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Here's my review of Jumper. I actually saw it last Friday, but, well, I'm lazy, so I didn't get around to writing a review until now.
I could have, potentially, nudged the rating a bit higher. Ultimately, I decided that the missed opportunity overwhelmed what good there was. I would love to see a more patient, more philosophical take on this world. The ironic result is that I didn't like the film, but it still makes me want to read the book it was based on.
I could have, potentially, nudged the rating a bit higher. Ultimately, I decided that the missed opportunity overwhelmed what good there was. I would love to see a more patient, more philosophical take on this world. The ironic result is that I didn't like the film, but it still makes me want to read the book it was based on.
Jumper
We may never know exactly what went wrong with Jumper. All the elements of an interesting, original film were in place. Director Doug Liman, behind such efforts as Go and The Bourne Identity, has the right pedigree for such a film. Co-writer David Goyer penned Batman Begins and the modern-day sci-fi classic Dark City. Yet, somehow, some way, Jumper manages to disappoint.
Set in modern times, Jumper stars Hayden Christensen as David Rice, a young man who learns at a young age that he has the ability to teleport himself (and small bits of matter nearby) with only his thoughts. The only catch, it would seem, is that he has to have already visited the place in question. He becomes aware of this power in high school after falling into a frozen lake. The stress of the situation appears to trigger his abilities...and if you think this is starting to sound an awful lot like X-Men, you're right.
David runs away from what the film implies is an unhealthy home life, though it never really establishes this. His mother ran off years ago, but he does not live in abject poverty. We see his father angry with him, but only after David comes home late, soaking wet, and refuses to answer any questions about what happened to him. The film asks us to believe that he's being mistreated, but we never see anything of the sort, and its hard not to feel a bit incredulous when David subsequently runs away.
It's not long before David's ambition catches up with his abilities, and he teleports himself into a bank vault. Fast-forward eight years, and David is living the good life in a high-rise New York city penthouse. His residence is filled with photographs of the "jump points" he's established all over the world, and he travels between them on a whim, seducing women and generally doing whatever he wants.
This all changes when Roland Cox (Samuel L. Jackson) catches up to him, and nearly kills him with an unusual device that's best described as some sort of electrical lasso. Cox is a "paladin," and is part of a quasi-religious organization that regards "jumpers" like David (there are others, you see) as an "abomination," and is systematically hunting them down. David eventually meets and (kind of) befriends Griffin (Jaime Bell), another jumper, and the two form an uneasy alliance to set the stage for one of several action sequences.
None of this sounds particularly bad, but the film never firmly establishes the rules of its own universe. Sometimes, when David jumps, he does considerable damage to the area he jumps to. Sometimes, he does none at all. David also discovers his powers as a teenager, but we're told later that they begin manifesting themselves at the age of 5. There are some potential explanations for these sorts of things, but the fact that we're left guessing about them is simply sloppy.
David's actions don't make much sense, either. After having his previously carefree life violently shattered, David inexplicably returns home to reconnect with Millie (Rachel Bilson), a girl he loved before he ran away. He takes her to Rome, as if this were the most sensible thing to do when you've recently become aware of a technologically-advanced secret society dedicated to destroying you.
Even less explicable are Millie's reactions to the things she sees. Though her curiosity is understandable at first, she never lets up, even when it becomes blatantly obvious that lives are at stake. During moments where any sane person would be focusing on moment-to-moment survival, and pondering the vast implications of what they have seen, her character remains single-minded in her desire to pepper David with questions. And he remains single-minded in his refusal to make any attempt at explaining things to her. The resulting tension, being contrived and unnecessary, has no weight.
At times, there seems to be a good film underneath it all, but it's constantly shoved beneath the surface by needless distractions and an necessarily rushed runtime of just 88 minutes. Many of the film's flaws could be greatly alleviated by simply slowing down and fleshing out the world we're presented with. David's use of his powers for self-interest happens in the blink of an eye, and there's no sense of revelation or scope as we learn more about the growing conflict between jumpers and paladins.
One of the film's few bright spots is the "chase" scene between David and Griffin, who jump around the world in pursuit of a detonator. At best, however, the sequence is a frustrating glimpse of what could have been.
