Take a deep breath.... even though you probably won't need it

magicwings

OK, so I might get slated for calling a film about teleportation implausible, but here goes. Jumper is a film about David Rice who, while trying to impress his high-school crush Millie, falls through ice into a river and, in panic, manages to transport himself in the blink of an eye to the local library. Thinking that he can use this talent to live large, he deserts his father, his friends and everyone else in search of the high life. Basically meaning robbing banks and having lunch on top of the Sphynx.

8 years later and he decides to go after his crush Millie, who after a tiny amount of persuasion agrees to travel with him to Rome, just because. Wait a second... my plausibility-sense is tingling. Without any question of his history, she agrees to travel the world with someone everyone thought was dead.

Just at the right moment, Samuel L Jackson appears wearing a white wig and bearing the spine-tingling name Roland. Right. To be fair, Jackson is the only actor in the movie who shines - Hayden Christensen plays his character more wooden than... a plank of wood, and Rachel Bilson playing Millie is distinctly unabashed when she not only finds her dead friend on her doorstep but when she finds out he can teleport across the globe.

So, more fights, the Sphynx, brief historical backplot about 'Jumpers' and 'Paladins' supplied by a very energetic Jamie Bell who carries the movie into more of a frenzy, which is a good thing, because there is never any real sense of danger at all. Jamie Bell speaking very fast in a Northern accent definitely adds to the excitement, but again we only get more questions and less answers.

Jumper finishes very open-ended and many will feel cheated by the time the credits come up. It all seems like you've been spending 86 minutes gearing up for a final showdown... then the names roll.

However, on an entertainment level it doesn't disappoint. The teleportation idea works very well for some fight scenes - look out for the Colosseum one in particular - but they don't last long and they are few and far between.

But hey, it's only a movie.

score 6/10

magicwings 15 February 2008

Reprint: https://www.imdb.com/review/rw1820291/