JUMPER Review By Kashif Ahmed
A silly and misleading title if ever there was one; for what looks like a movie that’s about to blow the lid on Anakin Skywalker’s secret obsession with pullovers and the occasional sweater-vest, is actually an entertaining, if inherently absurd, sci-fi actioner based on a popular set of novels by Steven Gould. Hayden Christenson’s a jumper (i.e. teleportation powers) who, like a surreal combination of ‘Marvel’s’ Nightcrawler & Madcap, uses his gifts for larking about, robbing banks (all whacked off of Scooby Snacks) or picking up women. Needless to say, Hayden’s intercontinental gambado eventually draws the unwelcome attention of silver haired super villain Samuel L. Jackson (good to see old Jedis going tête-à-tête with the world as their battleground).
Director Doug Liman, whose helmed three of my favourite movies from the last decade (’Swingers’, ‘Go’ and ‘The Bourne Identity’) seems in as great a hurry to move onto his next project, as our protagonist is to escape the clutches of Jackson’s ruthless anti-Jumper death squad (he’s more of a all-in-one thermals man). Hayden Christensen continues to impress, despite receiving an awful lot of flack from audiences & critics alike, people don’t seem to appreciate that Hayden embodies the moody, aloof, mildly rebellious demeanour of classic Hollywood actors like Robert Stack & Sal Mineo Jr. Christensen, in much the same way as he did in ‘Episodes II & II’, grounds his character in a universally identifiable reality, though the script, which seems to exist solely as a springboard for future ‘Jumper’ sequels, gives him little to work with in terms of back story, and in that respect he’s a lot like Jason Bourne; not so much interacting, as colliding with would-be ally / jumper Griffin (Jamie Bell), vacuous love interest Millie (Rachel Bilson from the ‘OC’) and a variety of exotic locations. Some of the tricked out, hyper-kinetic camerawork was reminiscent of Kip Pardue’s euro trip in ‘Rules Of Attraction’ whilst a lot of the action scenes took their cues from John Woo’s ‘Paycheck’, the only problem being, that after ‘Heroes’; super feats that once wowed movie going audiences the world over, are now considered commonplace and mildly impressive, whilst the comic book sci-fi genre itself seems a little passé. ‘Jumper’ isn’t a great movie by any stretch; riddled with numerous plot holes, stupid scenes and annoyingly obvious sequel set ups, it just about makes up in pace what it lacks in substance; and since they’ve honed the teleportation effect, it can only be a matter of time before some bright spark gives Alan Cumming a call to reprise his role as Kurt *Bamph* Wager a.k.a. Nightcrawler. With good performances and a breezy, undemanding storyline, ‘Jumper’ ought to keep you entertained for 90 minutes, but will have teleported itself into the realms of obscurity, long before the end credits. Stylish, but forgettable fluff.
4/10