Jumper,
directed by Doug Liman, conveys the story of a young high school student who
discovers his ability to be able to teleport. Whilst growing up, David Rice,
played by Hayden Christensen begins to maximise the capabilities of his
teleportation abilities by robbing a bank unnoticed (for now) and making a
living for himself. In terms of dialogue, this is first shown to the audience
with the first quote from the very start of the film: “Let me tell you about my
day so far. Coffee in Paris, surfed in the Maldives, took a nap on Kilimanjaro.
Oh, yeah, I got digits from a polish chick in Rio. And then I jumped back for
the final quarter of the N.B.A finals – courtside of course. All that was
before lunch. I could go on, but all I’m saying is, I’m standing on top of the
world.”
Released
on the 14th February 2008, Jumper accumulated $32,092,991 in its
opening weekend on 3428 screens. With a gross profit of $80,170,146 (6th
July 2008) its estimates budget was $85,000,000
Although an improvement over Mr and Mrs. Smith,
Doug Liman is often associated with the continuous problem that lies beneath
the skin of both films and that’s the fact that Liman prefers a creation of a
film that has big-action sequences instead of a compelling and coherent story
line. As the film progresses, we see a grown David Rice living his life to the
fullest by “surfing in the Maldives” and “taking a nap on Kilimanjaro”. What
David Rice begins to realise is that he is stuck in Limbo within an ancient war
between people of his kind called ‘Jumpers’ and their sworn enemies called
‘Paladins’ who’s intentions are to exterminate them form the face of the Earth.
That brings us to Roland. Played by Samuel L. Jackson, Roland’s objective is to
eradicate the world of David Rice’s kind saying that “only God should have the
ability to be at all places at all times”. These are the words that are spoken
when Roland gazes through the eyes and into the soul of his enemy, a Jumper, as
Roland’s latest victim is hanging by a tree staring in the face of Death.
As
Roland begins to gather information about David Rice, he discovers that kidnapping
David’s teenage crush, Millie, played by Rachel Bilson, would bring David to
him. Millie then begins to realise the truth about David and the circumstances
that he has dragged both of them into.
The film emphasises its dual genre of action/sci-fi with its consistently gripping action sequences that I felt had distracted and diverted me from the story Doug Liman was attempting to illustrate. I feel that all the chase scenes and battles were an effort to paper over the cracks of the narrative which could have been drastically improved. An enjoyable watch nonetheless.
Rating: 3/5
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