"Jumper" does what it was made to do - entertain. The visual effects, the explosions and the nearly witty one-liners all add up to make a very fun ride for the viewer. Yet even with an action-adventure science-fiction romp like this one, too many questions go unanswered. Somehow, even the globetrotting of a dreamy Hayden Christensen and his love interest cannot distract enough to keep the viewer engaged and the plot intact.
The movie begins with a time-consuming back story, during which protagonist David Rice (played by Christensen) narrates his miserable time in high school when he (portrayed as a teenager by Max Thieriot) discovers his ability to "jump" (i.e. teleport). This moment of realization happens in the face of his high school crush, Millie (portrayed as a teenager by AnnaSophia Robb), and the school bully, Mark (Jesse James). David leaves his home and moves to the city where, still only 15 years old, he supports himself through midnight bank robberies. One such robbery puts him under the radar of Roland (Samuel L. Jackson), a "Paladin." Thus begins the battle between David and those dedicated to exterminating all "jumpers."
Eventually, David meets fellow jumper Griffin (Jamie Bell), who teaches him the history of their struggle as they form a two-man team to save Millie and defeat Roland.
The main questions that "Jumper" intentionally advances deal with morality. During one memorable scene, the protagonist watches footage of flood victims on the news without considering intervening to save lives. He is too lazy to walk across rooms to open the refrigerator or grab the remote control. While these moments are impressive visually, they do nothing to stimulate any sort of attachment with David for the average audience viewer.
Throughout the film, he constantly breaks laws and leaves people for dead in the most remote locales. The morality becomes further blurred with the introduction of Roland and Griffin. The former is trying to solve a crime but is willing to sacrifice innocent lives to the cause, while the latter clearly puts his life and the destruction of Paladins above all else. Who are the good guys and who are the bad guys? In the olden days, superheroes were upstanding and their opposition was visibly marked as evil. Now, with films like "Spider-Man 3" (2007) and even "Batman Begins" (2005), ethics have been distorted.
Watching the acting in this film, one can't help but think, "Oh, how the mighty have fallen." Christensen, despite some common misconceptions, once gave a riveting performance in director Billy Ray's biopic, "Shattered Glass" (2003). Jackson was at the top of his game in "Pulp Fiction" (1994) and, more recently, "Unbreakable" (2000). Even Rachel Bilson, who plays Millie as an adult and has yet to prove herself capable of more than Bambi eyes and a pout, showed a stronger performance in "The Last Kiss" (2006). Yet perhaps the most devastating waste is Bell, whose witty one-liners in "Jumper" cannot provide enough material and character for the star of internationally acclaimed indie hit "Billy Elliot" (2000), a role that landed him the British Academy of Film and Television Arts award for leading actor. The only reassuring thought is that his next project, "Defiance," co-starring Daniel Craig and Liev Schreiber, looks like an Oscar-caliber masterpiece.
Yet for the most part, these poor performances are not to be blamed on the actors, for they had such little material to work with. Writers David S. Goyer, Jim Uhls and Simon Kinberg had the creativity to come up with such horrible lines as "it was always you" and "I could've dropped you with the sharks," but somehow could not draw up a cohesive storyline. Not only are there problems with the basic timeline of David's development as a jumper, but the characters are written as gullible children. Millie asks for answers and yet is content to jet-set to Europe without any. She is another example of the beautiful, affectionately trusting and dim-witted love interest common in far too many American films.
What's more, characters in "Jumper" are constantly noticing men appear and disappear out of thin air, but never react strongly enough or ask questions. The viewer is forced to believe that we live in a world where everyone is content to accept the supernatural without complaint, which is simply asking too much. Director Doug Liman uses great special effects to make the teleportations easy to see, but unfortunately for the viewing public, this is one case where seeing is not believing.
