Title: JumperFrom the director of The Bourne Identity and Mr. & Mrs. Smith comes the evolution of extreme - a high-powered shot of adrenaline that stretches the very limits of imagination. Next stop: Anywhere! David Rice is a young man who knows no boundaries - a Jumper, born with the uncanny ability to teleport instantly to any place on Earth. When he discovers others like himself, David is thrust into the midst of an ancient war while being hunted by a bloodthirsty band of zealots sworn to destroy all Jumpers. Now, David's extraordinary gift may be his only hope for survival!
Release: February 14, 2008
Genre: Action-Adventure/ Sci-Fi
MPAA Rating: PG-13
Based On: Jumper by Steven Gould
Writer: David S. Goyer, Jim Uhls, & Simon Kinberg
Director: Doug Liman
Music By: John Powell
Produced By: Simon Kinberg, Lucas Foster, Jay Sanders, & Stacy Maes
Distributed By: 20th Century Fox
Run Time: 90 minutes
Official Site
Science fiction author Steven Gould published his first full-length novel Jumper in 1992 about a
guy who learns he can teleport at will. Sixteen years and two sequels later, 20th Century Fox produced a film adaptation of Gould’s work starring Hayden Christensen (David Rice), Samuel L. Jackson (Roland), Jamie Bell (Griffin), and Rachel Bilson (Millie).
Advertised as “epic” with great locations, neat special effects, and an interesting storyline, Jumper disappointedly, doesn’t quite live up to the hype that surrounded it when it first came out. Despite
the fact that it was number one at the box office for a while (which led to a video game being produced too), the fact remains that the trailer was almost better than the film. That’s not to say that I didn’t enjoy it because I really did! Doug Liman is one of the best directors of action-packed films and Hayden Christensen makes a great anti-hero. I guess I was just expecting that “epic”-ness tha
t the cast kept talking about in interviews.
Still, I was very impressed with most of the movie. The cast was great and anti-hero David’s ability was one of the most interesting I’ve ever heard of, not to mention the fact that because of that ability, Jumper was filmed all over the world: Prague, Paris, Egypt, Japan, and even Rome- yes, that is the real Coliseum too. Oh and there is also a really cool car chase and fight scenes where David (Christensen) and
Griffin (Bell) fight the Paladins and even each other!
The end of the film kind of leaves it open as to whether or not there will be a sequel (Mr. Gould wrote two more in this series) and there have recently been talk about a Jumper 2 being filmed. Millie (Bilson) is supposed to have a bigger and better part and be less of a damsel in distress (she does hold her own sometimes but when it comes right down to it, she’s there to be rescued), so I’m hoping it won’t take too long to make. Even though I thought this film could have been better and maybe a little stronger as an opening in a continued film franchise, I will still be in line to see the next one whenever it comes out.
Links: Wikipedia, Imdb.com, ReelzChannel
Science fiction author Steven Gould published his first full-length novel Jumper in 1992 about a
guy who learns he can teleport at will. Sixteen years and two sequels later, 20th Century Fox produced a film adaptation of Gould’s work starring Hayden Christensen (David Rice), Samuel L. Jackson (Roland), Jamie Bell (Griffin), and Rachel Bilson (Millie).Advertised as “epic” with great locations, neat special effects, and an interesting storyline, Jumper disappointedly, doesn’t quite live up to the hype that surrounded it when it first came out. Despite
the fact that it was number one at the box office for a while (which led to a video game being produced too), the fact remains that the trailer was almost better than the film. That’s not to say that I didn’t enjoy it because I really did! Doug Liman is one of the best directors of action-packed films and Hayden Christensen makes a great anti-hero. I guess I was just expecting that “epic”-ness tha
t the cast kept talking about in interviews.Still, I was very impressed with most of the movie. The cast was great and anti-hero David’s ability was one of the most interesting I’ve ever heard of, not to mention the fact that because of that ability, Jumper was filmed all over the world: Prague, Paris, Egypt, Japan, and even Rome- yes, that is the real Coliseum too. Oh and there is also a really cool car chase and fight scenes where David (Christensen) and
Griffin (Bell) fight the Paladins and even each other!The end of the film kind of leaves it open as to whether or not there will be a sequel (Mr. Gould wrote two more in this series) and there have recently been talk about a Jumper 2 being filmed. Millie (Bilson) is supposed to have a bigger and better part and be less of a damsel in distress (she does hold her own sometimes but when it comes right down to it, she’s there to be rescued), so I’m hoping it won’t take too long to make. Even though I thought this film could have been better and maybe a little stronger as an opening in a continued film franchise, I will still be in line to see the next one whenever it comes out.
