19 Feb 2008

Jumper

Director: Doug Liman

Starring: Jamie Bell, Hayden Christensen, Samuel L Jackson, Rachel Bilson

Release: 2008-02-12

There's nothing particularly horrible about Jumper. It's just not that good. Although the story of human beings who can teleport promises a fine action movie — along the lines of X-Men or HeroesJumper just moves too slowly and too predictably to make an impression.

Cutie-pie Hayden Christensen (of Star Wars fames) plays a young man who discovers he can teleport himself to anywhere in the world, simply by thinking it. One minute, he would be robbing a bank vault without having to open its door, and the next minute, he would be balancing on the edges of London's Big Ben just for fun. But the National Security Agency, headed by Samuel L Jackson, has been tracking such people for some time now. And when the robbery trail leads to Hayden, our hero has to start running...
The problem with Jumper is that it just doesn't have an original or interesting concept. The story is so straightforward and predictable that you quickly get bored by the first act. The movie seems designed to take advantage of blue-screen technology, which allows the filmmakers to put Hayden on top of the head of the Sphinx without breaking a sweat. But it doesn't seem designed to surprise, amuse or genuinely entertain us.