Plot Falling into a frozen river after a school prank, David (Christensen) discovers that he can teleport, or ‘jump’. This gives him a way to leave his miserable life and begin a new playboy existence. That is, until he learns that ‘jumpers’ are targets for a mystery group of religious fanatics.
Review
Since he became a ‘name’, all Doug Liman movies have arrived under a cloud: one thick with scuttlebutt of over-running shoots, studio arguments and disgruntled (preferably injured) cast and crew. But so far those clouds have always wafted by as the movie turns out to be rather a blast. It happened with The Bourne Identity and again with Mr and Mrs Smith. Liman doesn’t release his creations until he’s good and ready, taking his time and throwing everything at the wall until something good sticks, hence the rumours of trouble. Jumper, though great fun in spurts, is the first of his films not to have benefited from the technique. It is instead a little dizzy.
That it doesn’t fully deliver on its promise is not down to the lack of a good central idea. The premise is bulging with possibility, boiling down to the fact that in our world exist ‘Jumpers’, people who can teleport anywhere, as long as they know what it looks like. They are (apparently) all young, male and handsome, blessed with very low body fat despite never lifting a finger to reach for a remote control. Chasing them are ‘Paladins’, an international band of religious fanatics determined to exterminate all jumpers because only God should have the power to be in all places at once. It’s a simple reason and a believable one. Wars have been fought for less.
Sadly, that’s everything there is to the story. The Paladins catch up with our hero, David (Hayden Christensen) after he’s spent eight years robbing banks, and try to kill him, while he keeps hopping across continents to avoid them. We don’t see much deeper on either side, and Liman and his screenwriters, who have proven themselves able on other projects, can’t conjure a meaty subplot. Samuel L. Jackson’s Paladin chief Roland is a bad guy who struggles to fill out a second dimension, and his employees are nameless goons. David is given some sketchy abandonment issues, which lead to a tacked-on coda, but otherwise he’s a bit of a blank canvas. Rachel Bilson as his spunky love interest and Jamie Bell as Griffin, a more charismatic, anarchic jumper who fills David in on the history of the Jumper/Paladin war, add a much-needed and welcome shot of charm and zest, if not depth.
So, it’s a thin film, but one not without its share of delights. Liman has always been most creative when pointing his camera at two people attacking each other. The jumping effect, meanwhile, is faultlessly executed – a sort of hazy implosion that leaves a sphere of destruction around it – and when Liman finds good use for it, generally involving both David and Griffin, it’s fantastic. In the film’s best sequence, the pair fight for possession of a detonator, a breathless scrap that takes them from pyramids, to a busy freeway, to the Empire State Building. When delighting in its premise in such a way, the movie becomes an absolute joy.
The overall impression Jumper leaves is much the same as the first X-Men movie: there are plenty of good ideas, and enough going on for a satisfying experience, yet nothing catches or coheres in quite the way you wish. In short, this feels like a good prologue to a bigger event. Here’s hoping that, as X-Men did, this leads to a sequel that can lace its precursor’s loose strands into something spectacular.
Verdict It’s Liman’s least charismatic action movie and the least developed, but it still packs some cracking action into its brief running time and lays foundations on which a great franchise could be built.
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Average user rating for Jumper
RE: Sell out
Amazing and spectacular special effects of the young man who got a teleport power known as 'Jumper' who travels around the world. I think it's the evolution of a superhero is a rocky process.
This action-adventure film in the several scenes has several fast-motion movements between the battles of Jumpers and the Paladins. ... Read More
Absolutely awful, cringeworthy performance from Christensen. A script seemingly written by a praying mantis, it's a stealing pile of buffalo dung.
1/5 ... Read More
Not that my opinion counts for much but I really enjoyed this film. Sure it's bunkum of the highest order but all films don't have to be brain busters!!
I have seen it twice and on the second time around I could see it's faults but I still enjoyed it!! And yes Hayden Christensen is not a "great" actor but he is much better in this than he was as Manakin Skywalker!!!
I think anybody reading this and wondering whether they should bother watching this film would b... Read More
Enjoyable, entertaining, fun with cool SFX and likeable leads. I thought this was a good show and would've been MUCH more impressive if we hand't seen Nightcrawler done so effectively in X2. Still, I'd like to see a sequel....especially given the potential for Time Travel. We need a rogue Jumper though........... ... Read More
This is one of those movies where you realize ten minutes in that you're watching crap but you stay with it to the end only to find out that it never gets any better. This has the worst acting i've ever witnessed, all four of the main stars are embarrassing. Also the plot and direction is a complete mess. ... Read More
I wanted to see this when it was on the cinema so I waited until it came out on DVD and rented it out on Blu-Ray, watching it last night. It's very different for a action movie, Samuel L Jackson as the bad guy? Shocking stuff! It has a good enough plot and filled with some gripping scenes near the end. The picture is beautiful to look at on Blu-Ray, the sound is brilliant and the ending is good enough for me. The pefomances were alright, Hayden Christensen in a different role from being in Star ... Read More
You could forgive Hayden Christensen for feeling a little bit conflicted right now. Does he go after small independent roles, in a bid to prove to the world that he can indeed act (Star Wars not exactly the best showcase for that particular talent) or does he choose another potentially blockbusting franchise and make his dollar before Mark Hamill syndrome sets in (in other words never heard from again).
No-one can blame him for testing the water, as Christensen has attempted to do both. Along... Read More
With a brilliant concept and Doug Liman at the helm I thought it would be a banker, but having finally watched it on DVD the only eloquent thought that comes to my mind is this - it is utter pish.
How Liman managed to balls up such an interesting premise is beyond me, but he does it with a narrative which feels like it was written by a hyperactive 5 year old. The style of the movie is all over the place, whether it was done purposefully to go hand in hand with the subject matter I do... Read More
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