What Do The Critics Say?

"This rare misstep from director Doug Liman, about a young loner who finds he has the power to teleport, ironically goes nowhere." Joe Lozito BIG PICTURE BIG SOUND "Fortunately, the movie possesses the sense of fun Christensen seems to have had surgically removed." Chris Hewitt ST PAUL PIONEER EXPRESS "The movie isn't horrible, but it is pedestrian, and bound to disappoint fans of Stephen Gould's novel and of science fiction in general." Liz Braun JAM! MOVIES "An impressive feat as a vehicle for Doug Liman to pull out the stops with some of the most jaw-dropping stunts shot in some of the most amazing locations on earth." Edward Douglas COMINGSOON "Liman's pursuit of action comes at a price: He seems to have cut too finely, removing character development and even a few characters." Sean Means SALT LAKE TRIBUNE

"The film looks great, but at a brisk 88 minutes, there's no time to fill in back story, and the cliffhanger ending is so abrupt that the movie seems bizarrely truncated." Maitland McDonagh TV GUIDE'S MOVIE GUIDE "Jumper has all the pieces of an exciting, engaging supernatural slugfest: exotic locations, cool high-tech toys and sweet special effects. Unfortunately, there are several huge plot holes, some disappointing storytelling shortcuts and a few logic flaws that downgrade "Jumper" to just an above-average popcorn flick." Stanley A Miller II MILWAUKEE JOURNAL SENTINEL "Can we just cut to the chase here? Hayden Christensen has all but killed his career with his performance in Jumper." Rebecca Murray ABOUT.COM "Jumper is pretty slick, entertaining stuff, well-crafted by Liman, edited into a tight, action-packed bundle of nerviness. Does offer a nice view of the top of the sphinx's head no less than three times." Marc Savlov AUSTIN CHRONICLE "Christensen's utter vacancy is a bane on Jumper, an otherwise serviceable sci-fi thriller that would have benefited from a compelling center." Eugene Novikov FILM BLATHER

