CINEMA: Jumper

No, it’s not about a warm winter garment, as some ‘hilarious’ people have suggested. Rather, Jumper is about an ability to teleport through time and space. Far more interesting I’m sure you’ll agree. After falling into a frozen lake, and trapped beneath ice, troubled youth David Rice suddenly finds himself lying on the floor of his local library. So begins an adventure that brings him anything he wants, and can take him anywhere he wants to go. But, it’s not all as straightforward as it seems.

The star attraction in this film is the story, based on the Steven Gould novel. For some reason jumping is never fully explained in the film, but it does become evident how it works; Jumpers can go anywhere that they can currently see and can jump anywhere that they’ve seen before, even in a photograph, so long as they have a strong visual memory of it. Weighing in at just under 90 minutes, Jumper is the ideal length for a easy popcorn movie, and has a cast that gel together well.

Despite getting top billing, Rachel Bilson and Hayden Christensen are simply used as pretty faces to keep things moving along. Any strong characterisation comes from the likes of Jamie Bell as fellow jumper Griffin and Samuel L. Jackson as Roland, leader of The Paladins – a secret organisation that has aimed to destroy the Jumpers for centuries.

Once you get past Bell’s hugely irritating accent (a bizarre concoction of Geordie and American) it becomes clear that he is the strongest character in the film – bringing some much-needed humour to his scenes, often by virtue of his delivery alone.

The film is well paced, with plenty of action scenes peppered throughout, each one as strong as the other. Jumping is a fantastically cool super-power, and the Jumper vs Paladin battles look amazing thanks to the groundbreaking special effects created by the same innovative team behind the first Matrix movie.

As you’d expect from Doug Liman, the director of The Bourne Identity, there are some deeper layers there if you look hard enough, but for the most part, Jumper is exactly what it appears to be: a big, daft, fun, loud, action film. It may be flawed, but with a strong central conceit and impressive set-pieces, it’s an enjoyable ride.