Cool Concept, Horrible Execution

Watching Jumper was like watching what would happen if someone in Hollywood had made a checklist for things which must be included in an action flick that was scheduled for summer release, and then followed that checklist one by one. Jumper is a cookie-cutter film in that the ideas and story arcs which could have been developed more are instead tossed aside for a formula which rings tired. Instead of any ground work being established, viewers are given a halfhearted attempt at yet another dull action movie that fails to live up to the hype.

Plot: David Rice is just your typical, nerdy high school student. His mother left him to be raised by his father when he was just five years old and he appears to have no friends whatsoever. He’s a loser. A no one. But, as he discovers one faithful day while attempting to flirt with the girl he longs to be with (Millie Harris, played by Rachel Bison), David can teleport. As the years pass, David learns to leave behind the typical life one would lead and instead chooses a more daring life based around his abilities; a life of fast living and simple crimes. David can leap in and out of areas at will, as long as he can see them/has seen them. He creates jump points, or, places that he’s been to and could then continue to jump to. All things seem to be going great, he robs banks undetected, he travels the world at will, but when he decides to revisit his Millie and see how things could be different, things take a turn for the worse. Of course. It’s here where everything goes wrong. David learns there are others like him and that they’ve been fighting a war against a group called the Paladins. They want to kill any and every ‘jumper’, because as we’re told, they think only God should have that ability. Sam ‘the man’ Jackson leads the way as the baddie out to stop all the jumping madness and needless to say, the movie plays out with plenty of action filled scenes involving these two colliding forces.

Doug Liman is, essentially, what I would call a ‘hit and miss’ director. He’s made films that I view as classic, such as Go and Swingers, yet he’s also managed to create two large, blockbuster films which I honestly can’t stand; The Bourne Identity and Mr. And Mrs. Smith. And the reason I can’t stand these two films is the exact reason why Jumper is so flawed: there’s just no meat to be found. Instead of having a lavish, 16oz New York Strip we’re given a lean, mean, turkey burger. There’s just enough to wet your appetite, but by the time all is said and done, there’s nothing more to it. Visually, Liman’s action films look nearly perfect. His timing and execution during the action scenes feels very intense and developed. But like Mr. and Mrs. Smith, where’s the story? Where’s the heart of the film? Compare any of these three movies to a film like Face/Off, and you’ll see what I’m talking about. While Face/Off may have its flaws, at least its characters are rounded and well written. With Jumper, we know so little about their motivations and we understand even less about their desires. Instead the characters serve as nothing more than cardboard pieces used to get to the action sequences. There is no real story here. Granted, the screenplay was written by David S. Goyer, a man whose resume is all over the place, that we could blame him for the lack of substance. However, for as many duds as Goyer has, he has just as many hits. The same cannot be said for Liman and I personally think that the end result of the product lies in the hands of the director. That being said, Liman did what needed to be done with the film, however he did absolutely nothing here to make Jumper worthy of a second viewing.

It’s so terribly sad that in a movie starring Samuel Jackson and Hayden Christiansen, the only actor whose performance I can honestly say stood out would be that of Rachel Bison. Both Jackson and Christiansen seemed to care less about their roles and it showed in nearly every bit of celluloid they occupied. Although I expect nothing less from Christiansen, I expect a lot more from Jackson. For an actor who is as fantastic as he, it almost appeared as if he hated the notion of being a villain. There’s one thing that always stands out about Jackson’s films and that is he always appears to be having a blast in whatever role he is undertaking. In all honesty, Jackson’s thirty second cameo at the end of Iron Man was more exciting than any scene he has throughout Jumper. Yet, Rachel Bison, an actress mostly known for her work on the awful O.C television show, showed more heart and more determination in every one of her scenes. Maybe for the sequel, someone should remind Christiansen and Jackson that they’re working to entertain their audience and not just working for their paychecks.

Overall, the movie is a convoluted mess that ended up raising more questions than answering. By the time the credits rolled my mind was still trying to answer questions brought up during the second act that never went answered. I’ve heard rumors that this may end up being a trilogy and I’m not sure how I feel about that. I know I want more answers, I want all the deeper and darker material briefly touched on here to be explained, yet at the same time, I’m pretty confident that I don’t want Liman to be at the reigns if such a thing were to happen.

Either way, this film may be worth a rental but is nowhere near worth a purchase. Unless you are simply a diehard fan of every action movie, I can’t honestly think of a reason to have this sitting on your shelf.