Links: Wikipedia, Imdb.com, ReelzChannel
I saw this one a few months ago. I thought it was okay, but I'm picky about action flicks. My husband really enjoyed it, though.
ReplyDelete--Anna
Diary of an Eccentric
Yeah, I saw this opening weekend. It was good.
ReplyDeleteI read the books, they are much better. The movie starts off the same, but follows a completely different story than the books (no Sam Jackson/Roland or Palladins). Book 1 is called Jumper and Book 2 is called Reflex. Read them, they are really, really good. However, just an FYI, Jaime Bell's character is not in these books either as he was created for the movie.
However, Gould wrote a third book called Jumper: Griffin's Story. This book is a standalone that follows the universe of the movies and not the universe of the books.
I was kind of disappointed with this one, I guess mostly because the protagonist seemed like he had no real moral grounding. He could have done great things with his ability to jump, rather than just stealing money for himself. But, the effects were great and I loved the action (and that side character with the accent -- uhh, Scottish accent?). I'd love to read the books.
ReplyDeleteI liked this one but I didnt like the ending. I didnt know these were books. Great review.
ReplyDeletehttp://thebookworm07.blogspot.com/
Anna: I liked the action sequences but it seemed to be mostly about making it look cool than making it make sense.
ReplyDeletePaxton: Hmm, since the Paladins and Griffin aren't a part of the books, I wonder where there characters come from? I've already added them to my TBR list though
Bookfool: Yeah Grffin (Jamie Bell) was one of my favorite characters but I've heard he's not in the books :( I think Jumper would have become a bigger hit if the main character had been a hero-type instead of an anti-hero but I liked the different approach.
Naida: Oh I didn't really care for the ending either and I'm kind of curious as to whether or not the book had a simiilar ending...
I loved this movie, but the ending was too abrupt. I sat there with the credits rolling feeling like WTF?
ReplyDeleteI'll be there for Jumper 2 so that I can answer my own question.
Lol. Yeah I remember thinking, "Oh, so we're ending now." It just came out of the blue.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I had some problems with the movie, but on the whole it was good. The books don't really flesh out where the power comes from, but you definitely get more rules/explanation to how the powers work.
ReplyDeleteThe books take the Davey/Millie characters in a different direction and make more use of the mother. Davey also uses his powers in other ways besides robbing banks.
The sequel book, Reflex, picks up 10 years after the first book and Davey is kidnapped and held captive by a group that wants to use his powers for their own gains.
I'm just now starting the Griffin's Story book. Maybe this will be the basis for the new movie? I hope the Jamie Bell character returns.
Both books are very good with a little bit more meat in the story than the movie had. ;-)
I want to see what they do with Jumper 2 the movie, though.
I was just considering whether to put this one on my netflix list when I noticed your review. Good timing! I think I will give it a try--just not get my hopes up. Great review, Jen!
ReplyDeletePaxton: Okay I'll definitely make sure to add them to my list.
ReplyDeleteWendy: Like I said, it has an interesting premise but I'm just glad that I went into the movie without a lot of expectations. The trailer still makes it look cooler.
See now I am upset. I was excited that at least this one wasn't an adaptation of a novel. Oh well. I wasn't massively impressed with the film. I thought the lead was pretty rubbish, but I loved Billy Eliot in it!
ReplyDelete