DVD Review: Jumper by ME

In Jumper, David Rice (Hayden Christensen) is a guy who can teleport. Does he use this skill to help the world? No, he uses it to rob banks and get the girl (Rachel Bilson). But does this make him a bad guy? Not really, although it seems to me that he does have some moral issues which make him a questionable “hero” for the film. Anyways, enter Roland (Samuel L Jackson), leader of a group of fanatics called Paladins, who just want to kill all jumpers since they believe no one should wield such power. Jamie Bell pops in as a mentor who is also a lone wolf type.

Now it's established early on that David has had a rough childhood, which explains why he isn't a nice guy, but there could have been more. Also shown is him watching people trapped in a flood on tv and he does nothing to help. Even though Christensen's acting has improved over his stint in the Star Wars prequels, as a character, I still have more sympathy for Anakin. I mean, David is technically a criminal even though the Paladins that are after him seem to be zealots themselves.

It seems to me that Sam Jackson was just collecting a paycheck on this one if we hadn't already known about his big interest in comic books and sci-fi. I mean Unbreakable and the Star Wars prequels should be hint enough. And as much as Hayden's skills as an actor have improved and Sam Jackson is, well, Sam Jackson, the most believable is Rachel Bilson, who is confused for most of the film. But with the story as confusing as it is, she may not actually be acting. Then she decides she doesn't want any part of David's predicament, which hopefully mirrors her feelings for her involvement in the film or any sequels that may or may not happen.

I know the movie is called Jumper, but does it have to jump from scene to scene? At times, Jumper seems hastily put together and edited. And all the jumping to and from public places, not exactly a smart thing to do when the “badder” guys are after you. I say “badder” as we have already established that David isn't a saint himself, even though he is trying to save the girl. He treats her like crap, but hey, it's the thought that counts right? Some missed opportunities include the dynamic between David and his mother, which would help any sequel that gets made. Hell any kind of character development would help.

While the effects are nothing super special, their use is. The choreography of the fight scenes incorporating the jumping technique adds a little oomph to an otherwise lackluster film. After watching the special features, I learned that the effects were toned down on purpose, which makes sense. As well as the fact that it was planned from the get go that there was going to be three movies, if the first did well enough. Most interesting though is a section called Previz: Future Concepts, which were animatics that seems to be from future movies since they didn't look familiar at all. The action in those sequences is gonna be pretty interesting and should bring the action to the next level if future movies are made. Also a few trailers and commentaries, but since this was a rental I didn't get the chance to listen to.

Jumper is, at best, a way to waste some free time, if you don't have anything better to do.

5/10

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Mitch Emerson
mitchemerson@hotmail.com