By now, you probably know that Jumper totally failed to live up to the hype and just left most of those who watched in a total state of disgust and frustration. When you first see the trailer to Jumper, it’s hard not to be thrilled by it. The concept is not exactly fresh, but the whole idea of teleportation has been revitalized by the meteoric rise of the series Heroes and the cult appeal of X-Men which features Nightcrawler - a mutant with similar abilities.
Aside from playing with the innate human desire to break away from the limits of physics and chemistry, the movie’s concept also plays with two other principles that often define life as we know it - self-control and accountability. With David Rice’s (Hayden Christensen) abilities, it was no longer necessary to rein himself in to prevent getting into trouble. He didn’t have to stay in line and wait for his turn. He could literally get what he wanted when he chose to have them.
Those are the reasons why we were drawn to the trailer - the glitz of jumping and the fantasy escape that is offers.
But of course, for all the good points that the movie had, there were at least five stronger negative points that it had going against it. The concept was undeniably great. People would jump at the opportunity to see how a young man with immense powers would his abilities for either good or evil. We’re all suckers for these kinds of things.
Alas, it wasn’t even exciting.
Unfortunately, instead of going for a more interesting route, we are offered a very vague and shallow tweentard story about a high school geek turned-superhero and her sweet crush turned-trashy bartender. The direction the story took was as shallow as a puddle. Sure, this is an sci-fi action film but what’s sci-fi without umm… science?! Even if it were junk or make-believe science such as the concepts of the force in Starwars and the fields of human batteries in The Matrix, those well-argued almost logical ideas seem feasible within the domain of the film.
Here are the story arcs and angles that would have helped made the movie better:
The mechanism of jumping
Ok, it’s cool and all, but how does a jumper really jump from one place to another? Other than hinting that his mind was involved in the process (he found it hard to jump while being electrocuted), there was little done to elucidate this point. Does he dissociate into every atom of his body before rearranging himself at a predetermined destination? Or does he tear through the very fabric of space and time as he slips through the cracks in the very material by which the universe is made of? The plot would’ve been so much richer if these details were revealed.
So, how can I jump?
Do you need to be born a jumper? Can you learn it? Can you pass it on? Again, the movie offers no answer to his dilemma. The only detail that they shared about this was that David Rice first jumped at age five prompting his mother to leave him. Is it a genetic predisposition or was it caused by a mutation?
Palla-what?!
Oooh… Paladins! Aside from the fact that they hate Jumpers, what else do they do? Are they a highly organized vigilante group of sorts? Are you born into the movement or is it again a genetic trait? Why do they want to exterminate the jumpers. The answer that the jumpers are not god doesn’t cut it. Does that mean that paladins are merely fundamentalist religious extremists with nothing else better to do?
How the hell did a housewife from Michigan end up as a Paladin (from long ago) and become a magistrata in Italy? CRAZY.
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These three elements would not really made the movie a great film- no, not by a stretch — but it would have surely made it more cohesive and less enjoyable. If they just did their work by filling in people regarding the things that really matter, I’m sure the film won’t be getting baaaad reviews left and right. Yes, people care about the plot and the story arcs - not some tired love story that was never believable to begin with.
And oh, if you haven’t watched it, go watch it! 
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Hmmm…maybe I’ll try to see this film some other time. Maybe on DVD?
Thanks for the warning.
I was actually thinking about watching Jumper this weekend. Now I know how much I won’t be losing. LoL.
Oooh, scathing. I don’t think Jumper had any hype at all. But I still do want to watch it….
i’ve been dying to watch Jumper but when i read your review, am now having 2nd thoughts. maybe if i have extra cash, i’ll watch it. if not, i’ll just rent the DVD.
Come on, do you really need all those explanations? I just wanted to be entertained.
I had never even heard of Jumper before reading your blog but I do have to say I am now less interested than before… Seems like something that could have been a great movie was all hype. We watch many movies each month and really hate being disappointed when the hype tells all thats in a movie - thanks for the review
hmm.. this is some detailed analysis of the movie, I can definitely feel the angst there. You really were disappointed with it!
