Year: 2008
Directed by: Doug Liman
Written by: David S. Goyer, Jim Uhls & Simon Kinberg, Steven Gould (Novel)
As a teenager, David Rice realised he had the ability to teleport. He ran away from home, started practising his skills and started living a luxurious life where he could visit any place in short notice, and do anything he wanted to. Too good to be true? Absolutely, since there is an ancient organization, that has been hunting people like David - Jumpers - for centuries.
I've seen Jumper once before. It was around the time I started blogging about films, which means, that blog post was extremely short and probably didn't tell anyone anything about the movie. I don't even know if I should check out what I once wrote. ... I did check it out. It was four extremely short paragraphs, and it's not worth reading. I won't link it here
I always appreciate superhero movies that aren't made by DC and Marvel. While DC and Marvel just tend to take turns on stealing ideas from each other, other superhero movies tend to bring some creativity and originality to the table, for example, Kick-Ass. Of course we could argue if Jumper is really a "superhero movie", since there are no heroic deeds, but there still are superpowers. But Jumper doesn't bring much originality the table. Sure, the viewpoint is different, since it's not tragic story about a boy who loses everything and starts to protect the city / neighbourhood / few blocks, etcetera. But plotwise, and as a movie, Jumper is just like any other film. The structure of the story, the events, the characters, dialogue and relationships... it all has been experienced before, and it will be experienced again, and there are better writers to do this. Jumper just seems to be another mindless action hodgepodge.
In any case, the main character David Rice, however typical he is, is interesting, and I'd like to examine him more. His childhood wasn't the best one, but still he learned that he could have anything he wanted, and he didn't have to do much to get it. The audience can see how badly this affects David. He's not used to things being off-limits to him, so when he's not allowed to do something, he does it, even if he's supposed to keep his powers hidden. Also, when Griffin refuses to listen to him, he has to act out, even if he knows Griffin is more experienced in that field. Maybe David Rice did never actually grow up, even if he had to live on his own and all that. Everything was way too easy for him. This kind of makes you understand the Paladins that were after him. But is this something that was original for the movie? I haven't read the novel, so I don't really know how much the movie and the book have in common. Apparently the film is only loosely based on the book. So, maybe the book showed David more as what he was - a brat - than as a hero, like the movie so badly tried to. Or if the movie tried to make David a brat, they didn't show that clearly enough.
Even if the movie is good, it should be longer. The explanation for so many important plot points was half-assed. We know nothing except what David knows - and he doesn't know much. Griffin sure explained him shortly what he needed to know. That's realistic though, would people in that kind of situation have the time to sit down and go through everything? Even if it was realistic, it still isn't very friendly to the viewers.
Jumper is a decent action movie, but it gets tiring after the first view. It is boring, unoriginal and too fast. There had to be better movies out there, and thankfully there are. What should you watch instead of Jumper? Kingsman and Wanted are a good start.
☆☆☆☆
4 / 10
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