Don’t jump to conclusions so quickly
David Rice didn’t start out odd, he started out in love. Always in love with a girl named Millie Harris, he finally gives Millie a nice snow globe to show his affection for her and Millie’s desire to see the world. What’s life without a bully though, his gift is thrown out onto some ice by a fellow student named Mark. Once on the ice, he quickly falls through and soon discovers that his need for survival under the icy waters of the cold river forces his unknown power of teleporting to happen. Not looking back, Rice leaves his life behind and begins to develop his new found skill. Young and immature, his invincible attitude lands him robbing banks for money and doing basically what he wants. As we all know thanks to the movie Seven, greed will get you in the end. Rice soon finds out that there aren’t only more jumpers in the world, but there are a group of individuals under the NSA who are looking to get rid of them all, led by one obsessed/dangerous individual named Roland. Could Rice live a peaceful life or will he pay for his sins? Watch to find out.
Let’s get one thing out of the way now, I know this movie isn’t deep. I understand that it certainly doesn’t come with a huge amount of details, but you must understand that it’s an action flick. It’s meant to have action, carried by a storyline, but mostly should just contain action. Quite frankly, it delivers without a hitch. It contains a good amount of action, a good amount of character development and a nice little love story. It’s a great mix.
Aside from the story, it also has some good actors, minus one. First, who knew that Hayden Christensen could deliver lines so well? For most people who associate him with the Star Wars prequels (or just two of them), you’ll soon have your answer about whether it was him or the script/director. It’s the second choice. He can be evil, he can be caring, he can deliver his lines perfectly. He’s believable as an immature individual in the world that doesn’t know how to stop. He’s also a cool action dude, which is a plus when you’re in an action film. Only slightly cooler is the performance from badass Samuel L. Jackson. I wish he would sport that white hair all the time. He would be the most intimidating fellow in the history of the world. He plays a great obsessed, unforgiving hunter who wants Christensen’s character gone. If there was more backstory to Roland (Samuel L. Jackson), it might have been a lot better movie. Regardless, great acting job, great character. Now, who is the weak link you ask? I hate to say this, but Rachel Bilson brought down the love scenes and the emotional bond between Millie and David. She didn’t do a convincing job as someone in love with her high-school sweetheart. She spat out lines like she might have been auditioning for a tween movie on Nickelodeon. Just not very convincing.
Regardless, the movie still thrived. Now, you can thank director Doug Liman for the flow of the film. I’m sure, technically, you can thank the editor, but Liman needs some love for it. Leader of the Bourne series, he certainly knows action and embraces it. It shows very well in Jumper.
So, with that said, you got the action, you’ve got mostly good acting and you have a fast storyline, though not deep. The movie guarantees nothing dramatic, but delivers the action without hesitation. It serves the purpose it’s intended for.
Blu skies, Blu signs… oh, on Blu-ray
Some movies belong on Blu-ray and some really don’t take advantage of it. The jumping scenes between different countries comes off beautifully, visually. Audibly, action movies make the Blu-ray format good just as the Blu-ray format makes the sound good. It’s a great relationship. You won’t be disappointed by the presentation, especially since the movie was born for this type of format love.
As for features, here’s what you get:
– Audio Commentary By Director Doug Liman, Writer/Producer Simon Kinberg and Producer
Lucas Foster
– Jumping From Novel To Film: The Past, Present & Future of Jumper Featurette
– Making An Actor Jump Featurette
– Previz: Future Concepts
– Doug Liman’s Jumper: Uncensored Featurette
– Jumping Around The World Featurette
– Jumpstart: David’s Story Animated Graphic Novel
– Deleted Scenes
It’s nice to have a second disc and to have D-Box motion control systems (see the I, Robot review for details). The features that come with the movie are fantastic. You won’t be disappointed, not in the least. 20th Century Fox knows this movie is good and they show their faith by adding a slew of special features. Excellent stuff, just makes the movie better. On top of these features you also get a digital copy of the film, not a bad addition.
Might as well jump… JUMP!
I know that I’m a minority when it comes to liking Jumper, and that’s really too bad. If critics would just relax a bit, take the movie for what it is, they’ll find entertainment here. I hope that the studio pursues a sequel and the story gets better. I think there’s plenty of story left, especially with Roland. Anyway, it’s a great film, something you can enjoy with friends and really enjoy on the Blu-ray format. Add this to a good set of special features and you now have a reason to check this movie out.
Jump at the chance as soon as possible to check this film out, you shouldn’t be disappointed.