"Push": Too many dots to connect and not worth the effort

Movies don't get more headache-inducing than "Push."

Complicated to the point of surrender, this murky, sort-of-comic-book-like, sort-of-"The X-Files"-like drama concerns yet another top secret U.S. government agency exploiting the psychic gifts of a select few.

Naturally, the program (referred to as the "Division") makes life miserable for those held captive by it. Those who rebel pay the price, among them the parents of the film's heroic odd couple.

Twenty-something Nick (Chris Evans), who is mildly telekinetic, and preteen Cassie (Dakota Fanning), a seer, bear powers passed genetically from parents who ran afoul of the Division and were either killed (in Nick's dad's case) or imprisoned (Cassie's mom).

Nick and Cassie want to get the Division off their backs, and they get caught up in a bizarre, tangled adventure set — for reasons I don't entirely understand — in China. There, a Division baddie (Djimon Hounsou) is trying to get a hold of a special drug also being sought by Chinese mobsters.

Turns out there are psychic types everywhere you look, with weird gifts you wouldn't necessarily want. Among them are a lucky few who smell objects others touch (or worse), and who can then discern recent history. I'll pass, thanks.

Director Paul McGuigan nudges this lurching behemoth along like a dead school bus lost in a forest. "Push" is the kind of movie that goes on, seemingly, forever, making one feel every new, random chapter being tacked on. Despite all the straining, the film feels uncomfortably unfinished when it ends at the almost two-hour mark.

Evans looks like a big blank on screen, but Fanning continues to impress with her nuanced acting chops and aura of maturity. Other talent is wasted here: Ming Na, Cliff Curtis, Camilla Belle. Don't be fooled by the cool-looking trailer on television: "Push" is enough to push you over the edge.

Tom Keogh: tomwkeogh@yahoo.com