Film Reviews

Jumper

• Rating:
• Director: Doug Liman
• Starring: Hayden Christensen, Samuel L. Jackson, Diane Lane
• Details: USA / 88mins(12A)

A young boy figures out he has a genetic gift to teleport through space at an instant when he almost drowns, after collapsing into a frozen lake. Eight years later, he's handsomed-up into Hayden Christensen, and makes a living using his gift to rob banks, while occasionally taking momentary holidays on top of historic landmarks. But a mysterious group, fronted by Samuel L. Jackson's sociopathic 'Paladin' are about to end his fun and put his life, and that of those around him, in imminent danger. Jumper promises an awful lot - not least from the calibre of director Doug Liman (The Bourne Identity) and the co-scripters (of Fight Club and Batman Begins) involved, but it fails to engage the audience on a consistent basis, due to a blinding lack of character development and a script with more holes than a cheap murder mystery weekend. The plot is an incoherent, nonsensical mess; throw in a protagonist devoid of an ounce of charisma and some general bland and uninspired acting and you've a recipe for an almost heave-inducing stew of disappointment. Liman is a director with indisputable flair and talent, and even the first two-thirds of Mr. And Mrs. Smith were great fun - but here, his luck seems to have run out, and he has essentially directed a series of cool-looking sequences and nothing else. Sure, when one of the 'Jumpers' teleport it looks great, especially when they're taking a bus or sports car with them; but when they're endlessly jumping, it's increasingly hard to follow proceedings. Liman has not given the cast any breathing space to perform either, rendering the likes of Bilson redundant and Jackson into by-the-book snarling mode. There is also a total lack of humour and irony, something that made Smith an enjoyable romp, and normally helps development-shy characters become that bit more congenial. Liman's run of four films without a disappointment comes to a grinding halt, as his fifth feature feels like a franchise spark with nothing to light. Jumper fails to deliver anything other than cheap thrills and aesthetically pleasing leads.

Review by Mike Sheridan