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Jumper Our rating: Rate this movie   MPAA rating: PG-13 (for sequences of intense action violence, some language and brief sexuality) Genre: Science Fiction Theater release: February 14, 2008 by 20th Century Fox Directed by: Doug Liman Runtime: 1 hour 28 minutes Cast: Hayden Christensen (David Rice), Samuel L. Jackson (Roland), Jamie Bell (Griffin), Rachel Bilson (Millie), Michael Rooker (William Rice), Diane Lane (Mary Rice), AnnaSophia Robb (Young Millie), Max Thieriot (Young David) Related: Talk About It/Family Corner

When you think about it, teleportation is a natural subject for the movies. You could even say that filmmakers do it all the time, already: in a typical film, when, say, a character walks out the door, it is often the case that the shot inside the house, of the person walking to his or her exit, was filmed on a soundstage, while the shot outside the house, of that same person stepping onto the sidewalk, might very well have been filmed in another city, or even another country. But these images are generally edited together so seamlessly that you don't have time to notice.

Jumper, which concerns a couple of young men who can leap instantly to any place in the world, wears its seams proudly—yet it keeps the action moving pretty fluidly across those seams. The two men in question don't necessarily get along, but for various reasons, they follow each other and chase each other, and in the space of a few minutes they might find themselves running through Asian streets and African dunes and the observation decks of American skyscrapers. It's all very brisk and unpredictable—but despite all the motion, the story itself never really goes anywhere.

Hayden Christensen as David Rice, a Jumper

The film takes its title and most of its prologue, but little else, from the novel of the same name by Steven Gould. The story begins with David Rice (Max Thieriot), a teenaged boy, accidentally discovering that he has the power to "jump" to other places when he finds himself in a life-threatening situation; one minute he is trapped under the ice in a frozen river, the next he is on the floor at his local public library. David's first few jumps are pure reflex actions, but he soon figures out how to control this talent; and after he runs away from home—his divorced father William (Michael Rooker) is an abusive alcoholic—he supports himself by jumping into bank vaults and "jumping" back to his apartment with bags full of money.

A few years later, David (now played by Hayden Christensen) is living the good life. He has a swanky pad and he tours the world every day, without paying any travel fees. But one day he comes home and finds a man named Roland (Samuel L. Jackson) waiting for him—and thus he finds himself dragged into a so-called "war" between Jumpers like him and another group, called the Paladins, who have apparently been trying to wipe out the Jumpers for hundreds of years.

Samuel L. Jackson as Roland, a Paladin

At least, we are told it's a "war." That's what one character calls it. But there seem to be precious few combatants on either side. David does meet Griffin (Billy Elliot's Jamie Bell), a British Jumper who has taken it upon himself to kill the Paladins that come his way. And there is a third Jumper, in China, who never meets either David or Griffin; in fact, we don't even see him until moments before he is caught and killed by Roland and his fellow Paladins. But that's about it, and there is nothing to suggest that any Jumpers have ever banded together in self defense. Indeed, even Griffin is quite reluctant to help out when David suggests that they team up.

Meanwhile, Roland doesn't seem to have more than a few people helping him, and the brief hints we get of the larger Paladin organization are woefully underwritten. It is also puzzling that Roland, who chastises his underlings for not pursuing David in sufficient numbers, should choose to confront David all by himself, the first time they meet. But then, if he had brought his team along, David might not have escaped him, and then there wouldn't be much of a story to tell, would there? (That said, it is kind of fun to see Jackson and Christensen go after each other again, so soon after their fateful lightsaber duel in Star Wars: Episode III—Revenge of the Sith. Jackson even uses a device to stun Christensen that looks rather like a lightsaber hilt.)

Rachel Bilson as Millie, learning the truth about David's abilities

The script, credited to three different writers, suffers from other weaknesses too. For one thing, it doesn't always seem to follow the rules that it sets out. Jumpers can only jump to places that they can remember visiting or seeing with their own eyes, unless they follow another Jumper through the "jump scar" that lingers in the air after they leave—and it is not clear that, say, Griffin is following either of these principles when he follows David around in the early scenes. (Griffin does not know the places David knows, and he never seems to follow right behind David.)

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