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"Jumper" Film Review

by Jeanne on February 16th, 2008

When my son and I went to see “Cloverfield” it was the first time I saw the ad for “Jumper” (for trailer and production stills, click here).  We both immediately took a liking to it and couldn’t wait to see it.  Alas, opening day is upon us and I trekked my son and daughter to the theater for, what I hoped, would be an afternoon of thrills and excitement.  Yeah… we can all dream, can’t we?

The film, starring Hayden Christensen, Samuel L. Jackson, Jamie Bell and Rachel Bilson, follows David Rice (Christensen) who discovers that, through a genetic anomaly, he is able to teleport himself anywhere.  This gift, he discovers, has been around for centuries but has been at the center of a war “that has been raging for thousands of years between “Jumpers” and those who have sworn to kill them.”  Uh huh…

More after the jump!

Okay, let’s start by discussing the film’s good qualities since there is very little additional plot description needed (unless, of course, you want me to give away the very small twists that do exist).  The effects are great.  I cannot deny it and, visually, there are moments that are just exquisite.   What else?  Hmmm… Hayden has been working out and his physique is enough to distract some viewers and make them forgive a subpar film?  Nah.  I’m going to stand by my assertion that the effects are this film’s biggest redeeming quality.

Here’s where my criticisms come in (brace yourselves).  The first is that the movie departs way too far from reality to be enjoyable and this is coming from a major horror and sci-fi fan who is no stranger to fictional realities.  If “jumping” (and the associated war) has been around for centuries, why don’t more people know about it?  I mean, come on!  All the damage that gets caused (and it’s really unexplainable damage!) does not raise eyebrows or justify questioning?  Give me a break!

To go along with the unrealistic storyline, we have terrible acting.  Hayden Christensen is downright abysmal and I’m one of the people who defended my fellow Canadian when he portrayed Anakin Skywalker in the Star Wars films.  Speaking of which, we have his Star Wars co-star, Samuel L. Jackson, sporting absolutely ridiculous looking white hair.  I almost laughed out loud during certain scenes that almost seemed to mock their Jedi duels in Star Wars. 

Then we have the character of Griffin (Bell) who joins forces with David.  Nothing he does makes sense (he basically stalks David but then, for no explainable reason, wants nothing to do with him!) and he is made to look kind of sickly and unattractive.  Was this to make Christensen look even better?  I don’t get it. 

My final major complaint is that everything about this movie is cut short!  So much of the story is left unresolved and not in a “oooh, there’s going to be a sequel” type of way.  Even some of the visual scenes were abruptly cut (one scene in particular towards the end with Bilson’s character should have been MUCH more developed).  It was really lacking.  It was as if they ran out of time and/or money and had to just wrap up what they already had.  It’s too bad because, had they spent some more time on it, it could have been a decent middle-of-winter movie.  Instead, it was just a drain on my bank account.

Here are some other reviews for your consideration:

• Roger Ebert (1.5 stars)
• Rotten Tomatoes (15%)
• New York Times (2.5 stars)

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POSTED IN: Action/Adventure, Film Reviews, Now Playing