Jumper (film)
Encyclopedia
Jumper is a 2008 American science fiction film
, loosely based on the 1992 science fiction novel of the same name
by Steven Gould
. The film is directed by Doug Liman
and stars Hayden Christensen
, Samuel L. Jackson
, Jamie Bell
, Rachel Bilson
, Max Thieriot
, AnnaSophia Robb
, and Diane Lane
. The film follows a young man capable of teleporting
as he is chased by a secret society intent on killing him.
The script went through a rewrite prior to filming and the roles for the main characters were changed during production. Jumper was filmed in 20 cities in 14 countries between 2006 and 2007. The film was released on February 14, 2008 and a soundtrack was released on February 19. The film held the first position in its opening weekend with $27.3 million, but despite this success, reviews from critics were generally negative. Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes
recorded a 16% approval rating and 35/100 on Metacritic
. One novel was developed as a tie-in to the film along with a video game for the Xbox 360
, PlayStation 2
, and Wii
consoles, named Jumper: Griffin's Story
. The DVD was released on June 10, 2008, and both Christensen and Liman have spoken of one or more sequels.
) gives his crush, Millie, a snow globe containing the Eiffel Tower, knowing her dreams of traveling someday. A bully, Mark, throws the globe onto the ice near a river. While trying to retrieve it, David falls through the ice and is pulled away by the current. He suddenly finds himself in the local library with drenched clothes. He discovers he can "Jump", or teleport, disappearing from one place and instantly appearing in another. Unhappy with his life, he runs away and is believed dead by his alcoholic father.
Eight years later, an adult David has settled into a life of adventure. He spends his days jumping around various continents, doing various sports and living lavishly using money stolen from banks via his jumping abilities. We also see him observing a natural disaster on the TV news, but not even consider using his powers to save the people. After a day of hedonistic jumping, including seducing and sleeping with a woman in London, he is ambushed in his home by Roland Cox. Cox tries to trap him with a system of high-voltage cables, which prevent him from being able to jump. David escapes and returns home to Ann Arbor, seeking Millie. He is attacked by Mark and purposely teleports him into a bank vault. He leaves him there and returns to Millie, inviting her to travel with him (by conventional means) to Rome. Roland – who we see heads an organisation dedicated to killing these "abominations" because "only God should have the power to be everywhere" – later discovers Mark in police custody and so learns David's identity.
David and Millie arrive in Rome, he attempting to keep his true nature as a thief and his powers a secret from her. After talking, they share a kiss and have sex. David and Millie visit the Colosseum
, only to find it closed. David uses his abilities to unlock a door from the inside, telling a skeptical Millie the door was already unlocked. While opening another door, he discovers another Jumper, Griffin. He warns David that "Paladins" are coming – an extremist group who has been tracking down and killing Jumpers from "the beginning." Several Paladins show up and attack them. Griffin kills one and teleports, taking the body with him. David tries to leave with Millie, but is detained by Italian police and questioned about the death. While waiting for a magistrate to arrive, David's mother Mary, who had left David when he was five, appears and throws him the keys to his handcuffs. She tells him he has very little time to leave. David tries to follow her, but she says if he wants the girl to live he must leave now. David tells Millie the police let him go and they leave together. Millie, now very suspicious, demands the truth. David declines and puts her on a plane home.
David jumps to Griffin's lair, asking where to find Roland. Griffin explains that Paladins are religious fanatics who believe Jumpers are an affront to God and have been hunting them for centuries. He also says that Paladins will kill Jumpers by targeting their loved ones. He has been trying to kill Roland for years, as the Paladins killed his parents when he was a child and have tried to kill him several times. David teleports to his father, finds him bleeding and teleports him to a hospital. He returns to Griffin and convinces him to go with him to the airport to greet Millie. Upon arriving, they realize her flight landed an hour earlier. Griffin returns to his lair to get weapons while David searches for Millie. He breaks into her apartment, angering Millie, who tells him to leave. Through the living room window David sees Roland arriving and shows her what he can do, and save her, by teleporting her back to Griffin's lair. The Paladins follow using a machine that keeps the "jump scar" (wormhole) open and fight with David and Griffin. Roland is chased back through the portal, but snatches Millie back to her apartment with a cable.
