We have the geeky kid who really likes the cool girl, we have the dis-functional family home, and we even have a voice over. When Jumper kicks off, we are in familiar hero, comic book territory. I'm not knocking this; I'm buying it, so far.
About half way thru the movie, I'm not so sure. The structure of Jumper is sound, the plot twists and turns, but the missing link in making this a joy to watch is the lead, Hayden Christensen. Now I know he got slated for the new Star Wars films, but I was willing to give the young Darth Vader another chance. Hayden as the self interested boy with amazing powers to jump anywhere in the world he chooses, works. He's perfectly cast as the arrogant kid with the power of a God, it's when he starts to care that it all starts to fall apart.
Samuel L Jackson plays the lead Baddie, and turns in a good performance, but the old rule of make your hero and anti hero equal doesn't quite add up. The end of the movie is screaming for a sequel, and if/when it comes up, I'll be getting my ticket. But not expecting to be thrilled from start to finish.
Jamie Bell helps carry the movie; he's brilliantly cast as the other loner guy with amazing powers. The scenes with him and Hayden make the best parts of the movie, look for the scene in Tokyo for a driving sequence that takes car scenes to a new level.
Despite my criticism of Hayden in his fluffy moments, he is playing against the OC's Rachel Bilson. She looks hot and soaks up the screen from Hayden's wooden moments as the leading man.
Jumper is such a cool concept, it's hard to not like this film, with another lead -this could have been the best of Spiderman meets the Matrix. As it is, Bilson, Bell, Jackson and a whole lotta of CGI make this an enjoyable romp and any Sci-Fi geek (like me) will lap it up
1 comment:
The filming style of Jumper made me feel like i myself was jumping around... very cool. I hear this movie is based on a young adult's novel.
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