Jumper

Well all know I love Superhero comics and that I love Superhero comic adaptations, well for the most part. And while I knew the day would come when Superhero stories would originate in T.V (Heroes) and movies, I wasn’t sure how I would react to them. Heroes is fine when it is good and absolutely bland when it is having a bad week. Then I saw a trailer for a movie called Jumper. I found out it was based on a novel which I have not read, but it took the idea of Nightcrawler’s teleportation and created its own little mythology. The trailer looks fun and the director, Doug Liman, is always good for some cool action- see The Bourne Identity and Mr. and Mrs. Smith. Plus, February is always a nice time for some fun action coming off the heavy Oscar season and the typically terrible January releases.

David Rice (Hayden Christensen) appears to have the perfect life. He is a rich man living in New York who has the ability to be anywhere in a split second due to his special teleporting abilities. Utilizing a voice over and a flashback we see the day he first realized this gift and we see how a 15 year old boy would use these powers; he robs banks. Of course, he doesn’t stop robbing banks at 15 and it seems like he has robbed banks all over the world as he opens a room with currency from all over the globe. Rice looks cool, dresses cool and is smooth enough to get whatever he wants. He also has a nasty group of people on his ass wanting to kill him because of his gifts. These people, led by a white haired Roland (Samuel L. Jackson), have these nifty little weapons that shoot massive volts of electricity that ground the Jumpers so they can kill them. They want nothing more than to rid the world of the jumpers. After all, “Only God should be able to everywhere at one time.” Yes, they are religious fanatics who were behind the Salem witch trials and many other events throughout history, according to fellow Jumper and resident exposition spewing crazy man, Griffin (Jamie Bell). Griffin has been tracking these religious fanatics and kills as many as he can. Together, Rice and Griffin try to save the cute as a button Millie (Rachel Bilson).

Clocking in at a brisk 90 minutes, Jumper does not bother with really creating a deep nice mythology, but it does manage to entertain and excite for a majority of the time. We don’t learn much about the Jumpers except it seems to start when they turn 5 years old and we know even less about the religious fanatic group. In fact, I cannot even remember the name they were given (The Patrons, I think), but I do remember the slick, fast paced action sequences that presumably take place all over the globe in the span of 3 minutes. The fight between Rice and Griffin is an awesome experiment in special effects. There are some odd little logical issues with the movie but about 25 minutes in I totally forgot them because it was such a fun ride. Christensen and Bilson make a very attractive couple and their time together is fairly scorching for a pg-13 movie. Honestly though, this movie belongs to the effects of the quick disappearances and reappearances of the Jumpers. A lot of it is flawlessly done and I actually like the harshness of the first few jumps. I like that it seems like something Rice has to adjust to, like Wolverine’s Adamantium claws, it hurts the first few times. I like how disorienting the camera looks after Bilson gets jumped the first time.

In terms of a Superhero movie, this is fairly small scale because it is a personal story about a guy coping with his gifts and not using them for grand ideals like saving cities or worlds. I enjoyed the personal aspect of it, but was still left curious as to the background of the of the Jumper community. I am sure there will be a sequel if this turns out to be the money maker it is expected to be and it could turn into a nice little franchise and maybe then I will get the answers to the questions that lingered beneath the surface of this ultimately fun, fast and highly entertaining action movie.

Final Grade: B