Griffin decides to take a bomb to Millie's apartment and kill everyone. David refuses, wanting to save Millie. They fight through several locations, and David traps Griffin with power lines in a war zone. Griffin warns that if he faces the Paladins alone he will be outnumbered. He goes anyway and is quickly trapped by Roland's electric cables. David cannot escape as he is physically tied to the apartment by the cables. Using his teleporting powers David separates the apartment from the rest of the building and teleports that section away, along with Roland, Millie and himself, back to the lake he fell through the ice into as a child. Once free of the cables (while still underwater) David teleports to the library with Millie, as well as an unwelcome Roland. David then grabs Roland and takes him to a cave in the Grand Canyon
, abandoning him there, and telling him that he could have been killed instead.
David visits his mother and is stunned when a girl, his half-sister, Sophie, answers the door. Mary tells David she has known he was a Jumper since he was five, when Jumpers make their first Jump. She is a Paladin, and had to either kill David or leave. She again allows him to leave, allowing him a "head start". He meets with Millie outside and they jump to an unknown location.
hired director Doug Liman
to helm the film adaptation
of the science fiction novel Jumper
by Steven Gould
. Screenwriter Jim Uhls
was hired to rewrite an adapted screenplay by David S. Goyer
. However, Liman desired another rewrite and Simon Kinberg
assisted in completing the script. Liman said about using the novel for developing the script: "This is 100% Steven Gould's story, it's just reinvented as a movie." In an interview, Gould revealed that he approved of the deviations from the novel. Before filming was to begin, the studio announced plans to develop a trilogy based on the novel's premise.
While other films tend to use only one storyboard
artist, Jumper required six, who each worked on an individual action sequence. The artists were given specific instruction on the rules of the teleportation used in the film, to ensure accuracy in the storyboarding. One of them, Rob McCallum, reflected on the instructions: "I was just thinking, 'How would a guy that can teleport fight?' So you were really pushing yourself to try to think of inventive, cool, spectacular ways that you could use this jumping talent that these characters have."
, Teresa Palmer
, and Jamie Bell
were cast for Jumper with Sturridge in the lead role (who won the role over Heath Ledger
, Devon Sawa
, Eminem
, Joseph Gordon-Levitt
, and Jared Padalecki
). The following July, actor Samuel L. Jackson
was cast as an NSA agent, with producer Simon Kinberg
rewriting the original screenplay draft by Goyer. Principal photography was scheduled to take place in Tokyo, Rome, Toronto, and New York. Production was stopped in June 2006 after producer Tom Rothman told Liman "The lead is 18. Wouldn't the movie be better if he was 25? You have a huge movie here and adults won't go and see an 18-year-old. They'll consider it a children's movie. You could make a bigger movie than that." Liman agreed on casting older actors for furthering the romantic aspect of the film. In August, actor Hayden Christensen
replaced Sturridge in the lead role as David just two weeks before the beginning of shooting, as the studio "became concerned about not having a more prominent actor in their trio of young stars." After Christensen was recast for the lead role, Liman replaced Palmer with Rachel Bilson
.
and principal photography began in Toronto in October. In December 2006, Liman negotiated with the Rome Film Commission for rare access to film for three days in the Colosseum
. The scene in the Colosseum was originally written for the Pantheon
, at which exterior shots were also filmed. The crew was required to keep equipment off the ground by using harnesses and had to rely on natural light for filming. Filming took place for 45 minutes in the morning and in the evening so as not to disturb the public touring the amphitheater throughout the day. In order to maximize the short period for filming, four steadicam
s were set up to ensure time was not wasted in reloading the camera. A visual effects supervisor explained how visual effects were needed for various aspects after filming: "There were three kinds of shots: there were shots where they were able to get most of what they needed in the Coliseum itself; and then there were shots on a set that needed extensions beyond the limits of the set; and then there were shots where we needed to create the Coliseum basically from scratch."
After filming in Rome, scenes were filmed in Toronto during December 2006 to January 2007 and wrapped at the Canadian location on January 19. On January 26 in Toronto, 56-year-old David Ritchie, a set dresser, was fatally struck by frozen debris while dismantling an outdoor set in wintry conditions. Another worker was injured and was sent to a hospital with serious head and shoulder injuries. After Toronto, the cast and crew traveled to Tokyo to film scenes. One scene required over 30 shoots as the scene could only be filmed in between traffic light changes. As a result of director Liman insisting Christensen perform his own stunts, the actor injured his hand, split open his ear, and developed a hyperdilated pupil
that required hospital care while filming various scenes.
