David Rice (Hayden Christianson) finds out that he has the power to transport himself anywhere in the world. There are people out there who know all about his powers and want him dead. He doesn’t know about them or that there are other jumpers out there as well and that both sides have been waging a war against one another for hundreds of years. When he suddenly finds himself stuck in the middle he is forced to fight.  I’ve never liked Hayden Christianson as an actor and he does little to convince me that he is nothing more then a pretty boy with a good agent here. Luckily his character is given a superior supporting character in Jamie Bell (Billy Elliott) who plays Griffin, a more experienced jumper. Bell’s character is really the high point of the film as he is able to emote more diversely then both Christianson and Bilson put together. His character is definitely the more likeable standout.

Director Doug Liman is done a huge favor by being allowed to go anywhere near Steven Gould’s novel and that he works with writer David S. Goyer who, if you check his resume for writing credits at IMDB you can see he pretty much worked on any and every Comic Book film ever made. Considering the material within Jumper it’s a safe bet that Goyer is the man for the job. What makes the film even more entertaining is that Liman has made some pretty awful shoot em’ up action films that have left me utterly repulsed in the past. Bourne Identity is basically an action film about a guy too smart to be scratched even in a massive car wreck and Mr. And Mrs. Smith, though entertaining, had the most asinine action sequences seen since Robert Rodriguiz’s Desperado. Yes the guy goes overboard and makes his action films unbelievable, but that worked in Jumper because there was an element of fantasy to it that allowed such atrocities.

There were some wasted moments in the film such as the awkward romance between Hayden Christianson and Rachel Bilson. The chemistry in the relationship was pretty much running on fumes. The two pretty much played the parts they’ve been typecast in; Christianson the tortured soul (see Star Wars, Life As A House, even as the most tortured of them all, Bob Dylan in Factory Girl, but lets not open that can of worms). Rachel Bilson. Can we ever see a film where her character does not sleep with somebody and actually has a memorable part? It just seemed as if the two actors were going through the motions of Hollywood love.

In the end I really enjoyed the film. It was escapism at its best. Pointless? I think there is potential there for the franchise to grow stronger and for the story to evolve. I know I’ll definitely be anticipating the follow up film. Hopefully Goyer is back on for it. Liman I can give or take on but I’m definitely interested in seeing the return of some of those characters that I loved in the film. I hope you all get a chance to see this in theaters and that it fulfills your expectations, the good one’s anyway. Enjoy.