Jumper

2008 was the year Marvel found the beginnings of what would become practically unrivalled success in modern day cinema but around that same time, a few other films were dabbling in the superhuman / superhero genre that are almost unheard of today including Doug Liman's Jumper. 

A post-Star Wars Hayden Christensen discovers he has the ability to teleport between locations he's visited before when he falls through an icy lake but instead of trying to be another George Bailey from It's a Wonderful, he uses his now found ability to catch a glimpse inside a bank vault to break-in overnight and then cut to him eight years later where he's living in a New York penthouse. Gone is Michael Rooker's drunken father but his ability attracts the attention of a fellow "jumper" played by Jamie Bell and also Samuel L. Jackson's shadowy agency to hunt him down.

Jumper wasn't exactly a huge success on release and the critics were far from kind yet while I can't argue with much of their arguments, there is just something here that makes the film so pleasingly watchable. Part of this I believe comes from the swift pacing and editing that kept the story rolling forward with little time wasted where the plot might grind to a halt. Christensen plays the selfish lead well given a fairly thin script but he is backed by two very good performances from a charismatic Bell and Jackson's villain. Neither are given Shakespeare make no mistake but the two do make-up for a rather weak and underdeveloped romantic subplot with Rachel Bilson who is used more as a plot device. 

As for the action and visuals, the film holds-up fairly well today and Liman uses the teleport device to full-effect towards the end in an entertaining third act. There are several moments, including an awkward cameo by Kristen Stewart, that suggest a franchise was in the works and I would have welcomed seeing where this could have gone but due to its reception all plans were scrapped. I do think there's potential in the world Liman tries to create and maybe one day Netflix will make their own series. 

Jumper is a fun film to catch on TV in the afternoon but its flaws hold it back from getting a strong recommendation by myself so do enter with low expectations and you might be surprised. I still had fun revisiting this and if you want to Anakin face-off against Mace Windy again, then look no further.