In February 2007, the next filming site was set up at Gallup Park in Ann Arbor, Michigan
. Sixty students from the nearby Huron High School were cast as extras for the film. Since additional filming was required of the area, twenty other students were used for a day of filming in September. Altogether, filming took place in 20 cities in 14 countries.
was initially selected to assist in creating a preview clip for the 2007 Comic-Con Convention
. The studio's 100 employees later developed the visual effects for 300 of the 600 shots in the film. In total, there are more than 100 jumps in the film, and each jump was modified based on the distance and location the character(s) jumped. The jumps were developed using Nuke
and Shake
software programs. Many of the shots, including those of Big Ben and the Sphinx
were created using the program Maya
. Weta's VFX supervisor Erik Winquist explained how the visual effects of the jumps were created: "The concept of what a jump looks like changed and evolved a little over the course of post production. There are shots in the film that use still array footage but not in the same way that we saw in The Matrix
. The Matrix was largely about stopping time whereas this was about using slow shutter speeds on those still array cameras to end up with a streaky motion-blurred image as the perspective was changing, which is a pretty interesting look." Other visual effects studios that assisted with the film include Hydraulx
, Digital Domain
, and Pixel Magic.
reported that 16% of critics gave the film positive reviews, based on 156 reviews, with an average score of 4/10; the consensus was "An erratic action pic with little coherence and lackluster special effects." Metacritic
reported the film had an average score of 35 out of 100, based on 36 reviews. Austin Chronicle
s Marc Salov called the film "...pretty slick, entertaining stuff, well-crafted by Liman, edited into a tight, action-packed bundle of nerviness." Edward Douglas of ComingSoon.net wrote that the film was "An impressive feat as a vehicle for Doug Liman to pull out the stops with some of the most jaw-dropping stunts shot in some of the most amazing locations on earth." Empire
had a verdict of "[Doug] Liman’s least charismatic action movie and the least developed, but it still packs some cracking action into its brief running time and lays foundations on which a great franchise could be built." Australian film reviewer David Stratton
was far less kind, stating that "this film represents a new [watershed] in the history of the cinema because it's got no plot, it's got no characters, it's got no action scene that makes any kind of sense", and awarded it half a star out of five.
Despite negative critical reception, the movie was a public and box office success, grossing over $220 million worldwide.
. The film was targeted at an audience of both males and females below the age of 25. Jumper grossed $27.3 million on 4,600 screens in 3,428 theaters from Friday to Sunday, ranking first for the weekend at the box office. In its first weekend, the film set the record for the largest February release in Korea
and had the first place position in 11 of the 30 markets it was released in. For the first two weekends of its release, the film maintained its number one position in international markets, while slipping to the second position in the United States to the release of Vantage Point
. The film's worldwide gross is $221,231,186 with $80,172,128 from the box office in the United States and Canada and $142,059,058 from other territories. It was the 28th highest-grossing film worldwide for 2008.
, the author of Jumper
and Reflex
also wrote Jumper: Griffin's Story
as a tie-in for the film. The novel, released on August 21, 2007, focuses on the character Griffin which was created by screenwriter David Goyer specifically for the film. Because Griffin had not appeared in the two prior novels, Gould developed Jumper: Griffin's Story as a backstory of the character's early childhood before the film. When writing the novel, Gould had to work closely with a producer of the film to ensure that the story did not conflict with the film's premise.
Oni Press
released a graphic novel, Jumper: Jumpscars, that portrays several back stories related to the film. The novel was released on February 13, 2008, one day before the film's wide release. A publisher for Oni Press commented on the tie-in to the film, stating: "The world that was being built around these characters was so well-realized and the mythology so interesting that other stories about this conflict would be plentiful and add to what the filmmakers were building." The novel was written by Nunzio DeFilippis
and Christina Weir
and illustrated by Brian Hurtt.
