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May be we have to blame it all`A0on H.G. Wells and his Time Machine which is possible for all these incredible, apologies for sci-fi. Wells at least had some very credible, even futuristic thoughts behind them. Not Jumper and its ilk which is just a feast day for the`A0FX departments and a wafer-thin story behind it. Or what would you say of our hero David Rice (Hayden Christensen) who breaks through frozen ice and drowns. Sorry, almost but gets a second chance — who says there’s no heaven or hell or rebirth. David surfaces in a library and from then becomes a superhero, can break through bank vaults, even more cross borders, shades of Captain Marvel’s Sazzam. So it is breakfast atop the Sphinx in Egypt, surfing on the beaches of Australia, supper in Paris`A0and dessert in Japan. For the viewer it is around the world in 90 minutes but you see so little of it (might as well see picture postcards) and it takes even so long that the 90 minutes feels quite like forever. But wait a minute, what about the story?`A0Which actually is non-existent. After he gets his second chance he again runs into his tormentors who call him "rice bowl" (not very clever) and also his girlfriend Millie (Rachel Bilson), now a waitress who is not sure whether she is still in love with him or what. In any case she takes off to Rome with him as it was the city of her dreams but meanwhile he is being pursued by`A0Roland (Samuel L. Jackson), "a black man with white hair" and they`A0are the ones assigned to pursue the Jumpers, for that is what David becomes. "Only God should have the power to be in all places at all times," says Roland. Hence it is a case of ideological differences or may be that’s only an excuse in a weak plot. So they hurtle from one location to another, one country to another with the FX men having a field day. As if two of them are not enough David runs into Griffin (Jamie Bell), a fiery, globetrotting rebel who decides to take David under his wing. By now, the viewer has reached a state of supreme indifference, numbed by the mumbo-jumbo story and the razzle-dazzle gimmickry but a zero degree narrative. How will all this end, is the question uppermost in everyone’s mind, at least those who can still think straight. It does so after 90 minutes but it could have done so even 30 or 40 minutes earlier. But most of us look for quantitative entertainment, don’t we? Not that the end makes much sense, even if it is some sentimental link with his separated mother (Diane Lane). If there is even an iota of acting talent it must have fallen to the floor of the editing room. In a way it is commendable that Hayden Christensen can keep a straight face through all this piffle. Rachel Bilson, who is easy on the eye if one is looking for visual relief,`A0and Jamie Bell too suffer in silence as for Samuel L. Jackson, he really must be out of work to opt for this "scraping the bottom of the barrel" role in this rock bottom, not by a long jump, entertainer.
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