BEFORE: From a man who can stop time to a man who can teleport all over the world. Linking from "Cashback", Sean Biggerstaff had a small role in "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets", as did Warwick Davis, who was also in "Star Wars Episode 1" with Samuel L. Jackson (last seen in "The Other Guys"), who appears here.
THE PLOT: A genetic anomaly allows a young man to teleport himself anywhere. He discovers this gift has existed for centuries and finds himself in a war that has been raging for thousands of years between "Jumpers" and those who have sworn to kill them.
AFTER: What this film shares with "Cashback" is a central character who uses his power to land his dreamgirl - because, really, what's the point otherwise? See, kids, even if you can teleport into bank vaults, travel for free instantly anywhere in the world, it all means nothing unless you've got a hot girl to share it with.
Both films also feature heroes with questionable morals - as if undressing women in hypertime weren't wrong enough, tonight's central character just takes whatever he wants, whenever he wants it. From robbing banks to stealing cars, it makes for an odd hero. Are we supposed to admire him, just because he hasn't hurt anyone? He's still committed a long list of crimes.
So it's a little tough to know who to root for here. Samuel L. Jackson turns up as the head of a covert force, with possible government ties, trying to track down all of the world's teleporters and kill them. Because to let them live would apparently be too much chaos for the world to handle, and "only God" should have the power to be everywhere at once. Seems like strange reasoning, plus whatever happened to the separation of church and state?
Plus it's awful convenient to just show someone as a "shadow operative" - meaning that the screenwriter never has to answer some very basic questions about the character. It's just not enough to say someone is a spy (at least, it shouldn't be) - who do they work for? Who are their enemies? What, specifically, are they trying to accomplish?
Our nation is trillions of dollars in debt, we're fighting three wars in the Middle East, and the top priority in Washington is tracking down a couple of teleporters? This country's headed down the tubes...
It's telling that this film's director, Doug Liman, also directed "Mr. & Mrs. Smith" and "The Bourne Identity", two other spy films that were very lean in the details department. The first had enough action and comedy to cover, and the second used the cover of amnesia, which is looking more and more like a narrative dodge.
Also, in essence this film only tells half of a story. The characters are introduced, the conflict is established between the jumpers and the paladins, and then they fight, with no clear winner. Teleporting your opponent to the middle of nowhere is NOT a resolution - because you just know he'll come back, it's just going to take some time. When it would be so easy to just teleport one's opponent into a wall, or to someplace a mile above the ground - but then we're back to that morals question again.
Still, it would be nice if a film had something akin to an ending.
Also starring Hayden Christensen (last seen in "New York, I Love You"), Rachel Bilson (ditto), Jamie Bell (last seen in "King Kong"), Diane Lane (last seen in "Jack"), Michael Rooker (last seen in "Mississippi Burning"), with cameos from Tom Hulce (last seen in "Stranger Than Fiction"), Kristen Stewart (last seen in "Adventureland").
RATING: 4 out of 10 moneybags (awarded to the FX department, not the writers)
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