. The music was conducted by Brett Weymark and performed by the Sydney Symphony Orchestra
.
was made for the Xbox 360
, PlayStation 2
, and Wii
consoles. The storyline focuses on the character Griffin as he attempts to avenge the death of his parents. Nicholas Longano of the video game publisher Brash Entertainment
stated, "From the very first script read, we knew this had to be made into a game. The teleportation elements make for some very compelling gameplay." The game was released on February 12, 2008, two days before the film's wide release. Game Rankings
gave the Xbox 360 version of the game a 28% positive rating, based on 12 reviews. The PlayStation 2 version received a 35% positive rating while the Wii version had a 23% positive rating. Daemon Hatfield of IGN
reviewed the Xbox 360 version and gave it a negative review: "Low production values, monotonous gameplay, and lackluster visuals make this a story you can jump past."
and DVD in North America on June 10, 2008 and internationally on June 16. Special features include a commentary, deleted scenes, an animated graphic novel, featurettes, and a digital copy
allowing consumers to watch the film on portable devices.
reflected on the possibility of one or more sequels: "This has definitely been set up in a way that will allow for more films, and Doug has been careful to make sure that he's created characters that will have room to grow." Lucas Foster during production of the film stated in an interview: "The ideas got so large, that they really couldn't fit into, you know, one or two movies, they needed to evolve over at least three movies. So we planned the story out over three movies and then we sliced it up in such a way as to leave room for the other two movies."
In response to the film's box office performance, director Doug Liman
has spoken of his ideas for a sequel. Among them are that Jumpers can reach other planets and travel in time, as well as their capacity for espionage. He has also stated that Rachel Bilson's character will learn how to jump (hinted by David falling unconscious before the jump from the river to the library), just as in Gould's sequel, Reflex
. In interviews that followed the release of film (as well as some of the featurettes on the DVD), Jamie Bell
was critical of the finished product of Jumper, describing his frustration while they were shooting the film.
Science fiction film
Science fiction film is a film genre that uses science fiction: speculative, science-based depictions of phenomena that are not necessarily accepted by mainstream science, such as extraterrestrial life forms, alien worlds, extrasensory perception, and time travel, often along with futuristic...
, loosely based on the 1992 science fiction novel of the same name
Jumper (novel)
Jumper is a 1992 science fiction novel by Steven Gould. The novel was published in mass market paperback in October 1993 and re-released in February 2008 to coincide with the release of the film adaptation. It tells the story of David, a teenager who escapes an abusive household using his ability...
by Steven Gould
Steven Gould
Steven Charles Gould is an American science fiction author and teacher. He has written eight novels and is best known for his 1992 novel Jumper, which was made into a film and released in 2008. He is married to science fiction writer Laura J...
. The film is directed by Doug Liman
Doug Liman
Douglas Eric "Doug" Liman is an American film director and producer best known for Swingers , The Bourne Identity , Mr. & Mrs. Smith , Jumper , and Fair Game .-Early life:...
and stars Hayden Christensen
Hayden Christensen
Hayden Christensen is a Canadian actor. He appeared in Canadian television programs when he was young, then diversified into American television in the late 1990s. He moved on to minor acting roles before being praised for his role of Sam in Life as a House, for which he was nominated for a Golden...
, Samuel L. Jackson
Samuel L. Jackson
Samuel Leroy Jackson is an American film and television actor and film producer. After becoming involved with the Civil Rights Movement, he moved on to acting in theater at Morehouse College, and then films. He had several small roles such as in the film Goodfellas before meeting his mentor,...
, Jamie Bell
Jamie Bell
Andrew James Matfin "Jamie" Bell is an English actor. He is best known for his roles in the films Billy Elliot , King Kong , Hallam Foe , Jumper , Defiance , The Eagle and The Adventures of Tintin: Secret of the Unicorn .- Early life :Bell was born in Billingham, in the Borough of...
, Rachel Bilson
Rachel Bilson
Rachel Sarah Bilson is an American actress. Bilson grew up in a California show business family, and made her television debut in 2003, subsequently becoming well known for playing Summer Roberts on the prime time drama series The O.C. Bilson made her film debut in the 2006 film The Last Kiss and...
, Max Thieriot
Max Thieriot
Maximillion Drake "Max" Thieriot is an American actor. During the 2000s, he appeared in several Hollywood films, including My Soul to Take, Catch That Kid, The Pacifier, Nancy Drew, Jumper, and Kit Kittredge: An American Girl.-Career:Thieriot was signed to talent manager Don Gibble after taking...