The Inside Story The thrilling and imaginative tale of "Jumper" is, in the words of co-writer and producer Simon Kinberg, "the origin story of a hero: an accidental, very reluctant hero who is just on the cusp of beginning to wonder what would happen if he used his extraordinary power to help others in jeopardy." Director Doug Liman, Kinberg and producer Lucas Foster spent the last several years developing not just the "Jumper" screenplay but the rich mythology and back-story of an epic adventure about a young man trying to forge a real life in spite of his fantastic, temptation-filled power to teleport anywhere on earth in an instant. For Liman, whose deft passion for character-driven, unpredictably high-wire action has come to the fore in two of the most popular and acclaimed thrillers of recent times ("Mr and Mrs Smith" and "The Bourne Identity") the potential for "Jumper" was irresistible. It was a chance to put his own hyper-modern twist on a now venerable genre of storytelling. "Most of the stories we see about superheroes were actually written a century ago," Liman points out. "But what I loved about "Jumper" is that it felt very fresh and modern. Ultimately, it became the biggest creative challenge of my career." The evolution of the story began with a duo of young-adult, sci-fi novels by Steven Gould ("Jumper" and "Reflex") which introduced the character of David Rice, a troubled young man whose seemingly inexplicable teleportation abilities help him to start a dream-like new life far from the pain of his past. After debuting to high praise from both critics and readers, Gould's series quickly developed a strong following; but it was clear the story had the potential to go even further. When executive producers Vince Gerardis (TV'S "Riverworld" & "Snow Wonder") and Ralph M Vicinanza (TV'S "Snow Wonder") encountered the books they knew immediately they had the material for a great cinematic adventure. That’s when David Goyer ("Batman Begins" & "Blade"), the sought-after screenwriter who cut his teeth working with classic superheroes and villains entered the picture. He not only adapted Gould’s tale for the screen but enlarged it, bringing in the new character of Griffin, another mysterious 'Jumper' who has been on the run since he was a child, and forging a larger scope for the story. "What I loved about David Goyer’s original draft is that it was about somebody who gets superpowers and the first thing he does with them is go out and rob a bank. I really liked the honesty of that," says Liman. "It was something I hadn’t seen before and as a character-driven director it really interested me." Producer Lucas Foster ("Man on Fire" & "Bad Boys") was also drawn to Goyer's approach, especially the way it emphasized the humanity roiling beneath a young man’s one superhuman power. "Jumping gives David Rice a way to escape his unhappy home life, but it also puts him out into the world on his own where he has to learn how to be an adult and to be courageous enough to deal with the tough issues in his life." Taking off from what Gould, Goyer and a second screenwriter, Jim Uhls ("Fight Club"), had started, Liman, producer Simon Kinberg ("xXx: State of the Union" & "X-Men: The Last Stand") and Foster began forging a vast, eons-long history for the Jumpers, whose ability to bend time and space with their minds is passed down in a family lineage than can be traced back in time for thousands of years. "We talked to a lot physicists so we could understand the science of how teleportation might work and we used that to ground the story in reality. But we also researched the mythology of teleporting, which has been part of the cultural imagination for thousands of years," Kinberg explaineds. "Sufi and Hindu mystics supposedly practiced teleportation centuries ago." At the heart of "Jumper" mythology is David Rice. For this role, the filmmakers turned to one of today’s fastest rising leading men, Hayden Christensen. "As soon as Hayden expressed an interest in playing the role, we didn’t really look any further," Foster said. "He’s perfect for the character of David Rice. Besides being a very intuitive actor he’s just such a compelling and earnest guy, and I think those qualities come across on screen." "I’ve become a huge fan of Hayden Christensen. He’s incredibly talented and hard-working, and I've made him do some crazy things. He's been physically and emotionally pushed in this role, yet he’s given us one thousand percent. He's a great David Rice," notes Liman. "The character of David Rice isn't like anyone I’ve played before and it was exciting to get the chance to explore something entirely new," the 2002 Cannes Film Festival Chopard Trophy winner Christensen said. "He has a really interesting journey, and the whole concept of teleportation is just so cool. I loved that the story presents a whole sort of Pandora’s Box of fantasy 'what-ifs?' It's the kind of movie I’d like to see as an audience member." For 2001 BAFTA and dual Young Artist Award winner (2002 & '05) Jamie Bell, who plays Griffin, the intense action of "Jumper" was real change of pace. Bell came to international acclaim in the poignant title role of Stephen Daldry's Oscar® nominated indie hit "Billy Elliot" (2000), in which he played a working-class British boy with an unlikely dream of becoming a dancer. "There was something about the script that I really connected to, something that reminded me of being a kid desperately searching for a way out," Bell explained. "Teleportation is the ultimate out. You can go anywhere at any time. Who doesn’t dream of that? As for Griffin, he’s incredibly wild, colorful and funny." Christensen loved working with British star Jamie Bell in the role of the Jumper who is at once his rival and his mentor in this brave new Jumper world. "Jamie did wonders for the role," he says. "He likes to invent, to create things on the spot, and he brought new ideas every day. He made Griffin into this very likeable sort of punk figure who has total disdain for authority but does it with a wink and a grin." "We were incredibly lucky to get someone as amazingly versatile as Jamie, who took the role and really ran with it," Foster notes. "He turned this character into something we couldn’t have expected." "I really respect that Doug's mind is basically wild with creativity," Bell says. "It was something I came to feed off in playing Griffin." "Jumper" reunites "Star Wars" co-stars Christensen and Samuel L Jackson. "Sam provided guidance for me as a young actor, so it was really exciting to come back and do another movie with him," Christensen revealed. "He brings so much weight and gravitas to the role, he elevates everyone around him." An equally pivotal influence on Rice is a young woman from the ordinary world, Millie Harris. To play Millie, Doug Liman turned to the alluring young actress Rachel Bilson, with whom he first worked when he cast her for the hugely popular show "The O.C." I've been a huge admirer of Rachel’s talent from the moment I met her," says Liman. "She's a terrific actress and she and Hayden have incredible chemistry." "Jumper was so completely different from anything I had ever read. I found it really exciting. I loved the characters and the fact that it was full of special effects and action," Bilson says. "People don't always think of me for action movies so it was cool to get this chance." "Rachel does an amazing job as Millie. She's very beautiful and brings a real sincerity to the part. The role is such an important one because Millie is the only outsider to the Jumping world whom David has contact with, so the audience sees a lot through her eyes," Christensen observed. "David Rice is the one with the superpower. She’s just a girl from Ann Arbor. But there comes a moment when it is Millie who must rescue him," Liman explained. "David and Millie have a really unusual love story," Christensen muses. "David is tempted to bring her along on all his adventures, but he can’t really ever come clean to her." To play Mary Rice, whose surprising past has everything to do with David's future, the filmmakers recruited one of today's most acclaimed screen actresses, 2000 Independent Spirit Award winner Diane Lane ("A Walk on the Moon"), who said her attraction to the film was three-fold: "First, I really wanted to work with Doug Liman and second, I wanted to get to work with Hayden as my son because I'm a real fan of his. But I also think teleportation is a timeless human dream and what I liked most about this story is that it gives shape to that dream." Central to the complex history and mythology of the 'Jumpers' in our midst are their sworn enemies, a secret organization known as the Paladins, whose members have, century after century, waged a relentless war against 'Jumpers' in the hopes of stopping any nefarious Jumper from destroying the earth. To play the role of the head Paladin, Roland, the filmmakers always had in mind one actor: two time Independent Spirit Award winner Samuel L Jackson ("Pulp Fiction" 1995 & "Eve's Bayou" 1998) who notes, "Roland is a mysterious guy, because you’re never quite sure who he works for. What you do know is that his main raison d'’être is to kill Jumpers, no matter what age they are, no matter who they are, no matter where they are. And that he does it with a specific zeal." "Jumper" was a physical challenge for Jackson. "There was a lot of fighting, swinging and jumping off of high places, and I have old knees." Synopsis