Ah, alas, a movie’s ability to please the viewer still rests with the audience’ ability to comprehend it’s plot. I haven’t seen it though. Think I have to see it myself to believe. Since it already has a bad rating, think i’d also go with the DVD. It isn’t as bad as Dragon Wars or Death to Smoochie, is it?
Pfft. The moment I saw the trailer, I knew the movie would suck. But I still want to see it, though.
Thanks for the warinig! Good thing I did not watch it. My classmates were so into it, and I think some of them are already hooked.
Oh well, let’s just borrow some DVD of it.
i must agree. i loved the trailer but was major disappointed in the overall movie. i did like the effects, and, truth be told, thought that parts of the cheesy romance bit was not so bad. but eventually it dragged, i particularly didn’t like the female lead, and as you already said, there were too many questions left unanswered. no a-ha moments. even the mom being a pala-what? didn’t make sense.
oh, and thanks for the review. just bloghopping and couldn’t help but comment.
1.The mechanism of jumping
It requires the mind obviously
2.So, how can I jump
they already said that is was a genetic predisposition you idiot
3.Palla-what?!
they already said Paladins kill jumpers coz they only think god should be everywhere
4.your a moron
hmmm ive read some bad reviews already about it. i’ve seen the trailer a month ago and it seems nice. anyway, i just downloaded a copy and will watch it this weekend. let’s see what i’ll think about the movie then…
@benj - your a moron daw? hehehe.. I agree with the three “Magical” elements
Your a weenier
1:It requires the mind obviously
-You did not get what he was meaning huh?
2:they already said that is was a genetic predisposition you idiot
-But they never explain which kind of genectic predisposition.If so many jumper existed , why no one ever heard of them?It’s not like they don’t jump in public place /sarcasm
3:they already said Paladins kill jumpers coz they only think god should be everywhere
-I don’t know if you’re stupid or you want to be stupid.So they are just brainswashed zealot.Where they got their technology?Why the governement don’t know about them?Where are the fund coming for their organisation? etc
The acting was mediocre.I was litteraly smirking of disgust during some scene.It’s felt like poop coming out of my ass and i was actualy pushing to make the acting believable.
The Hero had no goal whatsoever and just left at 15 his home because he had da powah.Her teen crush was just her for that sex scene.
This movie is an offense to the inteligence of the viewers; i don;t know who decided the cast of this movie but it was a bad choice from start to end. The “hero” is the same actor who play in the StarWars new version - in my opinion that guy should quit acting - i didn;t see such a lack of expresivity or feeling - its like that boy has learned all the lignes by heart and is telling them in front of the camera.
The second “performer” is also an excellent acting example - “the sexi childhood girlfriend wann be” i think she asked at a point of time in the movie -”why” about 20 times - i actually believe that my DVD has an error of somekind.
The scenario is low, the ideea is good.
I’m sorry to say, I did see Jumper. Man, it sucked! I now have such a low opinion of Hayden Christensen after seeing it, (He probably thought this movie would do for him what Raiders of the Lost Ark did for Harrison Ford. (Maybe he should fire his agent and get Natalie Portman’s representation instead.)
Incidentally, I wouldn’t be surprised that if Hayden attended comicon, he’d only get two people, while Amahd Best gets a huge line at his table, (and Amahd played Jar Jar!)
I think Mannequin Skywalker should seriously read a script before committing to it. It would save him alot of heartbreak.
Save your time.
I will not justify all that was horrible.
It touches at a few things. Steals a few ideas from some places. And, in the end… nothing is answered. There is no character development. There is no audience participation. It is merely a bunch of images put together in such a failure as an adaptation, you would think a third-grader forced his producer father to use his script.
Again - Save time. For teleportation at its best - just watch the introduction to X-men 2 and you will be much more entertained.