, AnnaSophia Robb
AnnaSophia Robb
AnnaSophia Robb is an American film and television actress. She gained prominence in 2005 with starring roles in Because of Winn-Dixie and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and starred in Bridge to Terabithia , Race to Witch Mountain , and Soul Surfer .-Personal life:Robb was born in Denver,...
, and Diane Lane
Diane Lane
Diane Lane is an American film actress.Born and raised in New York City, Lane made her screen debut at the age of 13 in George Roy Hill's 1979 film A Little Romance, starring opposite Sir Laurence Olivier. Soon after, she was featured on the cover of Time magazine...
. The film follows a young man capable of teleporting
Teleportation
Teleportation is the fictional or imagined process by which matter is instantaneously transferred from one place to another.Teleportation may also refer to:*Quantum teleportation, a method of transmitting quantum data...
as he is chased by a secret society intent on killing him.
The script went through a rewrite prior to filming and the roles for the main characters were changed during production. Jumper was filmed in 20 cities in 14 countries between 2006 and 2007. The film was released on February 14, 2008 and a soundtrack was released on February 19. The film held the first position in its opening weekend with $27.3 million, but despite this success, reviews from critics were generally negative. Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
recorded a 16% approval rating and 35/100 on Metacritic
Metacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
. One novel was developed as a tie-in to the film along with a video game for the Xbox 360
Xbox 360
The Xbox 360 is the second video game console produced by Microsoft and the successor to the Xbox. The Xbox 360 competes with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
, PlayStation 2
PlayStation 2
The PlayStation 2 is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Sony as part of the PlayStation series. Its development was announced in March 1999 and it was first released on March 4, 2000, in Japan...
, and Wii
Wii
The Wii is a home video game console released by Nintendo on November 19, 2006. As a seventh-generation console, the Wii primarily competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's PlayStation 3. Nintendo states that its console targets a broader demographic than that of the two others...
consoles, named Jumper: Griffin's Story
Jumper: Griffin's Story
Jumper: Griffin's Story is a video game released for the PlayStation 2, Wii and Xbox 360 on February 12, 2008. It is based on the events of the 2008 film Jumper, released two days later.-Story:...
. The DVD was released on June 10, 2008, and both Christensen and Liman have spoken of one or more sequels.
Plot
Teenager David Rice (Max ThieriotMax Thieriot
Maximillion Drake "Max" Thieriot is an American actor. During the 2000s, he appeared in several Hollywood films, including My Soul to Take, Catch That Kid, The Pacifier, Nancy Drew, Jumper, and Kit Kittredge: An American Girl.-Career:Thieriot was signed to talent manager Don Gibble after taking...
) gives his crush, Millie, a snow globe containing the Eiffel Tower, knowing her dreams of traveling someday. A bully, Mark, throws the globe onto the ice near a river. While trying to retrieve it, David falls through the ice and is pulled away by the current. He suddenly finds himself in the local library with drenched clothes. He discovers he can "Jump", or teleport, disappearing from one place and instantly appearing in another. Unhappy with his life, he runs away and is believed dead by his alcoholic father.
Eight years later, an adult David has settled into a life of adventure. He spends his days jumping around various continents, doing various sports and living lavishly using money stolen from banks via his jumping abilities. We also see him observing a natural disaster on the TV news, but not even consider using his powers to save the people. After a day of hedonistic jumping, including seducing and sleeping with a woman in London, he is ambushed in his home by Roland Cox. Cox tries to trap him with a system of high-voltage cables, which prevent him from being able to jump. David escapes and returns home to Ann Arbor, seeking Millie. He is attacked by Mark and purposely teleports him into a bank vault. He leaves him there and returns to Millie, inviting her to travel with him (by conventional means) to Rome. Roland – who we see heads an organisation dedicated to killing these "abominations" because "only God should have the power to be everywhere" – later discovers Mark in police custody and so learns David's identity.
David and Millie arrive in Rome, he attempting to keep his true nature as a thief and his powers a secret from her. After talking, they share a kiss and have sex. David and Millie visit the Colosseum
Colosseum
The Colosseum, or the Coliseum, originally the Flavian Amphitheatre , is an elliptical amphitheatre in the centre of the city of Rome, Italy, the largest ever built in the Roman Empire...
