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Sunday, November 3, 2013

Jumper 3D Blu-ray Review

Reviewed by Jami Ferguson
Experience the exhilarating adventure from the director of Mr. & Mrs. Smith and The Bourne Identity, now in eye-popping 3D. David Rice (Hayden Christensen) is a Jumper — a genetic anomaly with the power to instantly teleport anywhere in the world. When he discovers others like himself, David is thrust into an ancient war that threatens the very survival of his own kind.

Film (2 1/2 out of 5 stars)

David Rice (Hayden Christensen) is an slightly awkward teenage boy with an obvious crush on the one girl that is nice to him, Mille. Millie wants to see the world and David wants to give it to her. Stuck in Ann Arbor, Michigan the closest he can come is a snow globe featuring the Eiffel Tower. A bully sees the gift exchange and throws the globe onto the ice. As David attempts to retrieve the globe the ice breaks and he's stuck underwater unable to breathe. Moments later David finds himself soaking wet in the middle of the Ann Arbor Public Library. Confused, he heads home where his father immediately jumps on his case. David heads to his room and while fighting with his father he again finds himself inside the library. It doesn't take David long to figure out he has teleported, he just doesn't know how.

Without confirming he ever made it out of the water, David leaves his home town. He quickly learns to control his teleportation and realizes that he can't go anywhere he hasn't seen. A trip to the bathroom at the local bank provides a glimpse inside the bank vault and an untraceable heist. Fast forward to his twenties and David has perfected his teleportation, also known as jumping. He even jumps from one side of the couch to another when he can't reach the remote. One random day David returns home to find a white haired man named Roland (Samuel L. Jackson) who knows what he is and wants to stop him. Roland explains that jumpers are an abomination because only God should have the power to be all places at all times.  David escapes, returns home and reunites with Millie (Rachel Bilson). After an extremely brief reconciliation David convinces Millie to take a trip to Rome with him. While using his skills to break into the closed coliseum for Millie David meets Griffin, another jumper. Griffin explains that paladin's like Roland have been hunting jumpers like them throughout history.

Hayden Christensen is one of my least favorite actors. He's stiff and his voice always comes off as whiny in my opinion. In Jumper, he bothered me less than in all of his other films, but I still would have preferred another actor as the lead. The film takes way too long to explain what's going on with the jumpers and paladin's and then fails to develop the drama. This is one of those occasions where the film doesn't live up to the preview. If you can get past Samuel L. Jackson's white hair, you're a better person than I am. I found it weird and distracting. I love sci-fi and action films and had hoped this would be the perfect combination of both. I was disappointed overall.

Video (4 out of 5 stars)

Jumper is presented on 2D and 3D Blu-ray in 1080p high definition, with a wide-screen 1.78:1 ratio. The cold Michigan winter holds a lot of detail including textured clothing and frozen breath in the air. Later in the film, the warmth of Rome and the detail of the coliseum also made me take notice. Black levels are good and skin tones are accurate overall. The jumpers leave behind a visual trail and the level of detail is important and especially noticeable in those circumstances.  For a 3D post-conversion, this movie has its moments in 3D but not as many as you might think.  If this had been filmed with 3D in mind and in 3D at the time, this movie could have looked incredible in the 3D format.  As it is, the effects still look 2D for the most part and there isn't a whole lot of the gimmicky at your face effects.  The extra depth is nice though and both of these versions offer nice looking transfers.

Audio (4 out of 5 stars)

Jumper's English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 mix won't blow the roof off but it does work pretty well.. Hayden Christensen tends is a bit of a mumbler but the dialogue is still intelligible and clean sounding.. The sounds of Rome up-close and in the periphery give the film a very realistic feel but my living room was not rocked with each and every jump, as I had expected.  The sound effects are well placed and accurate and the music is well balanced with the rest of the mix.

Extras (0 out of 5 stars)

The Blu- ray contains no special features.

Summary (3 out of 5 stars)

Jumper takes too long to develop the story, which is surprising with a run time of less than 90 minutes. Although I don't care for the star of the film, I didn't really mind him in this film. The idea of a person that can teleport could have turned into a much better story. The back cover promises an exhilarating adventure and I can't say Jumper delivers. It is an average sci-fi film that wasn't a waste of time but also wasn't the film I'd hoped for.

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