Is Jumper (2008) Worth a Rewatch?

Jumper is a 2008 movie based on a novel by Steven Gould. It follows David Rice (Hayden Christensen) who discovers at the age of 15 that he can teleport. He enjoys his new skills over the next few years whether that entails robbing bank vaults, sightseeing, or going to London to pick up women. That life of luxury then ends abruptly when he realises him and his kind are being hunted by Paladins and one especially is out for him, Roland Cox (Samuel L Jackson). Rice attempts to evade capture while reconnecting with childhood sweetheart Millie Harris (Rachel Bilson).

Director Doug Liman seemed like a safe choice to helm this science fiction adventure. Coming off the back of successes The Bourne Identity (2002) and Mr. and Mrs. Smith (2004), he knew how to handle movies heavy on action. And the action sequences, especially between Christensen and Jackson, are intense and exciting. It is good to see them get their reunion after the Star Wars prequels.

That being said, there is a lack of jeopardy from the Paladins. Early in Jumper, we see Samuel L. Jackson brutally kill one of the jumpers and saying, “Only God should have the power to be everywhere at once.” This establishes their ruthlessness and desire to destroy every single last one of them. But all of the other Paladins seem relatively impotent and are easily taken down. Roland derides his boss for only sending two to take out David and this lack of jeopardy continually makes it seem like he is the only Paladin doing his job.

Jumper has an interesting concept and could be expanded. There is scope to go in a number of places with this story. There is a war between the Jumpers and the Paladins which could set the scene for many sequels or even a multiple-season television show. The director also had a passion for the project, initially anyway, as he wrote seven rules for Jumping for Empire Magazine. These included things like “You can only Jump to a place you’ve seen before, or that you can see before Jumping.” And “Your mental and emotional state also affects your Jumping ability.” A lot of time was spent establishing the rules of Jumping within the universe, you would think with the idea that more films were going to take place.

And herein lies the ultimate problem with Jumper. It sets up so many things, probably with the intention of answering these questions in future releases, that, ultimately, the movie feels like one big, long trailer for a movie that was never released. At the film’s climax we learn that David’s mother is the Chief Paladin and that she will give him a head start before hunting him. Roland, Griffin (Jamie Bell), and Millie are all alive and well and ready to go into the next film. Everything is set up for a second film rather than trying to conclude anything in the first one.

It's both a good and bad point that the runtime of the film is 88 minutes. In modern cinema we are so used to movies hitting that two-and-a-half-hour mark that, frankly, don’t utilize the time very well and could have been much shorter. However, it feels strange here because of the lack of a real resolution.

I don’t get why you would make your film so short when you could use the time to make one complete story. It’s not like the Joker’s card at the end of Batman Begins (2005) setting up The Dark Knight (2008). It’s a science fiction film not giving the audience the third act they have paid for. Why hire Diane Lane and have her in the film for about 5 minutes? They even have Kristen Stewart, just about to star in the Twilight films, show up as David’s sister for mere seconds of screentime. The final scenes were too abrupt for a standalone project.

Apparently, the film could have had its sequel. Even though critics weren’t kind to Jumper, it did okay at the worldwide box office with $225 million, but other projects got in the way, and it seems audiences will never get their questions from the first movie answered anytime soon. Whether a TV show is in the works or not will be delayed by the fallout from the Hollywood Writer’s Strike.

Unfortunately, the script isn’t anything too special. When David first teleports to the library he utters, “Did I just teleport? I teleported to the library.” The first rule of screenwriting, show don’t tell, is broken multiple times throughout the movie. Jumper is written by three experienced Hollywood screenwriters, David S. Goyer, Jim Uhls, and Simon Kinberg, and they struggle to make any of the dialogue particularly memorable.

On the plus side, the locations look great. David jumps between London, Egypt, and Rome. This is the only film to have had permission to film inside the Colosseum. It makes sense that if you can have characters that can go practically anywhere in the world, you might as well spend a large part of the budget on going to some of the best landmarks and locations possible.

Hayden Christensen isn’t too bad as the lead as well. It was easy picking for film critics at the time to find fault with his acting abilities after the Star Wars films, but he has all the characteristics of a leading man. George Lucas chose him out of thousands of auditions for Anakin because of his James Dean-like intensity, and he holds a film well by himself. If you still have doubts, watch Christensen in Shattered Glass (2003) and you might change your mind. Even though he didn’t get a sequel, at least he got to meet his future wife Rachel Bilson on the set.

Case For:

Jumper has an interesting concept and could be expanded. There is scope to go in a number of places with this story with both plot and location.

It is impressive that the movie manages to fit a lot of information in a short space of time. Jumper is only 88 minutes and it is all go from the start.

The action sequences are exciting and the locations are stunning. It uses the fact its characters can teleport anywhere to show some really cool places.

Case Against

It feels like one big trailer establishing a world for a sequel that was never released.

The script isn’t anything too special and could have done with another draft.

It really needs a resolution to tie everything together. What’s the point in hiring great actors if you’re thinking about future films. You might never get a sequel.

What The Critics Said (15% Critics Score on Rotten Tomatoes):

“The disappointments and the inexplicable plot turns kept mounting until I finally surrendered and just admitted it: This was just a good-looking clunker.” Richard Roeper – Ebert and Roeper

“A movie so silly you may find yourself giggling helplessly even as you wish you could magically transport yourself almost anywhere else in the world but where you are, in front of the screen showing it.” Jim Emerson – Chicago-Sun Times

“It's Liman's least charismatic action movie and the least developed, but it still packs some cracking action into its brief running time and lays foundations on which a great franchise could be built.” Olly Richards – Empire Magazine

Conclusion:

I always try to be optimistic with films. But besides a few fun moments, I don’t know if there’s a lot of point in rewatching a movie that doesn’t go anywhere. Life is short and there are loads of movies out there to see. If you just fancy a nice, easy-going action film it’s worth another go. Otherwise, it’s just a case of thinking what could have been. If the possibility of sequels wasn’t an option, where would the screenwriters and director have taken Jumper? Would they have added half an hour and finished the story properly? We’ll never know.