, only to find it closed. David uses his abilities to unlock a door from the inside, telling a skeptical Millie the door was already unlocked. While opening another door, he discovers another Jumper, Griffin. He warns David that "Paladins" are coming – an extremist group who has been tracking down and killing Jumpers from "the beginning." Several Paladins show up and attack them. Griffin kills one and teleports, taking the body with him. David tries to leave with Millie, but is detained by Italian police and questioned about the death. While waiting for a magistrate to arrive, David's mother Mary, who had left David when he was five, appears and throws him the keys to his handcuffs. She tells him he has very little time to leave. David tries to follow her, but she says if he wants the girl to live he must leave now. David tells Millie the police let him go and they leave together. Millie, now very suspicious, demands the truth. David declines and puts her on a plane home.
David jumps to Griffin's lair, asking where to find Roland. Griffin explains that Paladins are religious fanatics who believe Jumpers are an affront to God and have been hunting them for centuries. He also says that Paladins will kill Jumpers by targeting their loved ones. He has been trying to kill Roland for years, as the Paladins killed his parents when he was a child and have tried to kill him several times. David teleports to his father, finds him bleeding and teleports him to a hospital. He returns to Griffin and convinces him to go with him to the airport to greet Millie. Upon arriving, they realize her flight landed an hour earlier. Griffin returns to his lair to get weapons while David searches for Millie. He breaks into her apartment, angering Millie, who tells him to leave. Through the living room window David sees Roland arriving and shows her what he can do, and save her, by teleporting her back to Griffin's lair. The Paladins follow using a machine that keeps the "jump scar" (wormhole) open and fight with David and Griffin. Roland is chased back through the portal, but snatches Millie back to her apartment with a cable.
Griffin decides to take a bomb to Millie's apartment and kill everyone. David refuses, wanting to save Millie. They fight through several locations, and David traps Griffin with power lines in a war zone. Griffin warns that if he faces the Paladins alone he will be outnumbered. He goes anyway and is quickly trapped by Roland's electric cables. David cannot escape as he is physically tied to the apartment by the cables. Using his teleporting powers David separates the apartment from the rest of the building and teleports that section away, along with Roland, Millie and himself, back to the lake he fell through the ice into as a child. Once free of the cables (while still underwater) David teleports to the library with Millie, as well as an unwelcome Roland. David then grabs Roland and takes him to a cave in the Grand Canyon
Grand Canyon
The Grand Canyon is a steep-sided canyon carved by the Colorado River in the United States in the state of Arizona. It is largely contained within the Grand Canyon National Park, the 15th national park in the United States...
, abandoning him there, and telling him that he could have been killed instead.
David visits his mother and is stunned when a girl, his half-sister, Sophie, answers the door. Mary tells David she has known he was a Jumper since he was five, when Jumpers make their first Jump. She is a Paladin, and had to either kill David or leave. She again allows him to leave, allowing him a "head start". He meets with Millie outside and they jump to an unknown location.
Cast
- Hayden ChristensenHayden ChristensenHayden Christensen is a Canadian actor. He appeared in Canadian television programs when he was young, then diversified into American television in the late 1990s. He moved on to minor acting roles before being praised for his role of Sam in Life as a House, for which he was nominated for a Golden...
(Max ThieriotMax ThieriotMaximillion Drake "Max" Thieriot is an American actor. During the 2000s, he appeared in several Hollywood films, including My Soul to Take, Catch That Kid, The Pacifier, Nancy Drew, Jumper, and Kit Kittredge: An American Girl.-Career:Thieriot was signed to talent manager Don Gibble after taking...
, teenage) as David Rice, the film's protagonistProtagonistA protagonist is the main character of a literary, theatrical, cinematic, or musical narrative, around whom the events of the narrative's plot revolve and with whom the audience is intended to most identify...
. He's a young man who discovers the ability to "Jump" or teleport. David turns rebellious when he is caught in the middle of the century war between the Paladins and Jumpers. - Rachel BilsonRachel BilsonRachel Sarah Bilson is an American actress. Bilson grew up in a California show business family, and made her television debut in 2003, subsequently becoming well known for playing Summer Roberts on the prime time drama series The O.C. Bilson made her film debut in the 2006 film The Last Kiss and...
