JUMPER - A Cinematic Autopsy

::SPOILER WARNING::

Some friends and I watched JUMPER over the holiday weekend. I give it an extremely gratuitous 3/5.

• 1 point for the story being grounded in Michigan (Ann Arbor)
• 1 point for actual on-location shoots (emphasis on Rome)
• ½ point for cinematography
• ½ point for “blockbusterness”.

I hate movie bashing, but I'm going to take a cathartic second. There is a lot wrong with this film- beginning with its poor adaptation of the Steven Gould novel. It almost feels like this screenplay was written by some lame movie exec in the advent of the writer's strike. Unfortunately, based on the timing of its release and teaser marketing during post-production, such was not the case. The discontinuity of the plot proliferated by the lack of story and character development made it impossible to take the film seriously.

Three main storyline points were ignored:

1. The relationship between the main character (David) and his parents
2. The historical and current struggle of Jumpers vs Paladins
3. The main character’s struggle with his ability and morality

Diane Lane (and her character) being introduced and dismissed as a celebrity write off was in poor taste. Her relationship with her son (Hayden) was such a key part of the storyline and a huge opportunity for character development. More robbing from the development was the main character’s relationship with his abusive father. The frustration and struggle was supposed to be the emotional catalyst to his “JUMPING”.

The friction between the Paladins and Jumpers was also minimized to the point of irrelevance. It almost seemed like Samuel L Jackson’s character and his goons were attacking these kids just for shits and giggles. Opening the movie with a fight scene in ancient Egypt with ancestral Jumpers and Paladins would have lent more to the story than attempting to fabricate a deep root of romance between a young Hayden and Rachel.

I have my reservations about Hayden Christensen since he played the critical role of Anakan Skywalker. I can go for days harping about the monumental failure of a proverbial close-the-loop attempt on a global generation's cinematic affair - but I won't. I can't seem to come to terms with what the director (Doug Liman of Bourne Ultimatum) was thinking accepting this type of performance from an actor. It is absolutely painful to watch his performance... in the dark.. for 90 minutes. I almost wish the actor who played the young David Rice (Max Theriot) continued to play the role. I guess saying that, I can’t really expect to see the main character’s internal struggle reflected on the silver screen.

The shortcomings of this movie basically boils down to the classic conflict of art vs money; and in this case, money won (as it often does). Big studio budget means executive producers having final say on things such as quality of storyline, actors and directors. In this case, it was obvious that the lesser known Uhls (Fight Club) was overshadowed by genre fat cats Goyer and Kinberg (Ghost Rider and X-Men III respectively). High profile actor + CGI engineers + location budgets + Sold out Hollywood writers = opening weekend of $32MM.



While acknowledging the above mentioned pain points, I admit that the movie succeeds in delivering high octane action sequences and summer blockbuster-esque crescendo towards the end - which is fail proof formula for "feel good-iness". The cinematography is also a saving grace in this film. I’m sure it is tricky to include, in a relevant way, the locations as a tertiary character in the shoots; so kudos is definitely in order. I also obviously enjoyed the fact that Michigan (UofM - not the state) was a significant inorganic character as well. There was a split second shot of campus on State St. looking south. You’ll miss it if you blink. I say watch it if you are a Wolverine, enjoy travel and get distracted by shiny things.