul McGuigan (Lucky Number Slevin) is keen to amp up the exoticism and mines Hong Kong for all its worth. But he brings no clarity to the plot which fogs up with silliness and over-complication.