Jumper (2008)

Anakin Skywalker Jumps ...And Falls

***CONTAINS SPOILERS***

Anakin Skywalker battles the forces of evil by using the force and ...Oh. Wait a minute. Wrong movie. Sorry `bout that. Well not truly sorry; just a tad peeved at this flick and how horribly it went astray.

It is true, however, that the grim Hayden Christiansen of the new Star Wars fame is the main character (David Rice), and he has some unique abilities: he can jump through space/time at will, breakfasting on top of the Sphinx in Egypt, jumping back to his New York flat for luncheon pizza, then heading out to surf in Hawaii that same day ...or even hour if he wished it. He learns he has this power during his high school years (the young David is played by Max Thieriot - see The Astronaut Farmer) and nearly dies after falling through some thin river ice. He miraculously reappears in a local library, water and all, soaking book stacks. David was trying to retrieve a gift from the ice that he'd gotten for a girl he liked named Millie (Rachel Bilson), but he quickly learns that his jumping abilities make him something of a freak, and believes Millie would see him that way too. So he runs away and into the world.

Once out amongst the populace he learns how to steal, including jumping into bank vaults and taking as much money as he will. But this also gains him notice by a secret society of men known as Paladins (look up Palatine and you'll find interesting parallels). The head of this religious order is a man named Roland (Samuel L. Jackson, Snakes on a Plane), and his goal is to kill Jumpers ("No one but God should have these powers!")

So the battle between Jumper and Paladin is set and interesting shots and gadgets dot the screen. And that's about it...

The biggest flaw with the film is that there's no set-up to it. We don't really know why Jumpers can do what they do (Genetic/X-Men-like mutation? Alien DNA? Gods?). We also don't know who funds the Paladins with all of their travel, gadgets, and many, many members. I can guess that it might have been the Roman Catholic Church, but it's never even hinted at. If it was the church, then how did Roland get access to secret information, including bank vaults, police records, etc.?

With all of its story flaws, Jumpers does have some amazing CGI. Particularly, there was one scene where Roland is in the desert and a Jumper brings a double-decker London bus with him through a jump scar and tries to roll it on top of Roland. That was incredible and made my jaw drop.

But that was it. All style over any substance, Jumper was so weak along storylines that I didn't much care what happened to anyone in the film. The worst part is that the ending was obviously set up for a sequel. Maybe Mace Windu (Jackson's Star Wars character) could magically appear and wield 'The Force' to kill that off, too. September 4, 2008

Effects, yes. Acting..... er..... ummm...

Light action movie featuring exotic locations and interesting modes of transportation seeks unsophisticated audience willing to overlook significant flaws such as acting and plot.

Kids OK. September 2, 2008

Leaves you with questions

I'll be brief. This movie was entertaining to watch and it was fun.
But it left me wondering if it came from a book. The movie leaves the watcher with too many questions unanswered. I will buy the book to figure out the movie. September 2, 2008

Just really good and entertaining

Everyone else gave reviews on this movie and seem to have covered it all. I am just going to say that my husband and I really enjoyed the movie and are happy to have it in our collection. August 31, 2008

Jumper

this movie I looked forward to comming out onto video and I was not disapointed. The director hit a home run they waqs alot of action non stop. good suspence,good actors. It was futuristic, with alot of on your edge moments.I loved David Rice and Samuel L.Jackson. August 29, 2008

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