Just saw Jumper

[Ford Prefect]

3. Grab them and jump somewhere not usually supportive of continued human life (AKA, a thousand feet up, or the middle of nowhere in the ocean.)

Incidentally, Griffin does do that, when he can (dropped a paladin on his head in Rome, for example). Paladins do tend to operate in teams covering each other. They're individually not as dangerous because they can't jump, but working together they can lay a beatdown - look at what happened to the Jumper in the jungle.

[DesertFly]

3. Grab them and jump somewhere not usually supportive of continued human life (AKA, a thousand feet up, or the middle of nowhere in the ocean.)

Incidentally, Griffin does do that, when he can (dropped a paladin on his head in Rome, for example). Paladins do tend to operate in teams covering each other. They're individually not as dangerous because they can't jump, but working together they can lay a beatdown - look at what happened to the Jumper in the jungle.

Yeah, but considering how quickly they are shown being able to jump, all they would need is a split second to get behind a Paladin and then be gone, with no time for a response from any supporting teammates. The two jumpers just seemed to not think it through very well. The fight between them showed that they can jump long distances indeed, even in distress, and a few hundred up in the air isn't that far.

Another thing, once they knew the existence of the device that lets the Paladins follow them through "jump scars", why didn't they take the obvious precaution of jumping to a "buffer" zone whenever jumping away from where active Paladins are? All they would have to do is jump to, again, the middle of the air somewhere, or underwater, and any Paladin trying to follow through the first scar would be completely screwed, and unable to use the device to follow them through a second one.

Hearing the general plot-line before going in, I figured that any organization of normal people hunting jumpers would have little success, apart from happy accidents, and after watching the movie, I still have that opinion. If the two jumpers even took a few seconds to think about things instead of just acting like retarded teenagers they could have come up with this stuff.

Oh, and Anakin was stupid to not just tell the girl from the beginning what he could do. Why waste time and give the Paladins something to track (although I guess he didn't know about them at that point) by taking a plane? I mean, something cool like what he can do is guaranteed to impress the ladies, if you know what I mean, and he was pretty careful not to ever let her find out until he couldn't hide it anymore. Even in her apartment I would have just grabbed her, jumped the hell out of there, and then explained things when she stopped freaking out. Also, his rescue plan was about the stupidest I'd ever seen. He knew it was a trap, and went in anyway, banking it all on a feat that had (as far as he knew) not been pulled off successfully before, and, in fact, had killed the last person to try.

[Ford Prefect]

Yeah, but considering how quickly they are shown being able to jump, all they would need is a split second to get behind a Paladin and then be gone, with no time for a response from any supporting teammates. The two jumpers just seemed to not think it through very well. The fight between them showed that they can jump long distances indeed, even in distress, and a few hundred up in the air isn't that far.

The actual act of grabbing someone is not necessarily going to be all that safe - the Paladins have been doing this for centuries, and they'ren ot really going to be surprised by a guy appearing behind them. And when the Jumper has a hold of them, the Paladin can potentially get a hold of them as well. It just becomes easier if every Jumper is so predictable.

Another thing, once they knew the existence of the device that lets the Paladins follow them through "jump scars", why didn't they take the obvious precaution of jumping to a "buffer" zone whenever jumping away from where active Paladins are? All they would have to do is jump to, again, the middle of the air somewhere, or underwater, and any Paladin trying to follow through the first scar would be completely screwed, and unable to use the device to follow them through a second one.

It's implied that's exactly what Jumpers who know about the device do; remember Griffin getting really angry when David leads them straight to the lair? There's also nothing stopping a Paladin from checking out the location first before going through - you're not going to kill them by the dozens by expecting them from leaping through blindly.

[SAMAS]

Another thing, once they knew the existence of the device that lets the Paladins follow them through "jump scars", why didn't they take the obvious precaution of jumping to a "buffer" zone whenever jumping away from where active Paladins are? All they would have to do is jump to, again, the middle of the air somewhere, or underwater, and any Paladin trying to follow through the first scar would be completely screwed, and unable to use the device to follow them through a second one.

A better idea would be to make your buffer jump really high off the ground. That way, the guys following you have something more important to worry about.
Tags Fixed-Bean

[Tanasinn]

It's only got 17% on Rotten Tomatoes, but most of the reviews are citing lack of character development.

Apparently, they've never heard of popcorn movies.

Rambo was a popcorn movie. Jumper was just bad, as far as I'm concerned.

Terrible half-baked attempts to develop character, a literally useless female lead who wastes minutes at a go asking questions, a contrived villain motivation that may as well have been left out, completely unsympathetic "heroes" who commit crimes up to and including murder out of hand...

I don't think I've EVER actually cheered for the religious lunatics in anything outside WH40K until I saw this sludge.

[Singular Intellect]

Also, his rescue plan was about the stupidest I'd ever seen. He knew it was a trap, and went in anyway, banking it all on a feat that had (as far as he knew) not been pulled off successfully before, and, in fact, had killed the last person to try.

