Jumper

Year of Release: 2008
Genre: Fantasy / Teen
Rating: PG-13 for intense action violence, language and brief sexuality.
Director: Doug Liman
Starring: Hayden Christensen, Samuel L. Jackson, Diane Lane, Jamie Bell, Rachel Bilson, Michael Rooker, Tom Hulce

Date Of Review: February 2008

“Jumper” is a teen-action-fantasy with huge potential but unfortunately the film falls way short in the delivery department. “Jumper” works on a cool-factor that has appeal only on a juvenile level. The filmmakers obviously had a unique idea, a special effects team, not enough of an explanation, yet nevertheless said, let’s go make a movie!  “Jumper” has stunts and special effects to die for but simply no substance. The filmmakers exhaust the concept of teleporting so much in the film’s opening 15 minutes that it all gets tiresome very fast. Seriously, you will be over the fun factor so quickly that you will yearn for a lengthy dialogue scene with some sort of explanation. Guess what? You never get one. Maybe, that’s the film’s exact aim, to showcase only special effects because trying to explain it all would be too much of a challenge. It s all just an excuse to show Hayden Christensen behave like an international playboy. We see him “jump” from one location to the next all around the world. It’s like a special effects travelogue, the script is obviously lacking and there is no real attempt to explain anything to the viewer. The filmmakers don’t even attempt to give Christensen anything positive to do with his teleporting skills. He uses them only for selfish gain. It seems all he does with his time is rob banks, go on holidays and….. that’s it. There is nothing heroic here and that’s another major misstep with this film. Christensen’s character is one-dimensional and not one that you care too much about.  

Sadly, the supporting cast doesn’t fare any better than Christensen. Samuel L. Jackson spends the entire film in hot pursuit of Christensen. It’s a thankless role for Jackson, no more than an excuse for him to prance around with dyed white hair, deliver laughable dialogue and carry a big blade. Exactly who Jackson works for is never fully explained or developed, though through a little dialogue we discover he is a “paladin”, someone who is trying to rid the world of all Jumpers, but in the end, in a movie as stupid as this, who really cares? His character is obviously only there for one purpose and one purpose only and that’s to turn it all into a mindless chase film. Diane Lane’s role is nothing more than a cameo. She has only 3 brief scenes and is entirely wasted as Christensen’s mother. They could have hired any actress, why did they even need someone with her talent? She serves the purpose of being there only as a name but then the filmmakers never put her in the trailer or use her name in the film’s marketing so what’s the point of her being there at all? She must have shot her scenes in one day, got paid for it and walked away. Diane we know you deserve better than that. On the other hand, Christensen’s love interest, Rachael Bilson, is cute in her few scenes, but that’s about it. Her character is never really given any depth nor is her relationship with Christensen. Bilson is nothing more than window dressing and has no substantial impact on the story. 

Ultimately, “Jumper” doesn’t waste any-time with explanations, it begins with an attention-getter “Jumper” scene and sadly it continues throughout with more of the same silly stuff right through to the very end.  The film’s ending, well that’s if you could even call it an ending, is inconclusive and nothing short of ridiculous. The ending is such a bum-note, one wonders how they allowed this to pass through to distribution. It would have to be the most pointless, tacked on, final reel, that I have seen in a major Hollywood film in many, many years. Just when you expect something substantial, we get a stupid conversation between Christensen and Lane that tells us absolutely nothing. It seems its only purpose is to infuriate viewers further. The filmmakers obviously thought that their special effects concept was smart enough to override any lack of substance. They were wrong. People under 25 are this film’s target audience but I am sure that even some of them will lose interest long before the credits roll.

On the plus side “Jumper” is fast paced, has good special effects and runs about 88 minutes, but to be honest even that is too much time for such teen dribble. The stunts and special effects may be extraordinary but sadly, that’s where the quality ends. Nevertheless, I am sure the film will make a lot of money and a sequel may even follow, but I have a suspicion that once they try to come up with an explanation to it all, the sequel may be even worse off.  Teen audiences looking for some imaginary fun and special effects wizardry may love this film but the bottom-line is, “Jumper” is unable to provide real answers to the happenings of the story. “Jumper” is a “leave-your-brain-at-home” movie rollercoaster ride around the globe, nothing more and nothing less.  Jump to see this one at your own risk but if you have seen the trailer you have seen it all.

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