Blu-ray Movie Reviews

I had high hopes for Jumper going in. I'm a big fan of the director's past work and the premise and cast displayed in the trailers certainly got my attention. Unfortunately the end result just doesn't pay off as much as I hoped for. The main character is mainly the problem. The film centers around a young man who learns he can essentially "jump" from one place to another instantly. With this power he journeys around the world. During his journeys he robs banks by jumping into their vault undetected and jumping out with the cash. What he doesn't know is there is a war that has been going on for centuries between a religious group and these "jumpers". Sound good huh? Well the problem is they focus too much on setting up the main character and he isn't that likeable. We spend a good majority of the film getting shots of him in various places around the world but it gets a bit boring, which is not what I'm looking for from an action film. Things get better toward the end but it was hard to wash away the damage that had already been done.

Jumper has a very stylized look to it that reminded me slightly of the X-Men movies. The image has a grittier look with an emphasis on film grain and contrast. Detail wavers a bit from scene to scene and the special effects can come off a bit soft at times. Fine detail is good though, especially in close ups. Contrast levels are excellent and this film has that slightly exaggerated look that adds a bit more depth and dimensional to the film overall.

The DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack is a lot of fun and big on sound effects and visceral impact. There is enough action to keep the mix engaging and the soundstage is very open. Surround use is on the aggressive side and there were some pretty cool directional effects in some of the action sequences. The sound design doesn't present a lot of originality but it still manages to be engaging and fun. Like most action films nowadays, there are plenty of opportunities to show off your home theater with this one.

Fox delivers a two-disc set for this release and includes a digital copy of the film for use on a PC. This release also includes a picture-in-picture feature that documents the different locales used throughout the film. Other extras include a feature commentary, a director's documentary on making the film, some production features, deleted scenes and the trailer. This release is also coded for D-Box motion systems.

Ultimately Jumper fell quite a bit short of my expectations. I loved the supporting cast and the premise had a lot of promise but the film just never got me started. Fox does deliver on the A/V presentation though and delivers some solid extras. While I wouldn't recommend a purchase, this wouldn’t be a bad rental for fans of the genre.