Is anyone going to see Jumper?

[GATEGOD]

I loved this movie. The feeling at the end that their could be more was really well done and makes me hopeful. I loved the way they did it and I think it should continue on. An amazing concept.

[bliv]

I'm going to have to go against the grain and say I wasn't impressed. I'll try to justify myself on that.

I love the concept and most of the ideas. The teleportation gimmick is neat, simple and allows for many possibilites. Too many possibilities for a feature film I felt. There was so much in the movie, yet there was so little. Let me summarise briefly: Paladins, other Jumpers, a love interest, Mother being a Paladin, Father getting killed, consequences of being a Jumper etc.

Now it may all sound great but they never really took the time to flesh things out enough for my liking. The early parts of the film focused on David finding out he can 'jump' and learning to develop this skill. I really felt the scenes were rather under developed and missed the spot on the key issues. Initially it seemed like fear or panic triggered his jump to escape the ice. Again with his father. Later he is just able to jump almost at will. It would have been great to have developed this angle out to let the viewer understand more about the teleportation. Perhaps in doing so it would have built David more as a character.

The girlfriend angle was again something I felt was a little lacking. I liked the way they included the childhood sweetheart thing, but I felt that on David's return it was almost too quick, easy and convenient for them to hookup and disappear to the other side of the world. When he first entered the bar I had thought that the other kid would be dating his girl, adding a little competition and further developing the characters.

The concept of other Jumpers is again great. Griffin quickly comes over as an interesting character but apart from a few crumbs we aren't thrown too much of his backstory. Although it could be said that what we are given gives us an insight into the way he operates I reckon there is a lot to the character that could be filled in with detail. In the end I felt he was David, but with less of a conscience. Happy to duck and dive while living the good life but coming from a similar like background.

Roland is similar. He's a Paladin and kills Jumpers because of his beliefs. Why? What motivates these beliefs? Why is Roland part of the cult? How is he so skilled at taking Jumpers down? The notion of Jumpers having an enemy is good. But I'd like to know more about the 'war' between the Paladins and Jumpers. The simple explanation of "God is the only one that can be everywhere" just doesn't sit well with me. And David's mother being part of the Paladin cult? It almost seemed like an afterthough. Yes it explains her disappearance but it is something that could have been used as a major plot point.

I'm not overly dissatisfied with the end product but I think that Jumper would be better suited to a TV series. There are so many good ideas that can be introduced at a steadier pace and developed into wider story arcs including more explanation of why things are as they are. I can fully understand that the budget for a TV series wouldn't allow for the exotic locations and mind blowing visual effects etc but sometimes those things are better sacrificed for story.

Just my take...

[Traveler Enroute1]

I'm going to have to go against the grain and say I wasn't impressed. I'll try to justify myself on that.

I love the concept and most of the ideas. The teleportation gimmick is neat, simple and allows for many possibilites. Too many possibilities for a feature film I felt. There was so much in the movie, yet there was so little. Let me summarise briefly: Paladins, other Jumpers, a love interest, Mother being a Paladin, Father getting killed, consequences of being a Jumper etc.

Now it may all sound great but they never really took the time to flesh things out enough for my liking. The early parts of the film focused on David finding out he can 'jump' and learning to develop this skill. I really felt the scenes were rather under developed and missed the spot on the key issues. Initially it seemed like fear or panic triggered his jump to escape the ice. Again with his father. Later he is just able to jump almost at will. It would have been great to have developed this angle out to let the viewer understand more about the teleportation. Perhaps in doing so it would have built David more as a character.

The girlfriend angle was again something I felt was a little lacking. I liked the way they included the childhood sweetheart thing, but I felt that on David's return it was almost too quick, easy and convenient for them to hookup and disappear to the other side of the world. When he first entered the bar I had thought that the other kid would be dating his girl, adding a little competition and further developing the characters.

The concept of other Jumpers is again great. Griffin quickly comes over as an interesting character but apart from a few crumbs we aren't thrown too much of his backstory. Although it could be said that what we are given gives us an insight into the way he operates I reckon there is a lot to the character that could be filled in with detail. In the end I felt he was David, but with less of a conscience. Happy to duck and dive while living the good life but coming from a similar like background.

Roland is similar. He's a Paladin and kills Jumpers because of his beliefs. Why? What motivates these beliefs? Why is Roland part of the cult? How is he so skilled at taking Jumpers down? The notion of Jumpers having an enemy is good. But I'd like to know more about the 'war' between the Paladins and Jumpers. The simple explanation of "God is the only one that can be everywhere" just doesn't sit well with me. And David's mother being part of the Paladin cult? It almost seemed like an afterthough. Yes it explains her disappearance but it is something that could have been used as a major plot point.

I'm not overly dissatisfied with the end product but I think that Jumper would be better suited to a TV series. There are so many good ideas that can be introduced at a steadier pace and developed into wider story arcs including more explanation of why things are as they are. I can fully understand that the budget for a TV series wouldn't allow for the exotic locations and mind blowing visual effects etc but sometimes those things are better sacrificed for story.

Just my take...

And a well said take it is, bliv. I think your points are made on the thread, but you just say yours so well. I also think the movie didn't make all its marks but valued the 'rush', the originality, even the questions the movie didn't answer. It's been mentioned how the flick was made to foster a sequel. Maybe they'll get it right then!

Just sayin', a tv series would be cool, but I wouldn't trust a network to take the time necessary develop it or cultivate an audience for it. Green for a very thoughtful review.

[bliv]

Thanks, I was a little worried I had been over critical.

I can see that they are hinting towards a sequel but I'm concerned that they have taken the wrong approach in doing so. I have the feeling that Jumper is not going to be one of those memorable films that people will refer back to. People are going to forget over time and it's going to make it all the more difficult to pick things up somewhere down the line and expect everyone to jump back on the wagon. This is particuarly true with regards to the fact that they almost overloaded the viewer with little story threads opening up throughout the film.

This is where I feel a TV series would have been more succesful. They would have the option to either open all the plot lines at once and then put some of them on the slow burn, so they could feature later in the season or they could simply hold material back til later on where it could be introduced in a manner where it becomes more developed.

Hopefully the sequel comes along and blows us all away.

[vaberella]

Is there romance in this film? If there is, is it really really really minor. I'm really starting to hate strong elements of romance in my scifi films.

[bliv]

Yes and not so much minor.

Childhood sweetheart thing where they have no problem getting together again. They 'date', he breaks her heart, he turns up again, she hates him, he shows her who he really is, then saves her from the bad guys.

That's the non spoiler version

[vaberella]

Yes and not so much minor.

Childhood sweetheart thing where they have no problem getting together again. They 'date', he breaks her heart, he turns up again, she hates him, he shows her who he really is, then saves her from the bad guys.

That's the non spoiler version

Ugh...maybe I won't watch it. Thanks. It sounds similar to Torque and countless other films. It would be better if he was gay in the end.

Thanks man.

[bliv]

The film isn't long so it's worth a look for the SciFiness of it all. I wouldn't say the romance ruins the film. If anything I felt it was a bit underdeveloped in that I didn't see any real spark between the 2 characters. It was almost as if it was something that was there for convenience more than as a developed storyline that you'd care about.

[vaberella]

Well then, that's good to know. I'll give it a scan when I get the chance. If I like it, I'll sit through it. Thanks again...well when it comes out on dvd. I don't go to the movie theatres any more, I've come to realize they rip me off, concession food is crap, and I'm never comfortable.

This may be TMI, but sometimes you just want to fart in the comfort of your own home...rather than hold that in.