Before he was Captain America, MCU icon Chris Evans took the lead in a very different sort of superhero movie. And it’s one that’s now pushed its way to the top on free streaming. Much like his fellow Avengers Robert Downey Jr. as Iron Man and Chris Hemsworth as Thor, Chris Evans has now become synonymous with Marvel’s Steve Rogers, but before he returns to the fray in this year’s Avengers: Doomsday, it’s worth taking a step back to a time when the MCU was just getting started, and superhero movies were…different.
Directed by Paul McGuigan and written by David Bourla, and starring Chris Evans alongside Dakota Fanning, Camilla Belle, and Djimon Hounsou, 2009’s original superhero movie, Push, drops audiences into a world in which people with superpowers are being hunted by the government because, get this, they want to turn them into super soldiers. Okay, so maybe even back then, superhero movies weren’t that different.
Push is now shoving its way up the top 10 on the free streaming platform Tubi, where it stands alongside the likes of the Russell Crowe thriller Unhinged, the Tarantino classic Pulp Fiction, Predator sequel Prey, and Denzel Washington’s action thriller The Equalizer 2. You can check out the official synopsis for Push below…
“After his father, an assassin, is brutally murdered, Nick Gant (Chris Evans) vows revenge on Division, the covert government agency that dabbles in psychic warfare and experimental drugs. Hiding in Hong Kong’s underworld, Nick assembles a band of rogue psychics dedicated to destroying Division. Together with Cassie (Dakota Fanning), a teenage clairvoyant, Nick goes in search of a missing girl and a stolen suitcase that could be the key to accomplishing their mutual goal.”
‘Push’ Is More Stylish, Raw & Gritty Than Most Modern Superhero Movies
The superpowered thriller was met with a seriously divided response at the time, resulting in scores of 23% and 42% on Rotten Tomatoes from critics and audiences, respectively. Flopping at the box office, it was criticized for being “hyperkinetic and convoluted,” recent reactions from audiences have found a lot to enjoy.
“What are the critics squawking about? This is a really fun movie!” says one five-star user review on Rotten Tomatoes, with another calling Push “one of the most entertaining, fresh, agile, and intelligent movies ever made,” and reflecting on the movie in the post-Marvel world; “When the superhero genre was not as massive as it is today, it took some elements and created a smart plot that relies on good acting and storytelling instead of huge CGI effects.”
Further reactions praised the performances and characters, while calling Push “more involved than your average action film. The complexity is what makes it worth watching,” and “stylish but in a more raw, gritty way than most modern superhero movies.”
While we’re unlikely to ever return to the world of Push, Chris Evans will return to the world of superheroes in the upcoming MCU epic Avengers: Doomsday. Boasting a vast ensemble cast of familiar faces from across the Marvel multiverse, including Chris Hemsworth, Pedro Pascal, Anthony Mackie, Sebastian Stan, Letitia Wright, Paul Rudd, Florence Pugh, Iron Man star Robert Downey Jr. as the villainous Doctor Doom, and many, many more, Avengers: Doomsday is scheduled to be released in the United States on December 18, 2026, as part of Phase Six of the MCU.
- Release Date
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February 6, 2009
- Runtime
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111minutes
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