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Movie Review: Jumper
Through leaps and bounds, 20th Century Fox’s “Jumper” was transported to the top spot over the holiday weekend.
One of four films that opened a day early on Valentine’s Day, “Jumper” earned $27.2 million over the last three days — $33.8 million overall.
Hayden Christensen stars as David Rice, who in his teens discovers he has the ability to transport from one place to another — henceforth the name “jumper.”
So what’s a young man to do with such a special talent, well, let’s rob banks and live the high life.
Years go by and David jumps around like a rabbit on crack without a care in the world.
In fact, in one scene, David watches the news and sees a bunch of people caught in a flood. Instead of doing the right thing by saving them, which he easily could have done, he turns off the television and goes about his business.
It is more than obvious that he is more concerned about having fun instead of doing the right thing.
However, his fun comes to an end when Roland (Samuel L. Jackson) investigates one of the bank robberies, and discovers it was the work of a jumper.
Roland is a paladin, who seeks out jumpers and kills them, and he has his sights on David.
When David feels Roland is getting too close to him, he goes back to his hometown and reunites with his high school friend Millie (Rachel Bilson).
After whisking Millie away to Rome, David comes into contact with another jumper named Griffin (Jamie Bell), who informs David of the war between jumpers and paladins.
While the teleportations throughout“Jumper” were fabulous, the premise could’ve used some re-working.
Granted, it would be cool to have the power to jump around from place to place, but it would’ve worked for me had David taken the time to have done something noble with this talent.
Just going from place to place, robbing banks and eating a sandwich while sitting upon the head of the Sphinx isn’t cool enough. This was a kid who was bullied in school, ala Peter Parker (SpiderMan), and instead of following the maxim “with great power comes great responsibility,” the idea is “great power, let’s party.”
While it seems like a lot of people have expressed opinions as to who should’ve portrayed David instead of Christensen, my vote goes to Josh Hartnett. If this film was made a few years ago, a young Ryan Phillippe with his smarmy attitude from “Cruel Intentions.”
When Roland begins tracking David down, one part of me wasn’t necessarily feeling sorry for this guy. You only tend to be concerned when Millie becomes involved, because we all don’t want to see little Rachel Bilson get hurt.
The scene stealer in this film is Griffin, who should’ve knocked some sense into David’s head a bit more. Griffin is more realistic about being a jumper and fights to survive against all paladins. His attitude and attire isn’t as polished as David’s, and you can tell that he’s had to struggle being a jumper. However, Griffin’s been able to make the most of it, and his advice to David only fell upon the wayside.
One scene I thought was fantastic was the car-jumping-through-traffic experience, as Griffin manuevers through traffic by teleporting the car at lightning speed.
Might I add that David’s parents, William Rice (Michael Rooker) and Mary Rice (Diane Lane), play a slight but significant role. William gets a visit from Roland, which isn’t quite favorable, and Mary has a secret that delivers quite a twist to this film.
While I’m not in love with the acting in this film, sans Bell, there was enough within “Jumper” to keep me seated for 90 minutes. There is plenty of prolonged action in between the lulls, and the swift and sudden transportations don’t get on your nerves all that much.
With the only thing missing from this film is the song “Jump Around” by House of Pain during the credits, “Jumper” does jump around and get down at three and a half out of four stars.
“Jumper” is rated PG-13 for sequences of intense action violence, some language and brief sexuality. Running time is 1 hour, 30 minutes.
Last week’s No. 1, Warner Bros. “Fool’s Gold,” remains in the top five at No. 4 with $13 million, bringing its ten-day total to $42 million.
For more information and show times, contact Regal Cinemas Marketplace 24, 180 Mill Road, Oaks, at 610-666-6697.
Dennis J. Wright can be reached at dwright@phoenixvillenews.com
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Dennis J. Wright
One of four films that opened a day early on Valentine’s Day, “Jumper” earned $27.2 million over the last three days — $33.8 million overall.
Hayden Christensen stars as David Rice, who in his teens discovers he has the ability to transport from one place to another — henceforth the name “jumper.”
So what’s a young man to do with such a special talent, well, let’s rob banks and live the high life.
Years go by and David jumps around like a rabbit on crack without a care in the world.
In fact, in one scene, David watches the news and sees a bunch of people caught in a flood. Instead of doing the right thing by saving them, which he easily could have done, he turns off the television and goes about his business.
It is more than obvious that he is more concerned about having fun instead of doing the right thing.
However, his fun comes to an end when Roland (Samuel L. Jackson) investigates one of the bank robberies, and discovers it was the work of a jumper.
Roland is a paladin, who seeks out jumpers and kills them, and he has his sights on David.
When David feels Roland is getting too close to him, he goes back to his hometown and reunites with his high school friend Millie (Rachel Bilson).
After whisking Millie away to Rome, David comes into contact with another jumper named Griffin (Jamie Bell), who informs David of the war between jumpers and paladins.
While the teleportations throughout“Jumper” were fabulous, the premise could’ve used some re-working.
Granted, it would be cool to have the power to jump around from place to place, but it would’ve worked for me had David taken the time to have done something noble with this talent.
Just going from place to place, robbing banks and eating a sandwich while sitting upon the head of the Sphinx isn’t cool enough. This was a kid who was bullied in school, ala Peter Parker (SpiderMan), and instead of following the maxim “with great power comes great responsibility,” the idea is “great power, let’s party.”
While it seems like a lot of people have expressed opinions as to who should’ve portrayed David instead of Christensen, my vote goes to Josh Hartnett. If this film was made a few years ago, a young Ryan Phillippe with his smarmy attitude from “Cruel Intentions.”
When Roland begins tracking David down, one part of me wasn’t necessarily feeling sorry for this guy. You only tend to be concerned when Millie becomes involved, because we all don’t want to see little Rachel Bilson get hurt.
The scene stealer in this film is Griffin, who should’ve knocked some sense into David’s head a bit more. Griffin is more realistic about being a jumper and fights to survive against all paladins. His attitude and attire isn’t as polished as David’s, and you can tell that he’s had to struggle being a jumper. However, Griffin’s been able to make the most of it, and his advice to David only fell upon the wayside.
One scene I thought was fantastic was the car-jumping-through-traffic experience, as Griffin manuevers through traffic by teleporting the car at lightning speed.
Might I add that David’s parents, William Rice (Michael Rooker) and Mary Rice (Diane Lane), play a slight but significant role. William gets a visit from Roland, which isn’t quite favorable, and Mary has a secret that delivers quite a twist to this film.
While I’m not in love with the acting in this film, sans Bell, there was enough within “Jumper” to keep me seated for 90 minutes. There is plenty of prolonged action in between the lulls, and the swift and sudden transportations don’t get on your nerves all that much.
With the only thing missing from this film is the song “Jump Around” by House of Pain during the credits, “Jumper” does jump around and get down at three and a half out of four stars.
“Jumper” is rated PG-13 for sequences of intense action violence, some language and brief sexuality. Running time is 1 hour, 30 minutes.
Last week’s No. 1, Warner Bros. “Fool’s Gold,” remains in the top five at No. 4 with $13 million, bringing its ten-day total to $42 million.
For more information and show times, contact Regal Cinemas Marketplace 24, 180 Mill Road, Oaks, at 610-666-6697.
Dennis J. Wright can be reached at dwright@phoenixvillenews.com
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Dennis J. Wright
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