Yeah, but then Anakin said "You underestimate my power!"

[Singular Intellect]

On topic, I just watched the movie myself and I thought it was great.

My only complaint would be that any intelligent and experienced jumper wouldn't be much threatened by anyone, particularily when it comes to leveling the field with lethal force. A simple knife would be plenty sufficient to kill many multiple attackers, even if they were armed with ranged weaponry. A jumper's speed as demostrated is just far to quick.

The only semi plausible explanation is that the organization got to most jumpers when they were still young and arrogant adults, rather than facing a more experienced individual.

[Molyneux]

Too much random talking and not enough good action to make it a great action film.

Too much random action and not nearly enough real character development to make it a great film of any other type.

Sadly, Jumper appears to have fallen into the far-too-crowded ditch of films with a great concept, half-assed execution and crappy writing.

[Zor]

I saw Jumper ant was something i found enjoyable. Not shakespear or the next epic sci-fi movie, but i expected neither and had a good time watching it and i left thinking that i would not mind a sequel.

However, one part i found in praticular stupid which was the sceen where they Teleported into a battle in Eastern Europe in which they were not shot at and basically invisable. As well i have another more minor quibble when Griffen said "weapons" he ment something along the line of an Uzi, SPAS12 or an M16 instead of a flamethrower.

Zor

[PREDATOR490]

Saw it and wasnt very thrilled either way. The concept of being able to jump is really cool and the portray it well enough to leave you wanting to be able to jump.
I thought the 'running teleport punch' was a bit silly as anything but showing off. Additonally, I found the scene where Roland kicked the main character's ass a bit wierd since it looked like he was shooting the Jumper through his 'Jump Scar' and pulling him back down.

As for the 'heroic' end. I saw that coming the moment they mentioned some guy failed at doing it. Is it me or is this guy being type casted as the selfish, dumb kid in the movies hes getting now ?

Other than that it was just a mindless waste of time with limited amounts of intelligence and depth.

[Oskuro]

I liked the movie, not a marvel of modern cinematography, but who cares? I had to watch it twice (don't ask) and noticed a couple things the second time around:


Regarding jump limitations, it seems like Jumpers can only make long distance jumps to places they've been to previously, but can make close range jumps to places they haven't been. This is indicated early in the movie, when David first tries to control his powers, he is looking at a picture of the Statue of Liberty, tries to jump, and fails. Then he sees a photograph of the Empire State, and remembers how he had been there as a child... and jumps.
This is further indicated by how they refer to "jump points" later on the film, David uses the pictures to focus on the jump points (something that being tasered prevents).
This, of course, begs the question of how the heck did they get to Chechenia in the first place!
As for the bank vault, remember that David jumped to the bathroom first, and then made a short range jump into the vault.

As for the mother, she is hinted throughout the movie. In the jungle, when they kill the jumper there, she is actually helping pack the "tunnel" machine (her hair obscures the face). Later, on a phone conversation regarding a fialed Paladin attempt on David, Roland is told that only 2 Paladins were sent because "Mary said two would be enough".



I'm guessing that, if a sequel is made, there will probably be an evil more experienced jumper as the bad guy.

Also, I couldn't help but think two things after the movie. Firstly, if he ever gets better control of his powers, Hiro Nakamura rules. Secondly, is a jumper capable of telefragging someone?



For the uninitiated: Telefrags are something typical of the Quake style games, where, if you teleport to a place occupied by someone else, the poor sap explodes to make room for you.

[KlavoHunter]

<TELEFRAG>

This has GOT to be done in the sequel.


Wait, I need to actually go see the movie first...

[SylasGaunt]

Terrible half-baked attempts to develop character, a literally useless female lead who wastes minutes at a go asking questions, a contrived villain motivation that may as well have been left out, completely unsympathetic "heroes" who commit crimes up to and including murder out of hand...

Eh? I know that Anakin performed a bank robbery and Griffin stole that car but when did anyone murder anyone? Granted we see Griffin kill a Paladin but given the organization's expressed desire to murder every jumper on the planet that rather firmly falls into self defense.

[Tanasinn]

I refer to the bus chucking, the pickup truck (seemingly with its driver still inside) getting crushed by the tank in Chechnya, and of course the idiot car-accident-causing nonsense best exemplified by the car-jumping scene in Tokyo(?).

[McC]

Eh? I know that Anakin performed a bank robbery and Griffin stole that car but when did anyone murder anyone? Granted we see Griffin kill a Paladin but given the organization's expressed desire to murder every jumper on the planet that rather firmly falls into self defense.

Samuel L. Paladin stabbed that one Jumper that they had caught in the jungle. Also, while we never see it, it's heavily implied that Griffin has just returned from killing a Paladin by dropping him into the ocean at one point.

[18-Till-I-Die]

No one was in the bus, i believe.

And the car chase in Tokyo probably didnt hurt anyone, since any major accident was avoid via teleportation. Also that was Griffin, not David, and Griffin is a little crazy.

