Coming out of Star Wars, everyone expected Hayden Christensen to be a massive star, and Jumper should have been the movie to do it. Released in 2008, I distinctly remember being excited to rent the movie from my local video store simply because it had “Anakin Skywalker” in it. Yet, Jumper bombed, Christensen disappeared for a while, and the movie remains massively underrated.
Jumper throws audiences into the life of David Rice, living in Ann Arbor, Michigan. He is a quiet kid, struggling in high school and just looking to impress the girl he likes. Bullies and stress end up putting his life in danger and triggering his abilities as a “Jumper.” David can teleport to anywhere he has seen, and thus begins his life as a world traveler, thief, and a trajectory that puts his life in danger.
Jumper Should Have Been a 2000s YA Franchise
Jumper has all the makings of an incredible young adult franchise, much like many other film franchises that populated the early 2000s. Twilight, Hunger Games, even the series like Divergent and Maze Runner, which came a few years later, all feel like they could share DNA with Jumper. The movie heavily focuses on the life of David Rice and puts this young character into impossible situations. He has family drama, a love for his childhood crush, and the stakes of ancient war on his shoulders.
It feels like David is the perfect character for the audience to connect with. He is reckless, emotional, and even charismatic. He does what any 15-year-old would do if they were given incredible powers; he lives his dream life. David spends nearly a decade robbing banks and living large, and the whole time it just feels fun. David isn’t cruel or malicious; he is just having fun and using his powers selfishly. Yet, all this changes when he is finally tracked down by Samuel L. Jackson’s Roland, a leader of the group called Paladins.
Paladins kill Jumpers, and Jumpers fight or flee Paladins. It has been a conflict that has extended for centuries, according to Jamie Bell’s Griffin. Roland hates Jumpers and believes that it’s only a matter of time before they all begin to use their powers to hurt people. Roland viciously hunts David, as David tries to protect himself, the life he has built, and Rachel Bilson’s Millie, his childhood crush.
With massive X-Men’s Nightcrawler-level teleportation battles, throwing buses across the globe, and bringing entire houses to the bottom of the ocean, Jumper has some huge concepts and visuals that elevate the movie to help bring that big screen spectacle to life. Christensen does a wonderful job of shaking off the “angsty” feelings of Anakin and brings a fully formed character to life with David Rice. He is suave and emotional, while also giving off confidence and charisma with his actions.
Jackson’s Roland is what everyone would expect from a villain role from Samuel L. Jackson. He is intimidating and comes with a screen presence that is larger-than-life. He is vicious with his attacks on David, and the audience can feel how much he relishes his conflicts with the Jumpers.
Strong performances and concrete characters anchor the plot, while amazing weapons and powers elevate the action. Combined with the cliffhanger ending reveal of David’s mother (played by Diane Lane) being a Paladin, Jumper was set up for cinematic greatness.
Audiences Failed to Connect With Jumper in 2008
Unfortunately, Jumper couldn’t find its fans in 2008. Despite making a strong $222 million worldwide on an $85 million budget, Jumper failed to leap into a sequel film. I always wanted to see what happened next, but no next ever came. As a child of the Star Wars Prequel movies, I always had a fondness for Christensen and his work, but that same feeling did not apply to larger audiences and critics in 2008.
While I loved Christensen in 2008, and still do to this day, many people were looking at him very critically in Jumper. Christensen was at the heart of the Star Wars controversies surrounding the Prequels. Many viewers didn’t like him as Anakin, and that bled into Jumper. People continued to poke holes in his performance, building off the same issues they had from Star Wars. Bilson was also criticized for her performance, with claims that she and Christensen simply couldn’t hold down the franchise.
Then there are the studio issues. 20th Century was certain they had a franchise on their hands. Christensen was apparently signed to multiple movies before the release of Jumper. People thought that the movie put too much time into franchise building and not enough effort into the film itself. I disagree with this, though, and it’s part of the reason I belive its underrated.
Jumper is not perfect; it’s not a masterpiece of filmmaking, but it’s a fun sci-fi adventure movie that gives audiences some great concepts to connect to and look forward to. I think it gives the audience just enough to sink their teeth into, with room to improve in future instalments. There was tension with Roland and David, a mystery surrounding his mother, and the battles between Jumpers and Paladins could only get bigger. The negative reviews scared the studio, and Jumper was dead.
Jumper Still Deserves a Return to the Big Screen
I will die on the hill that there are some legacy sequels and soft reboots that are better than the originals. Top Gun: Maverick and Blade Runner 2049 are the obvious choices, but Fury Road and Creed deserve that same recognition. Jumper is perfectly primed for a soft reboot that could still connect to the original film.
Christensen is having a renaissance with his return to Star Wars in various projects, and the same can be said for YA properties with new Hunger Games films and the Harry Potter TV series. I would love to see Christensen return to the role of David Rice and bring a new Jumper through the dangers of these powers. Christensen, in a mentor role, could scratch a Star Wars-style itch for people and give his character the depth some people felt like he lacked before.
With the improvement of VFX in recent years it also allows for even more impressive Jump battles, cooler technology for the Paladins, and a larger scale for the entire franchise. I understand this is all wishful thinking and highly unlikely, but I want something to shine a spotlight back on the Jumper film.
Jumper is a ton of fun to watch, with unique action and interesting characters. It builds a world that merits exploration, and, unfortunately, Jumper remains underrated to this day. Jumper could easily be a sci-fi cult classic, but audiences continue to ignore one of the most unique YA sci-fi properties of the 2000s.
Come back in 2 weeks to read Nick Brooks’ defense of an overhated comic book movie.