“Rush” is Mulder and Scully meets the Flash. Alas, even as an old school comic book nut, I never could get into the Flash for many of the same reasons I cannot get into “Rush,” The main problem is the science is bad. The story compensates by adding a lot of teenage angst, but I am getting way too old to care about such things. Ironically, one of the kids makes the same sort of statement to Mulder when the agent attempts to relate to his typical teenage problems. The kid must have been onto something.
Tony, a high school sophomore, is accused of killing a deputy by bludgeoning him with superhuman strength. The oddness of the case attracts Mulder’s attention. Tony and his two friends, Max and Chastity, have discovered a cave in which they can bath in some sort of strange light which enables them to move faster than the eye can see. Max is the one who killed the deputy because he was getting too close to the cave.
Chastity and Tony worry about Max, as he is growing more psychotic. After he kills his science teacher by pushing a table into him and crushing his skull with a chair, Tony decides to bathe in the light again and fight Max super hero style. He keeps max from killing his father, Max opts to kill Tony in revenge. Chastity saves him by shooting max. your guess is as good as mine where she got the gun. Moving at super speed, she jumps in front of the bullet after it passes through max, so it kills her, too.
I noted the science was bad. I do not fret too much at the lack of explanation as to what the light was or how it worked. But I do dislike the inconsistency in the physics of the kids using their speed powers. If one is moving too fast to be seen, then any object one is carrying at that speed should also be invisible. When the story called for carried objects to be invisible--the flashlight bludgeoning, for instance--it was. But if it would be visually exciting--the table and chair flying across the room towards the science teacher--the objects were visible. I understand the latter case was done for the sake of drama, but the contradiction and incorrect science bug me. As does the reality that you should hear doors slamming even if someone is opening and closing them at 1/30 of a second.
Mulder and Scully were awfully incidental to the story. They popped in and out of the kids’ drama, and played no part in the resolution whatsoever. This is the second monster of the week episode of the seventh season in which that has been the case. I had a tough time caring much about the trials and tribulations of the teenagers, but I recognize it was done in earnest, so I will be lenient in grading. Aside from the above inconsistencies with how the super speed causes and effects were done, there is nothing fundamentally wrong with ’Rush.” It is just not that engaging for an old fogey like me.
Rating: *** (out of 5)
“Rush” is Mulder and Scully meets the Flash. Alas, even as an old school comic book nut, I never could get into the Flash for many of the same reasons I cannot get into “Rush,” The main problem is the science is bad. The story compensates by adding a lot of teenage angst, but I am getting way too old to care about such things. Ironically, one of the kids makes the same sort of statement to Mulder when the agent attempts to relate to his typical teenage problems. The kid must have been onto something.
