Review of Jumper
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The film Jumper, based on the novel by Steven Gould, begins with the story of a young boy who discovers he has the ability to teleport. Having grown up in a broken home where his mother ran way at age five and his father was, at the very least, verbally abusive, Young David Rice uses his new found ability to run away from home and make a better life for himself. With the power to go anywhere and do anything, his new life seems almost perfect until he learns about the war between the Jumpers and the Paladins.
As it turns out, David isn’t the only one with the power to teleport. Unbeknownst to him, a group of religious zealots who believe that ‘only God should have the power to be everywhere’ have been systematically tracking and hunting down the Jumpers for years. Fortunately for David, he runs across another Jumper named Griffin, who’s taken it upon himself to tip the scales by hunting down the Paladins, who tips him off to the war just in the nick of time.
Jumper is part super hero, part action, and part fugitive story with entirely too much hinting towards future story lines. It’s quite obvious that the film was meant to be a series (provided it brings in enough money) in that it feels like a high budget pilot to what would be an awesome television series. The acting by the two leads (Hayden Christensen and Rachel Bilson) are borderline horrendous and their love story is absolutely forgettable if not unbelievable. But honestly, it doesn’t take away from the film.
The truth is that it’s an action movie with teleporters being hunted as they flee for their lives. How can you not have fun with that? This is made even better by the films approach to teleportation as not just some boundless ability. There are clear rules and shortcomings to the Jumper’s power, they leave ‘jump scars’ behind that allow others to follow them, and their powers are rendered useless by electrical current. The act of teleporting also disrupts the environment around the jump sites causing damage to objects too close to the entry point.
The fact is that Jumper is an incredibly entertaining movie. The effects and battle sequences between the Jumpers and Paladins are incredible. I, for one, hope that the series continues. Whether it’s a sequel or a television series, I’ll be there.
posted by Christopher Schnese
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Couldn’t be better said. Jumper takes action movies to the next level. It’s simply better on all levels. I was taken into the movie for the whole time it played in the cinema where i saw it. It’s the best cocktail of action, sciencefiction, drama and suspense. Even the music of John Powell goes parallel with the movie’s touch and feel. I hope there will be more of this. Greetings Rico