Pen to Paper

I’m sure you’ve seen some of the ads for Jumper. The premise is pretty exciting – there is a group of people that can teleport anywhere in the world, instantly, and there is a second group of people that wants to kill all of the teleporters. I know quite a few people were skeptical when they saw that Hayden Christensen played the main character. I’m afraid that the Star Wars prequels made many people think poorly of Christensen. It’s my opinion, though, that a weak script marred his performance as Anakin, and I’m afraid that a poor script is the problem with Jumper as well.

The acting and characters in Jumper are satisfying for an action movie. Samuel L. Jackson plays a religious zealot (a “paladin”) who believes that the teleporters (or jumpers) are an abomination that need to be eliminated. Jamie Bell is a jumper who has been waging a private war against the paladins for most of his life. Both actors deliver intense performances in what are rather shallow roles. Christensen’s role is only slightly more complex. As a jumper, he ran away from home when he was 15. Since then, he’s been living a life of instant gratification. The effect of this is interesting – though now in his mid-20s, the character never grew up. He still sees the world through the eyes of a 15 year old. Christensen’s jumper is likable and believable; unfortunately, the script doesn’t give him a lot to work with.

The script is where Jumper falls down. Some action movies make the audience care about the characters and the consequences of what happens on screen. Others don’t make viewers care, but at least help the audience feel involved. In Jumper, the script does neither. Large sections of plot seem out of order, and because many of the characters are one dimensional the action sequences don’t seem to have significant consequences – at least, none worth caring about.

In the end, seeing Jumper was an enjoyable experience. Fast paced action sequences that take full advantage of the jumpers’ abilities are a thrill to watch. Unfortunately, because of the weak script this is an entirely forgettable movie.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, February 20th, 2008 at 10:44 am and is filed under Movies, Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.