Saturday, February 16, 2008

Jumper

Movie name: Jumper
Year of release: 2008
Director: Doug Liman
Stars: Hayden Christensen, Jamie Bell, Samuel L. Jackson, Rachel Bilson, Michael Rooker, AnnaSophia Robb, Diane Lane, Tom Hulce, Kristen Stewart
Genre: Thriller, Adventure, Sci-Fi
Score out of ten (whole numbers only): 3

Synopsis:
Doug Liman is back, bringing with him more sound and fury, but regrettably little substance or interest (much like "Mr. and Mrs. Smith" his previous directing effort). "Jumper" presents the life of David Rice, a young man with the capability to teleport himself, who finds that every action has a consequence. One of the consequences of his capabilities is being persecuted by the Paladins, a secret society that hunts people with his capabilities to exterminate them, because the power to be everywhere doesn't belong to humans. The premise however interesting as it may be, it's totally wasted away by a film that feels overproduced - too many special effects, too low on character or story development. The audience never really embarks in the journey of the main characters because they are non-existent. The terrible casting choices don't help: Hayden Christensen and Rachel Bilson are dreadful actors and Samuel L. Jackson feels as if though he's there just to get his check (as he as been in his latest films - time to stop doing every screenplay that comes your way and start being a bit more selective). Jamie Bell and Diane Lane are great and you wish they had more screen time, but alas no such luck. The film ends on an open note, possibly inviting a sequel. If so, time to pass the reigns to someone who can actually tell a story (a bit like the huge improvement that Paul Greengrass did to the Bourne films after the initial jumpstart that Doug Liman did).

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