Jackson (who again
"stretches" his acting muscles by playing "black guy who speaks slowly
with hands confidently behind his back") plays the chief of the
Paladins, a
hi-tech religious order sworn to wipe out 'Jumpers' because they
believe the ability to teleport is an affront to God.
So those
going into the film hoping for a nice slice of fun wish-fulfilment as
Rice gets to do a whole lot of cool teleport stuff be warned : this is
really just another grim Hollywood tale of persecution as our hero
learns once again that being special is more trouble than it is worth.
It would be fine if the action stuff was ok, but while director
Doug Liman (Go, The Bourne Identity) does a decent job of handling the
mechanics of the numerous fight scenes, considering one side can
teleport and the other has gadgets aplenty - the fights themselves are
pretty damn dull.
Don't expect the romance subplot between Rice and his high school sweetheart (The O.C.'s Rachel Bilson) to save the day either: it is just as stale as everything else on offer.
And to think this ends with the door left open for a sequel... DVD EXTRAS with Sean Lynch
Here is yet another example of Hollywood making it rich, as Jumper
is a classic case of a movie that plenty of people saw... but you would
be hard pressed to find a single person that remembers doing so. Yep,
this one was like highway robbery - quick investment of $80 Million, US
Box Office of $81 Million and an overall Worldwide Box Office haul of
over $220 Million.
And there was barely a creatice finger that needed to be lifted - it's all in the ad campaign.
So,
what do you offer on a DVD version of a movie you just know will end up
sitting in the bargain bin at your local DVD store a few weeks from now?
Well,
of course you've got yourself a fairly mundane commentary with Doug
Liman (really, who wants to listen to 90 minutes of a guy trying to
excuse himself for selling out), there are a bunch of featurettes which
take a look at the graphics and effects behind the Jumping (let me
guess... Blue Screen?).
There are a few saving graces in a short
which takes a look at "Jumping From Novel to Film: The Past, Present,
& Future of Jumper" (going back to the roots of a story always
seems to make for decent DVD extras, I don't know why, they just do)
plus a lot of other stuff that you'll skim through.
Essentially, it's the same trick as the movie.
People
pick it up off the shelf and go "Did I see that?". They look and see
there are a buttload of extras listed (even though there aren't that
many, it's just they've decided to list each and every featurettes
instead of just listing "Five Flacid Featurettes) and go "It's only
$14.99 - I'm gonna get it".
You take the DVD home, never watch it ever again - and the money keeps on a-rollin' in.
You gotta love Hollywood
Conclusion:
Movie 45% Extras: 50%
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