I thought the trailer for this movie looked decent, but man, it just got killed by the critics - 85% negative on Rotten Tomatoes: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/jumper/
So better than that?
I have a feeling this is how most reviewers approached it:
Stefan, it’s a terrible movie at any level. I’d recommend steering clear despite certain folks around here having pretty low standards. :)
-Tom
P.S. Then there’s the game, which is a whole other level of suck…
Its not supposed to be the book, I guess, even though I guess the basic premise was taken from it?
I don’t know. All I know, is that I had a lot of fun watching it. Albeit, it could’ve been a reverse date effect (You know, like you think a date you went on with a girl was good because the movie was good, when really, the date sucked but the movie was totally worth going to see? It might’ve been a reverse of that, since I was going out with my girlfriend who I haven’t seen in a while, so I was admittedly quite happy all weekend.)
But, hell, its not a horrible movie.
Um, actually, it is a horrible movie. Not Dragon Wars horrible. Worse, because unlike Dragon Wars, it doesn’t revel in its horribleness.
I can’t dispute whether you had fun watching it, Demon, since that’s between you and your own sensibilities. But Jumper had a muddled stupid plot, a confused and obviously overiterated script, a bad lead actor, a forgettable bland villain notable only for his fakey white hair, terrible dialog, numerous plot holes and unanswered questions, no chemistry between the leads, poor use of its locations, over-busy special effects, and only moderately interesting use of its central premise. As a guy who’s perfectly capable of appreciating the “fun” in some bad movies, I can’t say I’d recommend Jumper to anyone.
-TomThe thing is, the book is really awesome (as, among other things, an exploration of what it would be like to have teleportation powers), and a movie based on it that wasn’t made by people with severe brain damage could be similarly awesome. Alas, these people are apparently the ones with the rights. sigh
I never heard of the book, but pretty much agree with Tom’s assessment. Also, the female lead was terribly wooden.
For another point of view, I happen to agree with Variety’s review:
Slick but extremely slim […] director Doug Liman churns out a serviceable sci-fi thriller/videogame template that plays like “The Matrix Lite” and, finally, isn’t nearly as cool as its trailer.
Having demonstrated his action chops on “The Bourne Identity” and “Mr. & Mrs. Smith,” Liman has fun with the initial exploration of David’s skills, which he shows off to Millie like a shiny new sports car. Although primarily shot in Toronto, pic boasts sequences in Tokyo, Egypt and Rome’s Colosseum, and the effects team (among them “The Matrix” alum Joel Hynek) pretty convincingly captures the lengthy roster of exotic locales, as well as images of jumpers dragging objects through their portals with them, which possesses a visceral kick.
However, he does mention:
The movie is a bit too chaotic for its own good, and its scope feels disappointingly small […] The dialogue is also consistently clunky […] Christensen exhibits a helpful vulnerability despite a thinly drawn character […] with Bilson’s adorableness doing most of the heavy lifting to establish a semblance of girl-in-jeopardy romance.
Before ending with:
“Jumper” isn’t a bad time for what it is, but the movie itself plays like a preview of coming attractions. Indeed, given how the narrative speeds toward its tepid climax, the audience might be gripped by an underlying feeling the filmmakers almost seem to have harbored as well – a yearning to skip the preliminaries and jump ahead to a bigger, better-written, more satisfying sequel.
So, no, not a work of art but if you’re looking for sweet effects, Rachel Bilson and exotic locales, you’ll have a pretty good time. Whether you like it or not, calling it “horrible” seems like a stretch to me.
Until I read the last sentence, I thought you were talking about Shoot 'em Up. :)
Dragon Wars is, of course, horrible - but that 15 minute scene with the Dragons rampaging through the city and fighting the army, blasting helicopters, etc. was a lot of fun. I would have wept if I paid to see it in the theatre though, lol.
Wait, wait, you’re going to appeal to someone else’s review, ignore the critical consensus (14% on RT, 35/100 on Metacritic), and then call my opinion a “stretch”? Was there a Freddie Prinze Jr. cameo in there I missed that got you all excited? Because otherwise, I can’t figure out what’s going on here.
-Tom
P.S. If you want to defend a bad movie, you can have a lot more “fun” defending Dragon Wars. Heck, me, Stefan, and Bruce Geryk will probably even even join in!
I saw Fools Gold this past weekend.
Let me just say that the Academy would be Fools not to give this movie some Oscar Gold.
Indeed. 4/10 for Rotten Tomatoes, which is like, on average, just barely below average, right? :)
14% does not equal 4/10. To quote Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, “Who taught you math?!?” Imagine that I’m Val Kilmer and you’re Robert Downey Jr., and you’ve just shot someone in the head.
-Tom
Well, they give 14% i.e. 14% of critics liked it, but also 4/10, which is the average score. Rebuttal?
Rotten Tomatoes says 14% and then it says that the movie has an average rating of 4/10.
Which is to say that the average rating the reviewers have given it is 4/10, however only 14% of reviewers have given it a ‘fresh’ rating.
So imagine this is like the TV movie of Nick Fury and I’m David Hasselhoff and you’re the guy playing the Germanic guy and I’m all “daaaaaang, you wrong, foo!” I guess?
If you’d like to explain to me how 86% of critics disliking Jumper excuses it from being “horrible”, then I’m all ears. Also, I drink your milkshake. I drink it up. Now imagine that I’m smacking you in the skull with a bowling pin.
-Tom
P.S. “I’m finished.”
Another vote for Dragon Wars.
This thread needs a poll.
This is an action/sci-fi-ish movie that they released in mid-February… which means even the people who MADE the movie think it is horrible!
End of debate!
Every thread needs a poll.