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The greatest part of this movie was the end, simply because it meant it was over. There's no character development because so much time is covered over the course of the movie. Of all the trite and cheesy story lines (scientific experiments, military uses, etc) this is not only the tritest and cheesiest, but also the most yawn-inducing. He goes from scared kid to conscienceless, arrogant jerk in ten minutes. Granted, who wouldn't want to gallivant about the world, carefree, I suppose, but the moral struggle would be very much a part of the character. Still, the TV show format of one or two jumps and an adventure per show would be far more entertaining than this jumbled, boring, barely explained plotline.
A huge disappointment, because there were so many elements (his mother, for one) which could have been interesting if they'd done more than scratch the surface. There's never any question or delving into whether what he's doing is right or wrong (he's a thief, plain and simple) or how he could use his power for good instead of just wasting it. He comes off as shallow and two-dimensional. We get no insight into the main character's thoughts, motivations, or personality. Even as a mindless action movie this one fails, unless your aim is to become a brain-dead zombie.
The concept is fine, but the execution was sorely lacking. Then again, this would require character development and plot. Even the pivotal plot point about the secret organization is boring, focusing on a religious inquisition instead of, oh, upholding the law. Okay, not exactly the same, but comparing those two is a good way to show everything that was wrong with Jumper.wait, wasn't that Sliders.
Unlike in Sliders, the Jumpers have full control over where they go and when.
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Anyway, if I ever come across a Jumper, watch out FedEx. Throw in the appearance of Griffin (Jamie Bell), another paranoid Jumper, and the brief and inexplicable appearance of David's mother (Diane Lane), who's a Paladin herself (.)., and we end up with this 88 minute mess. Nobody knows. What would you do if you could teleport yourself to basically any place on the face of the earth.
Why not convince David to partner with him and do something good for the entire human race, or just themselves. Jackson, has been following David since he first broke in at his first bank. He learns that he is not the only one with that unusual gift and also learns that there is actually a group of people that hunt Jumpers for a living. Liman and company are like that, they don't care. He is the leader of the Paladins, that particular group of individuals whose only goal in life seems to be killing all the Jumpers and, apparently, this war between Jumpers and Paladins has been going on for hundreds if not thousands of years. Jump into a celebrity's home, catch him or her off guard, and get away with some photos that could be sold to the tabloids for millions, or how about just establishing the world's fastest and most effective courier service. The movie doesn't stop to elaborate on this issue. The good thing is that Jumpers do not have to worry about mingling their own molecules with a fly's, as they can actually hold onto anything: other people, cars, even parts of a building, and teleport to another place arriving safe and sound on the other side with whoever or whatever they were carrying.
This is where the movie starts going nowhere. Maybe he's jealous because he can't teleport himself, but, in any case, he seems to be pretty much settled as he can travel all over the world and it is obvious that he doesn't depend on commercial airlines schedules. Roland is blind for mysterious reasons, but I'm not. Steven Gould, in his novel Jumper, uses this premise and gives his characters the innate ability to instantly teleport themselves. Roland utters at some point something like: "God is the only one that should have those powers.", and if you consider that the name Paladins has been associated with the highest officials of the Catholic Church, the religious connotation is inevitable.
Hayden Christensen is David Rice, a normal teenager until he finds he's got the ability to teleport himself from place to place when he first "jumps" spontaneously in order to escape his abusive father (Michael Rooker). What's his motivation. Forget about having David teleporting medical supplies to a disaster stricken, inaccessible region, or having David rescue a bunch of people from the top of a burning building. I assume that most religious people don't question what their religion says, they just comply. Paladins can not "jump", so it might be helpful for them to have an actual jumper in the ranks. I've been always kind of a sucker for these sci-fi premises. Can you imagine the possibilities.
I'd bet the IRS would nail him before The Paladins would. I've spent myself quite some time thinking about these, and when movies make me think, I like them. But David doesn't look like he is the type of guy that'd enjoy messing up with other people's lives. How about being the world's most feared paparazzo.
I haven't read the book, but I understand that, in the original Gould's novel, there is no Paladin organization and the villains (or at least the guys chasing David), are actually NSA agents who are trying to understand these powers and get them to "good" use. I think Roland says that he works for the NSA, which initially made sense to me, but then, this character turns out to be just an obsessed, fanatical hunter. Roland, played by Samuel L. Granted, he steals money, but then he is basically a good guy that likes to pamper himself and enjoy a low-profile, big-shot-like life and spend big amounts of money. Yes, life is good for David, that is, until the bad guys appear. The usual day for him involves having breakfast on top of the Giza's Sphinx in Egypt, spending the afternoon surfing the best waves of the season in Hawaii or Fiji, and having a drink at a popular pub in London while checking out and hitting on the hot babes at night.
Having run away, he learns to control his ability and then does, I guess, what every one of us, being a teleporting teenager, would do: go into a bank's vault and get away with several thousands in cash. We spend the rest of the time watching Roland following and fighting David, while he drags with him his love interest, Millie (Rachel Blison), around the world. They don't give the Paladins a cause, they just let them hate the Jumpers so much, and then they give us Roland, an overzealous, inquisitorial-like priest whose religion states that its worst deadly sin is teleporting. There are so many inconsistencies in this movie that it is hard to follow. Ok yes, I guess with time David could get bored of all the indulgences and turn to the bad side; maybe teleport himself right into the Pentagon secret archives and steal some sensitive material and then try to sell it or just give it away to a terrorist organization. It is definitely an interesting foundation, however, Director Doug Liman and screenwriters David S. David grows up and, by that time, he's already got a penthouse at a luxurious NY building and he's been all over the world. If David's mother is a Paladin and she won't kill her own son, why not convince her to enlist David as a Paladin.
This is what saves this movie from the worst rating. Goyer, Jim Uhls and Simon Kinberg do little to exploit this promising idea, and come up with a movie that takes us through NYC, Rome, Egypt, Tokyo, but ends up going absolutely nowhere. Time-traveling, teleporting. For instance, I really never bought or understood Roland.
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