(Annasophia RobbAnnaSophia RobbAnnaSophia Robb is an American film and television actress. She gained prominence in 2005 with starring roles in Because of Winn-Dixie and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and starred in Bridge to Terabithia , Race to Witch Mountain , and Soul Surfer .-Personal life:Robb was born in Denver,...
, teenage) as Millie Harris, David's childhood friend and crush who later becomes his girlfriend. - Samuel L. JacksonSamuel L. JacksonSamuel Leroy Jackson is an American film and television actor and film producer. After becoming involved with the Civil Rights Movement, he moved on to acting in theater at Morehouse College, and then films. He had several small roles such as in the film Goodfellas before meeting his mentor,...
as Roland Cox, the leader of the Paladins whose goal is to kill Jumpers. Roland serves as the film's main antagonist. - Jamie BellJamie BellAndrew James Matfin "Jamie" Bell is an English actor. He is best known for his roles in the films Billy Elliot , King Kong , Hallam Foe , Jumper , Defiance , The Eagle and The Adventures of Tintin: Secret of the Unicorn .- Early life :Bell was born in Billingham, in the Borough of...
as Griffin, a renegade jumper who tracks down and eliminates Paladins. - Kristen StewartKristen StewartKristen Jaymes Stewart is an American actress. She is best known for playing Bella Swan in The Twilight Saga. She has also starred in films including Panic Room , Zathura , In the Land of Women , The Messengers , Adventureland and The Runaways .- Early life :Stewart was born and raised in Los...
as Sophie, David's younger half-sister. - Diane LaneDiane LaneDiane Lane is an American film actress.Born and raised in New York City, Lane made her screen debut at the age of 13 in George Roy Hill's 1979 film A Little Romance, starring opposite Sir Laurence Olivier. Soon after, she was featured on the cover of Time magazine...
as Mary Rice, David's mother who separated from her son when he was five years old. - Teddy DunnTeddy DunnEdward Wilkes "Teddy" Dunn is an Australian actor known for his portrayal of Duncan Kane in the Rob Thomas television series Veronica Mars which he portrayed for 44 episodes.-Personal life:...
(Jesse JamesJesse James (actor)Jesse James is an American actor.-Life and career:James was born in Palm Springs, California, the son of Jaime, a laboratory technician, and Shane James, an actor....
, teenage) as Mark Kobold, David's childhood bully. - Michael RookerMichael RookerMichael Rooker is an American actor.-Early life:Rooker, who has eight brothers and sisters, was born in Jasper, Alabama and studied at the Goodman School of Drama in Chicago, where he moved with his mother and siblings at the age of thirteen, after his parents divorced.-Movie career:He made his...
as William Rice, David's dad.
Script and storyboards
In November 2005, New Regency ProductionsNew Regency Productions
New Regency Productions is a production company founded in 1991 by Arnon Milchan and a subsidiary of Regency Enterprises.It is located on the 20th Century Fox lot, and Fox is the current distributor of Regency releases since 1998, but is a wholly independent company. Warner Bros. Pictures was the...
hired director Doug Liman
Doug Liman
Douglas Eric "Doug" Liman is an American film director and producer best known for Swingers , The Bourne Identity , Mr. & Mrs. Smith , Jumper , and Fair Game .-Early life:...
to helm the film adaptation
Film adaptation
Film adaptation is the transfer of a written work to a feature film. It is a type of derivative work.A common form of film adaptation is the use of a novel as the basis of a feature film, but film adaptation includes the use of non-fiction , autobiography, comic book, scripture, plays, and even...
of the science fiction novel Jumper
Jumper (novel)
Jumper is a 1992 science fiction novel by Steven Gould. The novel was published in mass market paperback in October 1993 and re-released in February 2008 to coincide with the release of the film adaptation. It tells the story of David, a teenager who escapes an abusive household using his ability...
by Steven Gould
Steven Gould
Steven Charles Gould is an American science fiction author and teacher. He has written eight novels and is best known for his 1992 novel Jumper, which was made into a film and released in 2008. He is married to science fiction writer Laura J...
. Screenwriter Jim Uhls
Jim Uhls
Jim Uhls born as James Walter Uhls is an American screenwriter and producer who rose to fame with his script adaptation of the critically acclaimed novel Fight Club...
was hired to rewrite an adapted screenplay by David S. Goyer
David S. Goyer
David Samuel Goyer is an American screenwriter, film director and comic book writer.-Early life:Goyer was born and raised in Ann Arbor, Michigan. He attended Hebrew school and has described himself as "half Jewish"...
