What would you do if you could instantly teleport to anywhere? This is the premise of this slick action fantasy. Directed by Doug Liman (Swingers, Go, Mr. and Mrs. Smith), the movie is stylish, like all of Liman’s films, but, as with Mr. and Mrs. Smith, this only emphasizes how shallow the story is. (Smith writer Simon Kinberg also had a hand in this one, adapated from a Steven Gould novel.) The cameras swirl as the jumper (dull Hayden Christensen) lands atop the Great Pyramid at Giza, or Big Ben in London, where he spends much time when he’s not “getting digits” from women in Rio, or counting stolen currency in his New York apartment. But it turns out there are other “jumpers,” and also “paladins” who try to kill them, because, you know, only God should have that much power. Samuel L. Jackson, with a weird white hair cut, is the paladin in chief.
There is much that is entertaining in the movie, especially if you’re into special effects, but also much that is bullshitty and fake, even the way, when the hero takes his childhood crush (Rachel Bilson) to the Colosseum in Rome, she doesn’t take out the camera. Okay, small thing, but the movie, like so many others, is so all about quick cuts and iconic locations that the human elements get lost. (So did I at times; with all those cross-planet chase scenes, it was tough to tell where the characters were.) Jamie Bell, as another jumper, seems like he would have made a more promising lead character, or maybe just a better lead actor. As for the ending, it’s most notable for setting up a sequel.
IMDB link
viewed and reviewed 2/16/08
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