Though i'll sorta give you the pickup truck, that, again, was Griffin. In fact, wasn't the bus Griffin too? I cant recall now, but i believe so. The guy may have gotten out of the truck too, it was so fast paced, i cant recall exactly.

[18-Till-I-Die]

As for killing Paladins, fuck 'em.

I'm not going to go on some "ONOEZ Religious Fanatics!" bullshit rant but these people are at the very least mass murderers and the fact they're trying to wipe out and entire species of hominid means that if said species retaliates i won't feel too bad. I don't believe anyone "deserves" to die, but if you go hunting lions and the lion mauls you to death, boo hoo.

[Oskuro]

By the way, on my second time around, I was also paying attention to those details:

a) The bus was largely empty (except for the driver, I guess)
b) The pickup driver was already gone from the vehicle when Griffin gets out (smells like cut sequence to me).

Anyway, it was Griffin going apeshit. The part I have more of a problem with is how the funk does David survive the pickup hitting him, or how does Griffin survive being trapped where.... where he gets trapped in Chechenia.

[K. A. Pital]

Bus was taken with driver (possible passengers, unknown) - how else would it drive? Car was taken with both people in, IIRC, both of them apparently die when the tank rolls over them if I recall the movie correctly.

So what if the jumpers do not care about the fate of the teleported - considering Griffin is waging a real war against Paladins, it seems pretty simple that he can accept casualties?

A good departure from fluffy comics code authority heroes which never kill anyone, or are beacons of moral goodness. Surprise, reckless teens cause deaths of other people, also kill Paladins. That looks far more believable than enormous superhero battles in Hollywood comic book adaptations, where not a single person is hurt.

Oh, and they also steal a lot.

Don't like it? Look at some "heroes" and leaders of modern age, especially the charismatic persons, most of them have a dark side.

[Molyneux]

A good departure from fluffy comics code authority heroes which never kill anyone, or are beacons of moral goodness.

Fuck you.
You've got some kind of problem with actual good characters? They don't have to be perfect, but when some prick doesn't even try to avoid doing downright evil things, it is not a good move for the story. It turns an interesting character into a cardboard-cutout "dark hero" all too often.

[K. A. Pital]

You've got some kind of problem with actual good characters?

No, I don't. But most action heroes aren't Mahatma Ghandis.

...but when some prick doesn't even try to avoid doing downright evil things, it is not a good move for the story.

The Jumpers don't even try to avoid stealing as their means of substience. That's just the fact. I'm kind of ambivalent - yeah, they're not my moral beacon. But so? That means I can't enjoy the movie?

It turns an interesting character into a cardboard-cutout "dark hero" all too often.

Yeah. Not like it spawns decent and enjoyable characters. Like, say, Alucard. Nooes.

[Battlehymn Republic]

The Paladins are pretty much like the Hunters faction of the Watchers from Highlander. Indeed, both a friend and I thought that Jumper seemed a bit like that franchise after seeing the trailer. Just replace immortality and swords with teleportation.

[Molyneux]

You've got some kind of problem with actual good characters?

No, I don't. But most action heroes aren't Mahatma Ghandis.

...but when some prick doesn't even try to avoid doing downright evil things, it is not a good move for the story.

The Jumpers don't even try to avoid stealing as their means of substience. That's just the fact. I'm kind of ambivalent - yeah, they're not my moral beacon. But so? That means I can't enjoy the movie?

It turns an interesting character into a cardboard-cutout "dark hero" all too often.

Yeah. Not like it spawns decent and enjoyable characters. Like, say, Alucard. Nooes.

The stealing isn't what I had the problem with, more the murder.
Alucard is largely interesting for two reasons (assuming you're talking about the one from Hellsing, not from Castlevania): one, he is extremely over-the-top. He's got demonic flair, and is unapologetically evil. No-one in Jumper, or for that matter most pissant little anti-heroes in other media, even comes close.

Two, Alucard is not conflicted at all. However, the person holding his leash is - Integra Hellsing. One of the most potent scenes in the Hellsing manga is when she's forced to allow him to essentially slaughter innocent soldiers in South America. She is more the main character, at least in that scene, than he is.

[Molyneux]

Sorry for the double-post, but I forgot to mention - The OTHER main character in Hellsing, Ceras Victoria, is a perfect example of an ambivalently dark hero. Remember the whole schtick with her only drinking "medical blood"?

[18-Till-I-Die]

To be honest the Jumpers seem very well adjusted and extremely restrained.

Imagine, for a moment, what you would do if you knew you could go virtually anywhere, anytime, in less than a second.

The fact that Griffin was more than content to live alone, a life of anything BUT lavishness at that, and only killed Paladins because they wanted to kill him, and all David was doing was stealing stuff, shows that neither of them was as crazy and power-mad as real people with the power to Jump would be.

They're hardly antiheroes, especially since Griffin seemed to be kind of crazy because of all he'd been through (probably being hunted by Paladins since childhood) and David was downright heroic.