With such talented filmmakers, and such a short runtime, one can't help but wonder if studio pressure sliced a more patient, thoughtful film down in an attempt to create a lighthearted sci-fi romp. Whatever the reason, Jumper falls flat, and is considerably beneath the talent of those at its helm.
We may never know exactly what went wrong with Jumper. All the elements of an interesting, original film were in place. Director Doug Liman, behind such efforts as Go and The Bourne Identity, has the right pedigree for such a film. Co-writer David Goyer penned Batman Begins and the modern-day sci-fi classic Dark City. Yet, somehow, some way, Jumper manages to disappoint.
Set in modern times, Jumper stars Hayden Christensen as David Rice, a young man who learns at a young age that he has the ability to teleport himself (and small bits of matter nearby) with only his thoughts. The only catch, it would seem, is that he has to have already visited the place in question. He becomes aware of this power in high school after falling into a frozen lake. The stress of the situation appears to trigger his abilities...and if you think this is starting to sound an awful lot like X-Men, you're right.
David runs away from what the film implies is an unhealthy home life, though it never really establishes this. His mother ran off years ago, but he does not live in abject poverty. We see his father angry with him, but only after David comes home late, soaking wet, and refuses to answer any questions about what happened to him. The film asks us to believe that he's being mistreated, but we never see anything of the sort, and its hard not to feel a bit incredulous when David subsequently runs away.
It's not long before David's ambition catches up with his abilities, and he teleports himself into a bank vault. Fast-forward eight years, and David is living the good life in a high-rise New York city penthouse. His residence is filled with photographs of the "jump points" he's established all over the world, and he travels between them on a whim, seducing women and generally doing whatever he wants.
This all changes when Roland Cox (Samuel L. Jackson) catches up to him, and nearly kills him with an unusual device that's best described as some sort of electrical lasso. Cox is a "paladin," and is part of a quasi-religious organization that regards "jumpers" like David (there are others, you see) as an "abomination," and is systematically hunting them down. David eventually meets and (kind of) befriends Griffin (Jaime Bell), another jumper, and the two form an uneasy alliance to set the stage for one of several action sequences.
None of this sounds particularly bad, but the film never firmly establishes the rules of its own universe. Sometimes, when David jumps, he does considerable damage to the area he jumps to. Sometimes, he does none at all. David also discovers his powers as a teenager, but we're told later that they begin manifesting themselves at the age of 5. There are some potential explanations for these sorts of things, but the fact that we're left guessing about them is simply sloppy.
David's actions don't make much sense, either. After having his previously carefree life violently shattered, David inexplicably returns home to reconnect with Millie (Rachel Bilson), a girl he loved before he ran away. He takes her to Rome, as if this were the most sensible thing to do when you've recently become aware of a technologically-advanced secret society dedicated to destroying you.
Even less explicable are Millie's reactions to the things she sees. Though her curiosity is understandable at first, she never lets up, even when it becomes blatantly obvious that lives are at stake. During moments where any sane person would be focusing on moment-to-moment survival, and pondering the vast implications of what they have seen, her character remains single-minded in her desire to pepper David with questions. And he remains single-minded in his refusal to make any attempt at explaining things to her. The resulting tension, being contrived and unnecessary, has no weight.
At times, there seems to be a good film underneath it all, but it's constantly shoved beneath the surface by needless distractions and an necessarily rushed runtime of just 88 minutes. Many of the film's flaws could be greatly alleviated by simply slowing down and fleshing out the world we're presented with. David's use of his powers for self-interest happens in the blink of an eye, and there's no sense of revelation or scope as we learn more about the growing conflict between jumpers and paladins.
One of the film's few bright spots is the "chase" scene between David and Griffin, who jump around the world in pursuit of a detonator. At best, however, the sequence is a frustrating glimpse of what could have been.
With such talented filmmakers, and such a short runtime, one can't help but wonder if studio pressure sliced a more patient, thoughtful film down in an attempt to create a lighthearted sci-fi romp. Whatever the reason, Jumper falls flat, and is considerably beneath the talent of those at its helm.
Last edited by Yoda; 04-30-08 at 10:52 PM.
Reason: Added border to image.
can't wait to watch it 
