Imagine that you can go anywhere in the world just by imagining the place in your mind. “Jumper” is a movie that plays with that idea. When David Rice finds himself in a certain death situation on a frozen river, his thoughts of survival take him to the school library and to his safety. Learning of his newfound power, David decides to leave his young life behind and live alone. Going in and out of bank vaults, David makes enough money to live a pretty glamorous lifestyle, hopping all over the world in the blink of an eye.
When a group of bridge hunters known as the Paladins come looking for David (Hayden Christianson – “Star Wars”), David returns home to find his childhood sweetheart Millie (Rachel Bilson – “The OC”). Millie and David hit it off right away and ended up going on vacation to Italy. While there, the Paladins return, led by Roland (Samuel L. Jackson – “Star Wars”). While on the run from the paladins, David discovers that he is not the only jumper when he meets Griffin. David is forced to leave Italy abruptly and must confess to Millie who he really is. The paladins continue to follow David and Griffin, and David must make a decision to continue running and hiding or face off with Griffin against his common enemy.
“Jumper” tells an interesting story about the limits of one’s rights. According to the paladins, they believe that the jumpers must be stopped because no one but God has the right to be where they want in an instant and do what they want without consequence. They believe that all jumpers will at some point turn evil and abuse their powers. David tries to tell Roland that he is different and that the fact that he was born with this power does not predestine him to negative things.
The special effects of “Jumper” are quite impressive. David and Griffin travel to a variety of destinations, and the visualization of the jump currents really captured the essence of the power that jumpers have.
Where “Jumper” falls short, however, is in the story. It takes almost half of the movie to find out who the paladins are, and the ideology they have isn’t really discussed in as much detail as it could be. Probably one of the greatest tragedies in history is the relationship between David and one of the other paladins (whose identity reveals much of the story). The director dropped numerous hints about a future interaction between these two characters, but when they finally do interact, it’s not as satisfying a conclusion as it could have been.
Overall “Jumper” is a good escape movie. It allows the viewer to imagine a lifestyle like David’s and become enthralled in an action-packed story. Although there are some plot flaws, the action and special effects make the movie worth watching.
Grade B-
