How Hong Kong setting gave Chris Evans superhero movie Push a real feel a world away from the Marvel films he would go on to star in as Captain America

Before he became a household name playing Captain America in Marvel movies, Chris Evans starred in Push, a 2009 film set in Hong Kong about psychic warriors
Although not a huge hit, it stands apart from The Avengers and other superhero films in its authenticity, achieved by harnessing the unique energy of the city

American cinema

Matt Glasby

Published: 7:15am, 4 Aug 2023

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Before Hollywood actor Chris Evans was cast in Captain America: The First Avenger (2011), beginning the run of Marvel films that made him a household name and raked in billions at the box office, he tried a lot of different comic-book roles for size.

The most famous was Johnny Storm/The Human Torch in the less-than-fantastic Fantastic Four (2005) and its 2007 sequel. But he also appeared in TMNT (2007), The Losers (2010) and Scott Pilgrim vs The World (2010).

One of the better efforts was Push, a 2009 superhero movie set and shot in Hong Kong. Though it’s no Avengers, and it borrows liberally from its more famous brethren, it’s one of those movies that gets better with age because it has an intriguing indie sensibility.

The plot is based around an alternative history that X-Men fans might recognise. Experiments conducted by the Nazis during World War II have created a series of psychic warriors, called pushers (telepaths), movers (telekinetics), watchers (precognitives) and so on, and they’re wanted by the evil Division.

The film also has an alternative history of its own. Director Paul McGuigan (Lucky Number Slevin) had been working on a movie based on Marvel’s Deathlok character, which might have co-starred Tony Stark himself, Robert Downey Jnr, and changed the course of the Marvel Cinematic Universe as we know it.

But it wasn’t to be. Instead, he signed on for Push, a film that, unlike blockbusters such as Transformers: Age of Extinction (2014), treats Hong Kong as far more than just a backdrop.

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For a start, it makes sense for the film to be set in the city.

“There are a lot of runaway psychics in Hong Kong, trying to disappear, people with no country, no loyalty,” a Division operative tells on-the-run mover Nick (Evans), our hero, who is about to be swept up in a plot involving watcher Cassie (Dakota Fanning) and super-pusher Kira (Camilla Belle).

As McGuigan explained to technology and science fiction website Gizmodo: “You can hide in Hong Kong, there’s millions of people in the streets. It’s hard to track one person.”

Li Xiaolu as triad watcher Pop Girl in a still from “Push”. Photo: Summit Entertainment

Unfortunately for McGuigan and crew it was similarly hard to shoot the movie. Unable to close off their chosen locations, they used special hidden cameras to capture the real Hong Kong in all its hectic glory.

This result is that, as well as the usual neon-packed skylines, we see parts of the city not usually shown in Western cinema, from the junks in Aberdeen Harbour to a deserted Kwun Tong Pier. It’s no coincidence that the director’s favourite filmmaker is Wong Kar-wai, one of the greatest ever cinematic chroniclers of Hong Kong life.

One of the best scenes takes place in Wan Chai wet market, where Nick and Cassie face off against a triad watcher (Li Xiaolu) and two bleeders (Fung Chi-kwan and Jacky Heung), who emit ear-splitting shrieks.

(Front row from left) Jacky Heung, Hal Yamanouchi and Fung Chi-kwan in a still from “Push”. Photo: Hirotake Okazaki/Summit Entertainment

As Nick writhes on the floor in agony, we see the fish in their tanks exploding in blooms of ruby red, the glass shattering, and water flying everywhere. It’s visceral and oddly beautiful all at once, even if the powers on show are modest.

“They’re kind of c**p powers,” admitted McGuigan. “It’s not like they’re flying through the air or picking up cars and throwing them. I tried to keep it very much as gritty as I possibly could.”

Although the Chinese actors are poorly served, mostly playing baddies or bystanders, and the dialogue patchy, Push manages something most Marvel films don’t.

It creates a fictional world that feels alive and real, where you might encounter people with fantastical powers around any corner. And a large part of this is down to how McGuigan harnesses that incredible Hong Kong energy.

Director Paul McGuigan (second from left), Dakota Fanning (centre) and Chris Evans (right) on the set of “Push”. Photo: Hirotake Okazaki/Summit Entertainment

While a lukewarm critical reception meant a potential sequel never materialised, Push remains an intriguing footnote in the careers of its makers.

McGuigan went on to direct the excellent Film Stars Don’t Die in Liverpool (2017) – as well as episodes of Marvel’s Luke Cage – and Evans? Well, you know the rest.

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