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Jumper

Buzz says:   MPAA Rating: PG-13
Current Showtimes: No showtimes available

One second you’re sitting skeptically in your theater seat, cross-armed, mulling over just how impossible this premise is, the next second you’ve jumped into a face-paced, cat and mouse adventure, where human teleportation is not only plausible, but a thrill to watch. Admittedly, director Doug Liman does little to add depth or texture to Jumper, his film adaptation of Steve Gould’s sci-fi novel. But if it’s entertainment, and not Oscar contention, you’re looking for, these ninety minutes of stunning visuals will surely pull you into a world where everywhere is possible.

After discovering the ability to teleport himself anywhere in the world, young David Rice (Hayden Christensen) does what any of us would do - he abandons his small town and absent parents, hits a few major banks, and spends eight years living the high life as a “jumper.” Lunch in Paris, surfing in Fiji, tanning atop the pyramids, and home to a New York penthouse for dinner. Unfortunately, Rice soon discovers that he not only shares his genetic anomaly with others, but that he’s caught in a centuries-old war between the jumpers and those sworn to kill them. Enter Samuel L. Jackson as jumper hunter Roland and the chase is on.

The film’s flash is mesmerizing, but the substance is non-existent. There is little background given and no character development. Christensen fails miserably to create a sympathetic hero; we cheer for ourselves in his shoes, not for him. His behavior is very realistic, but the angst in his eyes is stifled by his characteristically blah delivery. And Samuel L. Jackson is on the verge of self-parody these days, fitting all too well into that one-dimensional badass role yet again.

Jumper runs like a middle school novella with the atmosphere of a made-for-TV-movie but the visual effects and editing of a big-screen blockbuster. The beautiful geographical shots from around the world alone are worth the price of admission, and the “we’ve-all-thought-about-it” premise is enough to keep most happy. If you can shut your brain down for an hour and a half, Jumper will take you for a ride.