handsomewarrior
Hayden Christensen will never be as good as he was in Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith. Many critics and even viewers disagree with me, saying that in the final installment of the Star Wars saga he mistook an evil, meaningful performance for "pouty faces and mumbled lines". Or something like that. I must agree that he had an interesting selection of evil faces; they looked like evil was totally warping his face into a wide-eyed, hate-filled glare. I just think that it worked for him.In Jumper, though, I would fully understand--and possibly agree with--anyone maligning his performance. It wasn't the worst acting; maybe it was just the fact that he was cast for the role, considering that his interesting character and voice inflection definitely doesn't fit with most roles that can be provided for him. Jumper was a good action movie, with good directing, cinematography, and editing. The jumping was handled well, and the fight scenes likewise provided exciting entertainment. Considering the storyline, though, I believe that the movie had a lot more potential, and could easily have been a great movie. But the writing is unoriginal, as is the dialogue, and the characterization could have been done much better. Also, it was completely unnecessary to bring along a white-haired Mace Windu, with a reconstructed lightsaber, and then make him into some sort of "religious nutjob" serial killer, trying to kill off all of the Jumpers because, "Only God should have this power." I've heard of men like this in jokes, not movies.The movie starts with teenage David Rice, discovering that he can jump (teleport) through time and space to different locations...simple enough. He keeps jumping to the Ann Arbor Library (Did it have to be Ann Arbor, Mr. Goyer?) on accident, and after his first jump, of course he wants to try it again. Most people probably would have needed a manual, like "Teleporting 101", but to make the movie work, he just practices it and...Voila! He finally gets it down--sort of. Just like every superhero, he decides to keep his talents a secret...but not for very heroic reasons. For whatever reasons, he figures his skills would be best put to use robbing a bank. "Hey, I was a kid. What would you have done?" I dunno, but I definitely wouldn't have robbed a bank. Oh well, we're all raised differently.Fast forward a few years, David's all grown up, and he's living in a mansion, with a closet full of dough. Maybe it's not a mansion, but it's quite a house, that's for sure. I forgot to mention, ever since his first jump, everyone has thought he was dead...how could you be living in a mansion if everyone thinks you're dead? He gets by somehow, until Mace Windu shows up, no longer a Jedi; instead he's a Paladin. It's quite a shock to David, after convincing himself after all these years that he's safe, to have someone invade his house and try to kill him. So he goes on the run, meets up with his childhood crush, and offers to take her on a vacation to Rome. She asks what job he has. "I'm a banker." L. O. L. So they take off for Rome. Very smart, David, while you're being chased by evil villains--what other kinds of villains are there?--why don't you bring along your clueless girlfriend. Forgive my sarcasm; turns out bringing his girlfriend along wasn't a very good idea, considering he once again gets attacked (Surprise, Surprise!) in the Coliseum, meets another, more experienced Jumper, and follows his "jump scar" to his lair. The other jumper turns out to be someone named Griffin, a smart-alek, rather unattractive person played by Jamie Bell, who has been jumping and living alone longer than even David has. David Rice follows him around everywhere, asking questions and irritating him, but perhaps he's not as irritated as he should be. "Paladins kill Jumpers. I kill Paladins. Class dismissed," says Griffin. The chemistry between the two continues to be interesting and humorous.Despite the ridiculousness of the movie, Jumper still manages to be an entertaining, if disappointing, action film, and although Hayden Christensen has lost the touch he had in 2003, he's still a good actor. David S. Goyer will never again create a film as good as the Batman trilogy, which he and Christopher Nolan collaborated on together, but this movie proves that he still has his writing touch. The movie keeps you excited and entertained throughout, providing good imagery and clever dialogue and characterization.My Official Score: 84/100
mistoppi
I always appreciate superhero movies that aren't made by DC and Marvel. While DC and Marvel just tend to take turns on stealing ideas from each other and using same plot lines over and over, other superhero movies tend to bring some creativity and originality to the table, for example, Kick-Ass. To my disappointment, Jumper doesn't bring much originality the table. Sure, the viewpoint is different, since it's not tragic story about a boy who loses everything and starts to protect the city / neighbourhood / few blocks, etcetera. But in terms of the plot, Jumper is just like any other action movie. The structure of the story, the events, the characters, dialogue and relationships... it all has been experienced before, and it will be experienced again, and there are better writers to do this. Jumper just seems to be another mindless action hodgepodge.Even if the movie is good, it should be longer. The explanation for so many important plot points was half-assed. We know nothing except what David knows - and he doesn't know much. Griffin sure explained him shortly what he needed to know. That's realistic though, would people in that kind of situation have the time to sit down and go through everything? Even if it was realistic, it still isn't very friendly to the viewers.Jumper is a decent action movie, but it gets tiring after the first view. It is boring, unoriginal and too fast. There had to be better action films, and thankfully there are. What should you watch instead of Jumper? Kingsman and Wanted are a good start.
