Jumper (2008)

A teenager with teleportation abilities suddenly finds himself in the middle of an ancient war between those like him and their sworn annihilators.

Director:

Doug Liman

Writers:

David S. Goyer (screenplay), Jim Uhls (screenplay)

Stars:

Hayden Christensen, Samuel L. Jackson, Jamie Bell

2 wins & 4 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Hayden Christensen	...	David Rice
Jamie Bell	...	Griffin
Rachel Bilson	...	Millie
Diane Lane	...	Mary Rice
Samuel L. Jackson	...	Roland
Michael Rooker	...	William Rice
AnnaSophia Robb	...	Young Millie (as Annasophia Robb)
Max Thieriot	...	Young David
Jesse James	...	Young Mark
Tom Hulce	...	Mr. Bowker
Kristen Stewart	...	Sophie
Teddy Dunn	...	Mark Kobold
Barbara Garrick	...	Ellen
Michael Winther	...	Day Bank Manager
Massimiliano Pazzaglia	...	Italian Desk Cop

Storyline

David Rice is a high school student in Ann Arbor, abandoned by his mother at five, living with his callous, alcoholic father, enamored with Millie, a fellow student, and picked on by at least one classmate. On a winter's day, while about to drown, he discovers he can transport himself instantaneously to anyplace on earth. He runs away from home, goes to New York City, robs a bank vault, and comes to the attention of a shadowy group of government hunters. Eight years later, the hunters, led by the murderous Roland, get a fix on David. He heads home, searches out Millie, invites her to travel with him, and only later realizes that Roland and his crew are seriously deadly. Is everyone close to David in danger?

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Plot Keywords:

teleportation | bank | theft | water | based on novel | 

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Taglines:

Anywhere. Anything. Instantly.

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Sci-Fi | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for sequences of intense action violence, some language and brief sexuality

Details

Country:

USA Canada

Language:

English Italian Japanese Mandarin

Release Date:

14 February 2008 (USA)

Also Known As:

Телепорт

Filming Locations:

Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$85,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$32,092,991, 17 February 2008, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$80,172,128

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$222,231,186

Company Credits

Production Co:

Twentieth Century Fox, Regency Enterprises, New Regency Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

88 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital DTS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

David Ritchie, a set dresser on the Toronto shoot, was killed while dismantling part of the set.

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Goofs

During the Detroit Airport scene, a sign can be seen briefly in the background saying "Welcome to Prague Airport". Additionally, on the shot of the arrivals board, the words "time" and "destination" are visible written in Czech. Some of the destinations shown are also only small European airports that would not host transatlantic flights.

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Quotes

[first lines]
David Rice: Let me tell you about my day so far. Coffee in Paris, surfed the Maldives, took a little nap on Kilimanjaro. Oh, yeah, I got digits from this Polish chick in Rio. And then I jumped back for the final quarter of the N.B.A. finals - courtside of course. And all that was before lunch. I could go on, but all I'm saying is, I'm standing on top of the world.

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Crazy Credits

"Read the Tor Book"

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Connections

Referenced in Troldspejlet: Episode #39.7 (2008)

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Soundtracks

Mercury
Written by Peter Oldroyd and Gary Scargill
Courtesy of APM Music

User Reviews

A great idea, shame about the execution.

What would happen if you could teleport ANYWHERE in the world in the blink of an eye? Thats the question explored in Jumper, a film thats as fast and action packed as it is hollow and underdeveloped.

The films theme of individuals who can vanish and reappear anywhere they choose is a great idea but its execution is a little weak in Jumper. Why? The blame rest squarely on the films instance on being the start of a series. Instead of taking time to develop anything in the movie, Jumper just whizzes by at an incredible speed, setting up characters, ideas and plot points without expanding or resolving or developing them. The whole thing is made to kick start a franchise of films where the story would be explained in more detail, but come on man, when you pay to see a film, you expect to see a clearly defined beginning, a middle and a satisfying end- something that Jumper isn't too concerned with.

Another problem that ties in with the films lack of depth, are the actors. While Hayden Christensen is as bland as usual, the cast (including the usually electrifying Sam Jackson) just sleep walk their way through the superficial script. Only Jamie Bell gives it some effort- his cynical Irish jumper would have made a much better lead character than Anakin.

However, while the film is pretty shallow there are some glimmers of goodness. The action sequences are fun, fast and frequent, the visual effects are cool and there's never a dull moment due to the films super fast pace.

It might sound like Im being too harsh on the film but its hard not to be when the movies concept is so great and the end product is as underdeveloped as this. If the film had a more detailed, more fleshed out, more self contained story, Jumper would have been a classic.