David Rice has grown up with a mysterious power of which many have dreamed. He is completely and utterly mobile, able to zap through wormholes in the space-time fabric to any city, any building, any place at all that his mind desires. In the blink of an eye, he can 'jump' from one side of the earth to the other and back again. He can tour twenty different sunsets in one night, have breakfast on the Egyptian Sphinx, spend the day surfing in Australia, then pop over to Paris for dinner and enjoy dessert in Japan. He can pass through walls and locked bank safes and enter the most forbidden chambers. So far, he has used his powers to run away from his past, to take advantage of unlimited wealth, to remain fiercely independent. He’s never known limits or boundaries or consequences. Or true connection. Until now. Until he discovers another young man like himself, a fiery, globetrotting rebel named Griffin. Then the truth of his existence begins to dawn. He's a genetic anomaly known as a Jumpers, and he isn't safe.

The Verdict "The film delivers on everything you'd expect after seeing the trailers, with one exception, Hayden Christensen who plays 'jumper' David Rice. For the life of me, I can't remember him giving a memorable performance in any of his films, except for "Life As A House" (in which he really did shine). Hayden just doesn't know how to handle the big parts and that's a pity. It leaves me wondering why Twentieth Century Fox keep persevering with him. Surely there's one executive with enough balls to take him aside and lay his career on the line. The scenery is spectacular, the action sequences involving the chase team led by Samuel L Jackson will have you on the edge of your seat and Christensen's co-stars, Jamie Bell and Rachel Bilson give solid performances. The big let down for "Jumper" is its so-called 'star'. Let's hope that when the second film in this trilogy comes around, Hayden Christensen shows a lot more acting depth. Despite a major flaw, "Jumper" is still worth having a look at. Recommended. Solid 3 STARS." Cast & Crew Bytes "JUMPER" stars .......
Hayden Christensen ["Life As A House", "Shattered Glass", "Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones" and "Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith"]; Jamie Bell ["Billy Elliot", "King Kong" and "Flags of Our Fathers"]; Rachel Bilson ["Unbroken" and "The Last Kiss"]; Diane Lane ["The Perfect Storm", "Unfaithful", "Under The Tuscan Sun" and "Must Love Dogs"]; Michael Rooker ["The Replacement Killers", "The Bone Collector" and "Slither"]; AnnaSophia Robb ["Because of Winn-Dixie", "Bridge to Terabithia" and "The Reaping"]; Max Thieriot ["Catch That Kid", "The Astronaut Farmer" and "Nancy Drew"] and Samuel L Jackson ["Changing Lanes", "Coach Carter", "Snakes on a Plane" and "1408 "] as Roland.
"JUMPER" was .......
directed by Doug Liman ["Swingers", "The Bourne Identity" and "Mr & Mrs Smith"]; from the novel by Steven Gould ["Reflex" and "Jumper: Griffin's Story"]; set decoration by Hilton Rosemarin ["Billy Bathgate", "The Horse Whisperer", "Hellboy" and "xXx I & II"]; costume design by Magali Guidasci ["Armageddon", "Ballistic: Ecks vs. Sever" and "AVP: Alien vs. Predator"]; production design by Oliver Scholl ["Independence Day", "Godzilla" and "The Time Machine"]; director of photography Barry Peterson ["Zoolander", "Hollywood Homicide" and "Starsky & Hutch"]; original music by John Powell ["The Italian Job", "Mr & Mrs Smith", "The Bourne Ultimatum" and "P.S. I Love You"]. Who's Who?

Hayden Christensen Jamie Bell Rachel Bilson Diane Lane Samuel L Jackson Michael Rooker AnnaSophia Robb Max Thieriot Jesse James Tom Hulce Teddy Dunn Barbara Garrick Shawn Roberts Nathalie Cox Meredith Henderson Brad Borbridge Adam Chuckryk

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David Rice Griffin Millie Mary Rice Roland William Rice Young Millie Young David Young Mark Mr Bowker Mark Kobold Ellen English Bartender English Beauty Fiona Coffee Shop Manager London Pub Patron

Run Time 88 minutes Rated M [AUST] Copyright ©2008 20th Century Fox - All Rights Reserved ©1999-2010 All Rights Reserved - Protected by Australian, International, Copyright & Trademark Laws.