Jumper

When I reviewed this film for its cinema release I was a bit lukewarm about it, but seeing it again on DVD I have gone quite cool about it. I still stand by all my previous comments but on a second viewing I realised that it is the lead character that spoils the film, because he himself is spoilt. That is not a reflection on Christensen, in fact he does a great job of making the character so unlikable. It is his youthful, self-centred arrogance that grates and that makes him very hard to follow as a hero. Even at the end of the film there is not really the all-important redemption that mythical structure requires. However, this is very much an origins story, or even an extended first act, so a fully rounded story isn't to be expected.

What I did take from the second watching was how good Jamie Bell is as an actor and I would really like to see a film about his character, which is a possibility because it has been written as a book. Also, the whole mythology of the Jumpers and the Paladins has been very well constructed and would be far better suited to a television series, where there is a lot more room for expansion of the myth and a chance to introduce other Jumpers and more about their nemesis. STARGATE is a prime example of how a not so good movie of a great idea can take on a whole new life on the small screen. And the Jumper stories would not need to have all the exotic locations of the movie to make it interesting. And with top quality sci-fi series such as BATTLESTAR GALACTICA and the aforementioned STARGATE showing what can be done on TV budgets, and also no longer being made, there is definitely a place for a well-written Jumper TV show. Of course, that is all speculative, and the reality is JUMPER is out on DVD on June 16.

If you want to watch some sci-fi-lite, which does have some good ideas, then you could do a lot worse than this. If you can look passed its weak points it has some entertaining moments. And for people interested in filmmaking the behind the scenes special features are a lot better than many, and following Doug Liman's filmmaking will give you an insight into another director's method of making movies. There is also an animated graphic novel that gives some more back story. The trouble with animated graphic novels is, unless they are done really well, they end up looking a bit Captain Pugwash and this one does. It's a nice idea but it needs to be well executed or it might as well just be a static graphic.

JUMPER is released on 16 June 2008 by Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment on DVD and Blu-Ray and is available from major retailers including Amazon and Play.

Watch the trailer here