“Jumper” (20th Century Fox)
Moving At the Speed of Sound
“Jumper” is a movie that is so fast-paced that you barely notice the holes in the plot and the wooden acting of the two leads. It is a short film, only one hundred minutes, and the whole time you are watching it the story is racing from one point to the next and one action sequence to the next. It may not mean it’s the best movie around but it does mean it is the quickest one.
David Rice (Max Theriot) learns in his teenage years that he has the ability to teleport himself. An isolated young man he lives with his father (Michael Rooker) and longs for the sweet girl in his class named Millie (AnnaSophia Robb). One day while trying to impress her he falls through the ice covering a lake and almost drowns, but instead finds himself in the library. He has teleported himself from one spot to the next by sheer force of will.
That very day he leaves home and develops a great life for himself by teleporting himself into banks and taking money. He always leaves an IOU behind. His activities do draw some attention to him. He is watched by Griffin (Jamie Bell) who is also a jumper, as well as by Roland (Samuel L Jackson) who is a “palladin” or a jumper killer.
The grown up David (Hayden Christensen) meets up with the adult Millie (Rachel Bilson) and they renew their acquaintance. Millie is put in danger just by being near David. Roland plans to use her to get to David. At this point in time David’s mysterious mother (Diane Lane) appears and tries to help him.
All of this is pretty confusing, especially the part about his mother and father. Talk about an odd couple, that is them! There also is a daughter (Kristen Stewart) who may or may not be a jumper at some time in the future. Perhaps she is going to be the basis for the sequel.
Christensen and Bilson are not good actors. They both come across as flat and lifeless. Jackson is also not up to his usual skills, but Lane and Rooker add to the film. And Jamie Bell is the best of the bunch. He has energy and personality.
The movie is rated PG-13 for profanity and violence.
If you have a movie where the actors are wooden and the plot is a little confused, the best bet is to find a way to make it all fly by as quickly as possible. This is what director Doug Liman does, and does it with panache. He paces the film so tightly and excitingly that you don’t have time to take a breath, much less wonder why the actors are so bad or the script so loosely constructed.
“Jumper” jumps through hoops to entertain you and ends up being an okay film. Maybe the sequel will be even better especially if they focus on Kristen Stewart and leave Hayden Christensen and Rachel Bilson behind.
I scored “Jumper” a hooped 5 out of 10.
