...passable entertainment for an overly hot Sunday afternoon.
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"Jumper" is a science-fiction action film that borders on the superhero genre. The film is an example of a picture that had a very strong basic premise and the talent behind the project to create a something worthwhile, but ultimately failed to reach any lofty goals and the result of the labors to create "Jumper" is that the film is a lackluster action film that never really goes anywhere. This is a picture I was skeptical upon spending my hard earned dollars during its theatrical release and the film´s trailers did catch my attention, but I decided to await its release to the home video market. I made the right decision this time and while I would have been greatly disappointed had I seen "Jumper" in the theaters, it was passable entertainment for an overly hot Sunday afternoon.
David Rice (Hayden Christensen) is a young man who has an interesting ability; he can teleport. David learned of his special gift one day while nearly drowning as a teenager. He disappeared and everybody believed him to be dead, including his father William (Michael Rooker). Instead, David created quite a fortune by using his teleporting ability to rob banks. He spends his time using his teleporting abilities and stolen fortunes to live life to its fullest. He travels the world and enjoys all that life has to offer. However, David´s life is not complete. While he can use his money to conquest one night stands, he yearns for the girl he loved as a teenager.
Millie (Rachel Bilson) is found tending bar in the hometown where she and David grew up. When a boy who bullied David as a boy recognizes him, David gains Millies attention. David tells her that he is a successful banker and uses his knowledge of her dreams to take them on a trip to Rome. He keeps his life and his ability a secret from Millie, but his picture perfect vacation starts to fall apart when he meets the acquaintance of another ´Jumper,´ Griffin (Jamie Bell). Griffin startles David by showing him that he is not along with his abilities and makes threatening remarks towards David in regards to Millie. Griffin is not David´s worry, as a group of agents known as Paladins attempt to kill them.
The film moves away from showing David as a young man with a penchant for adventure and romance and shows that he is not unique and an age-old war between Jumpers and Paladins rages on. The Paladins are led by a mysterious man named Roland Cox (Samuel L. Jackson) who claims to be with the National Security Administration (NSA). Cox and the Paladins will resort to anything in their attempt to eradicate the Jumpers, including murdering friends and family. With Millie´s life in danger, David tries to persuade Griffin into partnering with him for a ´limited run´ and reminds him of the Marvel ´Team Up´ comics where superheroes combine their powers to defeat the bad guys.
"Jumper" spends about half of its short 88 minute length showing David evolve into the ´Jumper´ and how he uses his abilities to enjoy life. It sets up the early relationship between him and Millie and a small chunk of its slender length is spent on the Rome vacation with Millie. This first half of the movie does provide backstory into the Jumpers and shows how the Paladins strive to kill them all, but much of this time is simply used to show that the ´abomination´ of David is a superhero that uses his abilities for his own good and not the good of man. One particular scene shows him teleporting around his apartment and even to pick up a remote. When the news shows a number of people in a situation where they will surely die, David turns his head and thinks nothing of it. He does not become the superhero.
The second half of the film has Griffin and David preparing to combat Cox and the Paladins and David needing to save Millie from Cox as she is being held for bait. With two Jumpers bouncing around the planet and using their ability for mischief and adventure, "Jumpers" kicks the action into high gear and the film stars to move more towards what I was hoping to see after watching the trailer so long ago. "Jumpers" becomes a bit of fun and the notion of a war between Jumper and Paladin adds a sense of danger and further adventure. Sadly, the movie contains a handful of inspired action sequences during the second half and many of the better scenes were seen in the trailer.
With Michael Rooker, Diane Lane, Hayden Christensen and Samuel L. Jackson among the cast, the film has some talented actors and director Doug Liman earned his chops helming the first Jason Bourne film, "The Bourne Identity." Lane is given a very small role and Rooker is all but wasted, but does provide some of the better acting moments in the movie. Many people have ridiculed Christensen for his performances in the second "Star Wars" trilogy, but he´s not a bad actor and "Jumper" shows that he is a handsome and likable man who has many good years ahead of him, but the film seems intent on using Hayden simply for his looks. Samuel L. is the man. There is no arguing that fact, but in "Jumper" he gives one of his tamest performances ever and the white hair is creepy.
The film itself isn´t awful. It isn´t great. I suppose I could be satisfied with calling it ´decent.´ The movie spends far too much time setting up scenes to allow the main character to ´Jump,´ but doesn´t care to supply much needed exposition on the Paladins or further along the plot. The character of Griffin is thrown into the story, but his motivations and reasons for combating the Paladins are thinly developed and his short-lived partnership with David offers very little payoff aside from one fun scene involving the ´Jumping´ of a Mercedes. Other events are glossed over far too quickly to be effective. When David jumps into a hospital with his father, Christensen is given about ten seconds of screen time to act out his grief, but after just a few brief moments, the scene ends and we are left not knowing of what happened after that scene.
Where "Jumper" does succeed is the concept of the ´Jumpers´ and how they can teleport around the globe. The story conveys many of the things they are capable of doing and does give some justice to how wonderful this gift could be. It never offers up explanations on ´Jump Scars,´ although the film is inconsistent in how it uses these jump scars, but the ´jump scars´ do provide a small offering on the plausibility of the story. If people could teleport, I´m sure they´d leave a jump scar. I enjoyed the character of David, but felt jilted when he just looked away from a newscast that showed people dying. Watching the exotic locations in the film where the jumpers traveled and other things was a treat and easily the strongest element of "Jumper."
Video:
The thing I enjoyed most about "Jumper" and the saving grace that kept me from disliking the film was the various locations and breathtaking vistas shown throughout the movie. Thankfully, the film is delivered with a very nice looking 2.40:1 framed transfer that is mastered with the AVC MPEG-4 codec at 35 MBPS. Truth be told, "Jumper" is one of the best looking transfers I have seen from Fox Blu-ray, but one quip about the transfer keeps this from earning a 10. The film is a pleasure to watch for the detailed look at some of the world´s marvels. The Roman Coliseum, the Sphinx and Pyramids of Egypt, the view from the Empire State Building and other interesting locations all look absolutely marvelous on "Jumper" and this is one movie that makes a solid argument for high definition video.
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[release]23485[/release]