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I am a sci-fi fan, so watched this movie with some trepidation as it is from a director / producer with no sci-fi background. Cinematically the film is excellent as are the special effects. Loosely the jumper genre is built on the lead character in the Tiger Tiger book by Alfred Bester, Gully Jimson I believe. However American schmlatz keeps creeping in with the love overcomes all and the two "good" guys fighting each other and allowing the bad guys to seemingly win. Was he looking for a sequel? If so I will not be seeking it. A marvellous opportunity spoilt by producting a film that seems to have been put together by a committee and with a hero that does not seem to grow up. Not even teenagers will give this film top marks.
I brought the DVD having just read the cover in a shop (though they were asking £5 for it, so I didn't buy it there). I knew a little of what to expect, but not all - There weren't many unexpected twists, though the ending does leave room for a sequel wide open... Special effects were good and the hour and-a-half went by very quickly! I am glad that I bought it :-)
Just as I remember, a film I liked when first seen and wanted to see again, when thinking of getting hold of the film ebay is a good choice
Jump around! Hayden Christensen discovers how to save a fortune on airfares in this hip sci-fi flick, directed by Doug Liman and also starring Jamie Bell Open you're eyes: you're in Detroit. Open them again: you're in the Colosseum in Rome. Again: you're in Egypt on the head of the Sphinx. Once more: you're hanging off the clock face of Big Ben in London. Don't look down... Jumper's seductive set-up is simple: imagine being able to teleport yourself anywhere in the world in the blink of an eye through your own personal wormhole. It's a daydream come true but for young David Rice (Christensen) it quickly turns into a nightmare. True, he's able to indulge every wish, visit every place in the world he's ever wanted to see. The only rules: he has to have been there before, or have a picture enabling him to visualise it. He can rob banks, buy penthouses, sleep with girls in London and teleport himself out of their bedrooms onto a surfboard in Fiji before they've even had a chance to ask him for his phone number. But he's also just stepped into a war between Jumpers and their government-sanctioned enemies, Paladins, led by NSA agent Roland (Jackson with a snow white rinse that makes him look like he's wearing a perriwig). Tough, huh? Jumper is based on a series of teen sci-fi novels by Stephen Gould (think a streetwise Harry Potter with wormholes instead of wands) and it shows. This is no adult movie but a mutliplex-friendly adventure full of raging hormones, CGI effects and an impertinent decision to set up a sequel long before the final reel is even in sight. Jumper is destined to clean up at the box office if only because it's what-if? teleportation premise is such a universal wet dream and director Doug Liman (The Bourne Identity, Mr. And Mrs. Smith) is so adept at stringing together the requisite action sequences. While the 'jumping' itself could have come straight out of The Matrix the rest of the movie is grounded in reality as David attempts to keep his powers secret from girlfriend Millie (Bilson), stay one step ahead of Roland and his goons and work out what his long-lost mother has to do with his powers. (The answer? Wait for Jumper 2.) There's a complex mythology at work here as David discovers when he teams up with fellow jumper Griffin, played by Jamie Bell with sideburns, a black leather jacket and a snarling overdose of testosterone crankiness. The jumpers have existed throughout time and have been pursued for almost as long by the Paladins, a secretive order who were responsible for history's witchhunts and inquisitions. Roland believes that such power is divine ("Only God should have the power to be all places at all times," he thunders). Quite what it all adds up to isn't certain (Maybe the answer to this will be in Jumper 2 too). Verdict A brilliant concept let down by ropey SFX, an undercooked script and an apparent rush to get to work on the second movie. Fun and diverting but unlikely to make you jump (for joy).Read full review
Having seen this film trailed at the cinema I was keen to see it when it was released on DVD. The premise of the eponymous `jumpers' leaping Sam Beckett - like through space was an intriguing one; although unfortunately this was pretty much all the film had to offer. Sadly, the execution is poor, with a story which lacks any depth. Director Doug Linman and screenwriter Doug Goyer, the man responsible for Batman Begins and the Blade Trilogy, have left many aspects of the story underdeveloped, despite having the running time to play with. Jumper had a lot of potential and it was a frustrating film. It's beautifully shot. Unfortunately, it's also got some cringe worthy dialog, distractingly large plot holes, and a zero charisma female lead in Rachel Bilson. The film looks great, featuring some jaw-dropping location photography, but the plot is a hodgepodge of underdeveloped elements. The fight scene between the two jumpers over a detonator is visually stunning, moving from the top of the Empire State Building, to the middle of a war zone, to the tops of the Pyramids and beyond. Also, the driving scene through Tokyo looks brilliant and the jumping effect is faultless. The Paladins are left as one dimensional bad guys, with no sub-plot exploring their religious motivations or the history of the assassins. Samuel L Jackson's character has no back-story, so we just have to accept that he's got a reason for doing what he does. Other issues are touched on briefly, but then forgotten or explained with drooping eyes. This under writing leads the film to drag..YAWN... Diane Lane gets third billing for about five minutes of screen time in a throwaway role with absolutely no payoff. Jamie Bell, easily the best of the cast aside from Jackson, crafts a far more interesting character than lead Hayden Christensen, yet the script (credited to three different writers) regulates him to little more than a plot device. Jamie Bell's character Griffin injects the film with the zest and charm which Christensen's performance lacks, despite an accent which lies somewhere between his native Newcastle and Dublin. Sadly, the exploration of his back story again is left to a video game that few people will play, so that the audience can listen to Christensen moan for a while longer and furrow his brow. Worst of all is Rachel Bilson's character, who seems like an afterthought at best. The script's paper-thin characterization forces her to flesh out her role with sheer charisma, and, unlike Jackson, she's just not up to it. Because the cast found no way of connecting with the audience, I found that I couldn't care less about who won the "epic" finale battle. There are moments, more than a few, in fact, where Jumper gets it right. The opening sequence, leading up to Christensen's character's discovery of his powers is spot-on, as are just about every one of Jackson's scenes, but these only serve to build false hope. This is a movie in search of an identity. Is it a super-hero movie? A romance? A sci-fi epic? Jumper feels like a movie made by a committee hell-bent on creating a franchise and that, ultimately, proves to be its undoing. Much as Jackson's character is fond of saying that no man should be all places at all times; no movie should be all things to all people. Although not a terrible movie – have you seen I am legend? - with no plot or character development it did steal just over an hour of my life! Rent before you buy, or you might be diappointed.Read full review
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