Review of Jumper (2008) by Alexander C — 07 Dec 2012

''It set me FREE...''.

Pirates:Dead Man's Chest, Fantastic Four, Hot Fuzz, Next, Shooter, Stormbreaker, I am Legend....all examples of amazing films that have come under the critics knife without just cause. This is a good film if you go with the flow, loosen up and you will love it!

Jumper is another example. It's great.

Doug Liman's Jumper is a decent, above average action flick. It's going to satisfy the action fan's desires with some 'ooh' and 'ahh' moments, particularly the climactic sequence involving the film's two jumpers and the antagonist.

Jumper has a very straightforward story: David discovers he has the ability to teleport after an altercation with a classmate in high school. Years later, he has robbed banks of enough money to afford a Manhattan suite, a life wherever he chooses, and the ability to never work or go to school. Everything is going great...until the Paladins (led by Samuel L. Jackson), who have sworn to destroy these jumpers (also including Jamie Bell), as they believe "only God should have the power to be in all places at all times".

Let's start with the first and biggest problem: the casting of the male and female leads Hayden Christensen and Rachel Bilson. Christensen is not really miscast...he's an actor with experience in this type of role, but the fact that he's more wooden than an oak tree is inexcusable. He could have done a lot more with the character, and the fact that he continually shows a lack of commitment to his character should make him the poster boy for who NOT to cast in films. There are so many struggling actors who deserve their chance, and people like Christensen continually waste theirs. As for Rachel Bilson, she was nowhere near as bad as Christensen, but I think she could have been better. At the very least, you do care for her character, and she has her moments, but overall it's a mediocre performance.

Now, the best parts of the film: the original and awesome action, and Jamie Bell. When you're handling something like teleporting, it's easy to be very creative and show off your imagination as a director and writer.

Simon Kinberg, who is mostly responsible for the action scenes, did a great job. Most of the scenes take place over a span of locations and feature a lot of cool camera angles and styles that help 'Jumper' forge an identity of its own. Jamie Bell is the main supporting role in the film as the second jumper Griffin, and in my opinion, he should have been the lead role. Not just Bell, but his character. Christensen's David Rice was very bland and not at all engaging, but Bell's Griffin is far and away the best character in the movie and is a joy to watch and laugh at throughout the film (he provides most of the comic relief). Bell is outstanding, proving my long time saying that he is one of the best young actors working today. It also would have been nice to see Griffin as the main character because of how different he is from David. It really could show how being a jumper has impacted his life. He could start out with a personality like David's (which the audience never gets to know because Christensen doesn't feel like telling us), then evolve into the charismatic, rebel without a cause, fiery personality that is Griffin. Also enjoyable is Samuel L. Jackson as the main antagonist Roland in the film. It's always fun to see Jackson be overly serious in a movie that really doesn't require it. He also gets his OWN revenge on Hayden after Sith.

Another problem is the bland dialog outside of Griffin's character. Whoever wrote that character really liked him. Kinberg's action sequences are brilliant, but David S. Goyer and Jim Uhls fail on their part of the screenplay, and as action isn't everything, it really brings the film down. There was so much wasted potential. There could have been more Jumpers than just Bell and Christensen. Though Griffin was an engaging character, he was totally random and came out of nowhere, and the plot jumps around a lot (much like the camera, the film requires more, it was far too short. Just gets going and then it stops!).

However, despite the glaring weaknesses of the script and Hayden Christensen, Jumper still manages to fit the bill of action/sci-fi thriller well, and I recommend it to a viewer who is willing to sit back and watch this popcorn flick.

Anywhere is indeed possible...

Nightcrawler on speed, with a twist of Stormbreaker and Matrix.

Wanted more, there was some unanswered questions...

Sequel?

Hell yeah!