Jumper

Jumper is a completely empty and silly flick. It’s like an hour and a half of watching a nicely decorated aquarium without any fish in it. The creators didn’t see their idea through even halfway to the end and the only cool thing about the film is Samuel L. Jackson’s hairstyle. Unsuitable for viewers over 18. (13/02/2008)

At fifteen, I would have jumped for joy at a film like this all over the world, but five years later, I mourn the screenwriting dementia that turned a divine book into a shallow fairy tale for little kids. It lacks fatefulness, urgency, proper characters, dynamism, action, and, above all, style. Liman searches for it in vain for eighty minutes and fails to do so even in the final CGI ridiculousness. It's too bad he made this crap - any dunce working in advertising could have created the same thing. (05/04/2008)

It’s stupid and unbelievably simple, but a spontaneous trip to Rome, the lovely Rachel Bilson, an executive suite at the Boscolo Exedra hotel with a stunning view of the city, and first-class on the way there and back are attributes that really won me over. It's all about how you approach it. Jumper is a one-time watch, the theme is interesting, but the plot lacks depth. Technically brilliant and fast-paced. Quality editing is a given with Liman. I wouldn't criticize it that much. I enjoyed myself. (13/07/2008)

"Jumper" is a movie whose title caught my attention when I first heard it. In 2003, I wrote a short story called "Skokan" ("Jumper" in English). When I was thinking about what it would be called in English, it would be exactly "Jumper." When I finally watched the movie, I found out that it was based on a slightly different source, which was written by Steven Gould in 1992. Hayden Christensen played a young man who can jump in space and move from place to place through teleportation. The idea is nice, but the execution is a bit worse. The film tries to be cool, so it is action-packed, Samuel L. Jackson has a great look, but that's where it ends. Once a stupid connection with faith is introduced, the film lacks any real meaning and it becomes just a fight between the powerful against the oppressed. The allegory, in this case, doesn't bring much. More: http://www.filmovy-denik.cz/2012/04/jumper-babel-kung-fu-divocina-miami.html (17/02/2013)

To tell the truth, the Jumper universe idea intrigued me from the moment I heard about it. A great topic, but the same doesn’t apply to the screenplay (and who knows, maybe not to the novel either). Plus, Liman’s central storyline falls apart in his hands, but I have no idea why. It’s as if got carried away with the historical monuments and the beautiful shots of exotic locations and I don’t wish to get into that dumbly constructed romantic storyline, but rather concentrate on the main reasons why this movie was made (I mean of course the “jumping" and the Paladins). The acting performances aren’t up to much either. It was like Christensen was playing a fifteen-year-old (either on purpose or he was just that bad, no matter), Rachel Bilson is just for decoration and Samuel L. Jackson should have shaved his head (he could at least command a little respect). I think that just Jamie Bell endured it all without serious damage to his (and my) soul. But enough criticism. The movie contains quite a lot of good scenes worth seeing and as a spring snack, Jumper is still pleasantly digestible. But if they’re planning a sequel, I strongly recommend trying a new screenwriter. (20/03/2008)