While this may be the weakest movie that Doug Liman has directed, it’s still decent enough entertainment. Since there’s rumor of an announced sequel, perhaps they’ll flesh things about a bit better at that point.

Writing: With a respectable trio of writers on the project, it’s kinda hard to guess how such a cool idea could have gotten so underwhelming. It’s as if a high concept was suddenly re-written to be a simple action movie. There are brilliant moments early on in the film with our “hero” – or shall we say protagonist – such as him watching the news reporting a story that he could easily help in saving lives, and he simply walks on by paying zero attention. It’s kind of like an anti-super hero. I suppose that’s a hard sell to a studio, who would rather have something a little more straight forward to market. The potential for something very antithetical in this modern market of super-hero movies was there, but it was barely touched upon. The end result is something that for the most part just an excuse for odd action scenes.

Production: With some gorgeously energetic cinematography and editing, it’s clear where the advantages of having a director like Doug Liman come in. How is it that Paul Greengrass could take over Liman’s original Bourne film and learn so little in how to REALLY do handheld camera work? Anyway, I’m straying off topic. Jumper’s “jumping” effects seem both slick and simple, and the sound design really helps sell it. There’s no denying that the slick production really helps make this movie work.

Cast: While I thought Hayden Christensen was passable as Anakin Skywalker, I rather liked him in Awake. However, he’s not particularly much good in this film. There’s no denying that the guy is incapable of on-screen chemistry (though he actually came close in Awake). Just about any actor his age could have done at least as good as he did in this film. Samuel L. Jackson does his song-and-dance, playing the role as one would expect. His character is a bit ill-defined and never completely works, but hey, it’s Sam Jackson, so at least it’s a fun character. Diane Lane actually works quite nicely in her brief appearances. Jamie Bell is a highlight as the carefree and morally ambiguous secondary Jumper character. Though the ultimate fate of his character is left bizarrely hanging (you’ll have to pardon that pun once you’ve seen the film). Rachel Bilson tries her darnedest to make the on-screen chemistry work with Christensen, but just can’t pull it off. She’s quite good in the role. And Michael Rooker is certainly a believable casting choice as the remorsefully dead-beat father. However, the true casting highlight goes to the actors cast to play the main characters as children at the beginning of the film. AnnaSophia Robb is an actress I continue to be impressed with in each movie she is in. She’s great in her handful of scenes. And Max Thieriot is immesurably more empathetic and engaging than Christensen is in the role later in life. Add to that the fact that Robb & Thieriot have FAR more chemistry together on screen than Bilson & Christensen, and it kind of makes the rest of the movie all that more of a disappointment.

Music: Doug Liman again turns to John Powell for the score. Like Liman, Powell doesn’t turn in his greatest work with this score, but it’s still a darn fun score. Powell is one of my favorite current composers, and he gets to play around with the music a bit, giving it a nice bounce and pacing. It definitely helps the action out, and makes the harder to sell lighter moments in the movie manage to work. Not a best score of the year contender, but I definitely enjoyed it.