Jumper is a superhero action movie that expertly achieves what it sets out to do. A dopey story and flatulent characterisation won't stop you from having a heap of fun while watching.Hayden Christensen (Star Wars prequels) plays, effectively, Hayden Christensen, a meatheaded thug who thinks he's significantly more entertaining than he actually is. Discovering that he has unlikely powers of teleportation, he immediately robs a bank and starts living off the stolen money.
Hot on his heels is Samuel L Motherfucking Jackson (Snakes On A Plane), agent of a hidden secret order of mystical hidden secrecy. His apparently sworn purpose is to hunt down and exterminate "jumpers", which he does with what insiders often refer to as "extreme prejudice".
Given that the director is Doug Liman (The O.C.) and Christensen's girlfriend is played by Rachel Bilson (The O.C.) it feels very much like Jumper is a superhero-themed extension of a certain popular TV soap. The film distinguishes itself by its absolutely first-class visual effects. The core gimmick of "jumping" looks fantastic and is deeply convincing, and it's used to great effect to pit Christensen and Jackson against each other in a fairly non-stop procession of superpowered action.
The plot is really pretty stupid, and has more loose ends than a primary school craft project, but it's clear that's not really what the film's about, and you can safely switch off your brain and sit back while the entertainment seeps in.
Jumper is Hollywood doing what Hollywood does best and is a highly recommendable way to trade $15 for 90 minutes of unthreatening fun.
1 comment:
I so ticked I missed this one in theaters. I wasn't expecting a great movie and I'm still surprised at how much derision has been heaped upon it. For those that didn't go in with preconceived notions of badness, they all seem to agree. It sounds like a fun non-serious special effects romp. That's all that I want really.
Post a Comment