Be happy with who you are and all else will follow. "Envy eats nothing but its own heart."...
Be happy with who you are and all else will follow. "Envy eats nothing but its own heart." ~ proverb
I'm a Gemini with Pisces rising... that's about as definite as I get.
wishing you laughter!
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We meet David Rice (Hayden Christensen) as a young man enduring the torments of high school, young love, and an unhappy home life. An accident which plunges him into freezing waters and traps him under the ice brings out an extraordinary ability. David can instantly teleport from one space to another... anywhere in the world!
He leaves behind his drunk and abusive father(Michael Rooker), forgets wondering what happened to the mother (Diane Lane) who left when he was five, and even lets go his wistful dreams of Millie (Rachel Bilson), the girl next door who holds the key to his heart. David takes on the life of a globe-trotting bank robber trying to fill the empty spaces of his soul with the sights of the world. What he finds is an ancient war between Jumpers like himself, and a secret society known only as the Paladins, who are sworn to eradicate all Jumpers. "And I think to myself... what a wonderful world!"
My Thoughts:
This was an excellent action film and appears as if it is intended to be an introduction to either a trilogy or a television serial. As such, many
important questions do not get answered, and we leave the theater with many of the key players suspended in a kind of limbo. Knowing this ahead of time may allow most viewers to simply kick back and enjoy the ride without worrying about the bigger picture. As the first in a trilogy, this film delivers exactly what I would expect. It captures my interest with a unique story, engaging characters, plenty of action, and the promise of more to come.
If this film were to remain a stand-alone work than it would loose it's five out of five stars and become a 3 out of five work, as it has too many holes in it to stand on it's own. At the end of the film, David and Millie are happily hopping the planet hoping to avoid Roland (Samuel L. Jackson) their chief pursuer, as well as David's newly found and sweetly sinister mother. His fellow jumper and only friend, Griffin (Jamie Bell), was left behind in the midst of action as David didn't want to put him in further danger by freeing him to follow him into the fray. If this were a stand alone film, these loose threads would become huge flaws rather than enticements.
The special effects were flawlessly executed and definitely add to the appeal of the film. Whirlwind jumps around the world in the midst of action, flinging moving vehicles at bad guys as our heroes jump, interesting and believable equipment used to counter the ability of the Jumpers... these are all elements that really add to the action and the overall appeal of the film.
The cast does an excellent job of supporting each other. Jackson is good at pre-meditated menace with a lawful edge, and makes us fully believe that not only is he capable of anything in the course of achieving his goals, he'll feel justified in doing so and do it with skill!
Christensen and Bilson do very well at presenting themselves as ordinary people in extraordinary circumstances. I particularly enjoyed Griffin with his no-nonsense attitude, his determinedly cheerful outlook on the chaos and pain in his life, his ready wit, and clever use of his abilities to keep his enemies on the defensive. I've only ever seen Bell briefly in the excellent film, Billy Elliot, but this one has me eager to see more of him!
Lane and Rooker both portray very distant parents who seem convinced that they are trying to do what is right for their child, as chilling as this thought can be given their circumstances and choices. In fact, everyone from David to Roland, Griffin to Millie, feels justified in their choices and actions even when it appears as a poorly made choice to on-lookers. This gave situations that felt fantastic on the surface an underlying support of reality.
Without those extraordinary abilities and an ancient rivalry, these become regular people who have convinced themselves that they are making the best choices possible for all concerned. Yeah, that sounds like most everybody! It will be interesting to see where they take this, and could be quite a ride as we the audience observe.
How many of us would use an extraordinary ability like instant teleportation to go anywhere? How many of us would shed social inhibitions and feel justified in improving our lives by the use of this ability? How many would want to use the ability to help others and what consequences would result from such a choice? For all it's rapid-fire action, great fight sequences, and simplistic set-up Jumpers raises some interesting ethical questions too.
Approach this film expecting good action and light entertainment and you won't be disappointed. A good date film with it's blend of action and romance, Jumper could be opening the door to a whole new world of entertainment for movie-goers. Remember though, it is often easier to jump to conclusions than it is to accept the truth, and there are always consequences to our actions. Next time you get a postcard with the words, "Wish you were here" written on it, you'll think twice!
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
Science Fiction - Director: Hiroyuki Yamaga - Original Language: Japanese - Classification: 15 years and over - Starring: Ayako Kawasumi, Fujiko Takimoto
Production Year: 2007 - Science Fiction - Director: Francis Lawrence - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over - Starring: Alice Braga, Charlie Tahan, Dash Mihok, Will Smith, Salli Richardson, Willow Smith
As preposterous action movies go,Jumperis pleasantly unpretentious and breezily ... more
entertaining. A young man named David (Hayden Christensen) discovers he has the power to teleport (or "jump") anywhere he can visualize. After using this power to steal and...
Postage & Packaging: Free! Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours...
A teenager from an abusive household discovers he can teleport from one place to another. ... more
He uses this ability to search for the man he believes is responsible for the death of his mother drawing the attention of the NSA and another youth with the sa...
Postage & Packaging: £0.00 Availability: 3-5 working days
Advantages: Special effects, camerawork, Jamie Bell and Samuel L Jackson Disadvantages: Davids character seemed lacking, the story is rather weak, pretty unmemorable fare overall
IzzyS 04.01.2009 (04.01.2009)
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of Jumper (DVD)
![Jumper [DVD] [2008] [Region 1] [US Import] [NTSC]](http://picnicb.ciao.com/uk/69769299.jpg "Jumper [DVD] [2008] [Region 1] [US Import] [NTSC]")
![Jumper [DVD] [2008]](http://picnica.ciao.com/uk/79803698.jpg "Jumper [DVD] [2008]")
Feb 17th, 2008
very helpful by (100%):
