Jumper (spoilers!)

[the_wildcard]

Well I just saw Jumper and I am pretty surprised that it wasn't too bad. Little lacking on the depthness of plot, but it wasn't too over the top with cheesy lines or bad acting.

Sure I might have been swayed by the very attractive, Rachel Bilson , but seriously, even Mr. Hayden Christensen did a decent job.

I was also surprised by the appearance of Diane Lane as well.

Only thing I have to complain about was the ending. It was a bit "abrupt" and I was expecting something bigger or more dramatic. In any case, it does definately leave open the possibility of a sequel.

I gotta say the coolest special effect is how the jumpers are able to run, but jump at the same time. It's pretty cool seeing them move in a straight line, but the background change from one scenery to another.

Your comments?

 

[paudemge]

I thought it was bad.. and Hayden can't act to save a movie. At least he had no chemistry with Rachel in this movie. I really thought his Anikan was just the fault of Lucas, but I'm not so sure after seeing this. Even Sam Jackson couldn't save jumpers.

 

[TheSeeker]

Yeah, I wasn't too impressed with Jumper either. Cool concept with good potential but they did not deliver on the execution.

 

[Locutus of Bored]

Terrible film.

Hayden Christiansen's acting makes me appreciate the subtle nuances of a Pauly Shore performance, the ending was the most abrupt, poorly constructed setup for a sequel that will probably never happen that I've seen since 'The Golden Compass,' Christiansen's character was a completely unsympathetic prick, and Diane Lane was woefully underused.

But I think the worst crime is that it was actually an interesting premise that made me look forward to seeing it in spite of the presence of Darth Vacuous, and they completely squandered that.

 

[MIB]

Was it one of the worst movies I've seen? No. But Jumper is still a pretty rank bundle of celluoid if you ask me. Apart from the lack of chemistry between Hayden and Lane, what really drove me up the wall is how shallow the story is. The audience is expected to buy into everything that's happening without one hair of explanation. The paladins are facinating-ish, but what exactly is their beef with jumpers? And no, "God forbids it!" is not an acceptable answer. And how could a war with Jumpers be raging for centuries if the only means to capture them have been available only for a few decades? Clearly the writers didn't think through much of their own script. The general concept is a good one I think and it could have easily made a kick ass movie if any real effort was put into it. Instead the concept was allowed to be wasted for a hack job.

 

[Scout101]

movie was too short, which seemed like it could have had time to flesh out and make a much better movie. only went 80-something minutes, another 10-15 minutes worth of filling in the story might have made it work a lot better...

 

[Brent]

I just watched it yesterday myself, and i really enjoyed it. I found it very entertaining. I do have to agree that the plot wasn't as deep as it could have been, and the ending abrupt, and the chemistry a little weak. But it was still very entertaining and a fun flick to spend an hour and a half watching. No blockbuster by any means, but entertaining none the less. I look forward to the sequel.

 

[MarkKalz]

I thought it was bad.. and Hayden can't act to save a movie. At least he had no chemistry with Rachel in this movie. I really thought his Anikan was just the fault of Lucas, but I'm not so sure after seeing this. Even Sam Jackson couldn't save jumpers.

Well I give Hayden some slack on this. I mean... he had just an utterly horribly part to play in this. A kid who cares about no one and nobody, and only decides to seek out his old girl friend AFTER finding out there are people after him.

I have no interest in a protagonist who has that little thought process going on...

 

[Aragorn]

Rather than start a new thread, I figure I'd just bump this one.

Just watched Jumper, which after seeing Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, I must be a glutton for punishment (the other week I watched Chaos, which stars Jason Statham and Wesley Snipes!!!). Boy was this movie bad. A high concept that goes the low road, with paper thin characters and pretty bad performances all around. Sure Rachel Bilson was really nice to look at, but she really got the short end of the stick of all the characters, spouting off really stupid and redundant lines half the time. This movie couldn't even make Diane Lane look hot!

Then I checked out one of the making-of featurettes and the people who made it, even Doug Liman, were boasting about how they ripped apart the book and took next to nothing from it. Doesn't seem like something to take pride in after you make one of the worst movies of the year. Now I never read the books and never even heard of them until the movie came out, so for all I know they're utter crap. But they can't be worse than this finished product.

Turns out this movie was already filming for a while with serious cost overruns when the two leads were both recast and the script rewritten. I guess that's the bottom line.

 

[stonester1]

Hated this movie. One of two movies I actually thought about walking out on. The other, Hulk Hogan's "No Holds Barred", I actually did.

 

[biotech]

Its just one of many films that spent too much time setting up sequels that are never going to happen, and not enough time concentrating on one good story that would let them get sequels in the first place.

Plus obligatory Hayden cant act statement.

 

[Luminus]

Just watched it yesterday and I enjoyed it. I recognize the cons:

1) No explanation of how they got the powers
2) No real reason for hunting and killing them. If anything, the government would be trying to recruit them for Special Ops service.
3) Somehow being able to fight them since before electricity was harnessed.

But it was still enjoyable. In no way can this possibly be compared to Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer. That atrocity remains in the boat with the likes of Daredevil and The Punisher.

I think I'll buy the DVD on ebay.