2.16.2008

Movie Review: Jumper

I saw Jumper this afternoon. I had been interested in seeing it since the trailers came out.

The premise: what does a young guy do with his newly discovered talent for teleportation?

I have read some negative reviews for it, but I was actually pleased with the movie. The very same loose ends and "plot holes" that irritated others were refreshingly realistic in my opinion. Often, in the movie, we'll be left not knowing what happened to a secondary character after leaving (or being left by) the main character's storyline. I loved that. I thought this was not structured like your typical Hollywood movie (one early scene has the "hero" ignoring people who need rescuing) and frankly, that was the best thing about it. Well, second best thing. The best thing was the amazing special effects and all the cool locations they end up.

The negatives of the movie were that the main character could have been a little more charismatic. I understood what they were going for -- an everyman kind of guy -- but it didn't come off very strongly. The other thing was the "romantic" relationship. I didn't really buy it (not once they left the teen versions of the characters) and it may have boiled down to a lack of chemistry.

I appreciated that they weren't going for a "superhero" movie. The reactions of the characters are intended to be realistic. That fell a little flat. The premise and "universe" of the story, however, is really interesting and I left the theater imagining myself in the story.



Three stars out of five

5 comments:

Tom said...

Well, I like a good review. A good review is one that makes me want to see the movie, and now I want to see Jumper even more than the commercials, which piqued my interest.

I just saw the Bourne Ultimatum, myself. DVD, in my living room. I got it at least a week ago, and I'd been waiting for a good time to watch it. The rest of today was completely dedicated to my computer, and I needed to do anything other than computers.

I liked it, but I also liked the first 2. I like how this one ended. I'd read some other people commenting about this movie, one scene in particular, a reprise from the second movie, and I definitely got the wrong idea from their discussion. I'm glad I got the wrong idea, and I like how it really was.

Thanks for your review. I'll probably wait for the DVD, but I will remember what you had to say.

Random Michelle K said...

waitasecond...

Hayden Christensen, unable to pull off romance?

No offense, but this came as a surprise?

I'm thinking we'll be waiting for the summer to go to the theater--and watching everything else when it comes out on DVD. Not that Jumper looks bad--it just doesn't look good enough to drag me out of the house.

Anne C. said...

It's not really worth $9, so a wait for the DVD is prudent. (Unless you're one of those who wants to experience the special effects on the big screen.)

I've never seen Hayden succeed at romance, but he did do a good job on Life as a House, which was more of an angstful father/son relationship than a romantic one. I think he takes things a little too seriously to be a great actor, but he's not as bad as Star Wars made him appear. That dialog would make anyone look bad.

Anonymous said...

This one also looked a bit teen-movie-ish from the trailers, so I haven't been all that wound up about seeing it.

I appreciate your review, that confirms my decision... wait for DVD as well.

Anonymous said...

The filming style of Jumper made me feel like i myself was jumping around, which was cool. Also Christensen’s lines were as short as possible, which was ideal for the movie’s overall quality.