. However, Liman desired another rewrite and Simon Kinberg
Simon Kinberg
Simon Kinberg is an English-born American screenwriter of American films.-Life and career:He was born in London, England. He is Jewish. His family moved later on to the United States. Kinberg attended Brentwood School in Los Angeles, California and graduated in 1991...
assisted in completing the script. Liman said about using the novel for developing the script: "This is 100% Steven Gould's story, it's just reinvented as a movie." In an interview, Gould revealed that he approved of the deviations from the novel. Before filming was to begin, the studio announced plans to develop a trilogy based on the novel's premise.
While other films tend to use only one storyboard
Storyboard
Storyboards are graphic organizers in the form of illustrations or images displayed in sequence for the purpose of pre-visualizing a motion picture, animation, motion graphic or interactive media sequence....
artist, Jumper required six, who each worked on an individual action sequence. The artists were given specific instruction on the rules of the teleportation used in the film, to ensure accuracy in the storyboarding. One of them, Rob McCallum, reflected on the instructions: "I was just thinking, 'How would a guy that can teleport fight?' So you were really pushing yourself to try to think of inventive, cool, spectacular ways that you could use this jumping talent that these characters have."
Casting
In April 2006, actors Tom SturridgeTom Sturridge
Thomas Sidney Jerome "Tom" Sturridge is an English actor best known for his work in Being Julia, Like Minds, and The Boat That Rocked. As of September 2010, he was filming a role in Walter Salles's highly anticipated film adaptation of Jack Kerouac's On the Road.-Personal life:Sturridge was born...
, Teresa Palmer
Teresa Palmer
Teresa Palmer is an Australian actress. She made her film debut in the suicide drama 2:37. Palmer was seen in The Grudge 2 in 2006, in December Boys, alongside Daniel Radcliffe, and in the 2008 children's fantasy Bedtime Stories, with Adam Sandler...
, and Jamie Bell
Jamie Bell
Andrew James Matfin "Jamie" Bell is an English actor. He is best known for his roles in the films Billy Elliot , King Kong , Hallam Foe , Jumper , Defiance , The Eagle and The Adventures of Tintin: Secret of the Unicorn .- Early life :Bell was born in Billingham, in the Borough of...
were cast for Jumper with Sturridge in the lead role (who won the role over Heath Ledger
Heath Ledger
Heath Andrew Ledger was an Australian television and film actor. After performing roles in Australian television and film during the 1990s, Ledger moved to the United States in 1998 to develop his film career...
, Devon Sawa
Devon Sawa
Devon Edward Sawa is a Canadian actor. Although he appears in independent films, he is best known for portraying the part of Alex Browning in the 1999 movie Final Destination...
, Eminem
Eminem
Marshall Bruce Mathers III , better known by his stage name Eminem or his alter ego Slim Shady, is an American rapper, record producer, songwriter and actor. Eminem's popularity brought his group project, D12, to mainstream recognition...
, Joseph Gordon-Levitt
Joseph Gordon-Levitt
Joseph Leonard Gordon-Levitt is an American actor whose career as both a child and adult has included television series and theatrical films....
, and Jared Padalecki
Jared Padalecki
Jared Tristan Padalecki is an American actor. He grew up in Texas and came to fame in the early 2000s after appearing on the television series Gilmore Girls as well as in several Hollywood films, including New York Minute and House of Wax...
). The following July, actor Samuel L. Jackson
Samuel L. Jackson
Samuel Leroy Jackson is an American film and television actor and film producer. After becoming involved with the Civil Rights Movement, he moved on to acting in theater at Morehouse College, and then films. He had several small roles such as in the film Goodfellas before meeting his mentor,...
was cast as an NSA agent, with producer Simon Kinberg
Simon Kinberg
Simon Kinberg is an English-born American screenwriter of American films.-Life and career:He was born in London, England. He is Jewish. His family moved later on to the United States. Kinberg attended Brentwood School in Los Angeles, California and graduated in 1991...
rewriting the original screenplay draft by Goyer. Principal photography was scheduled to take place in Tokyo, Rome, Toronto, and New York. Production was stopped in June 2006 after producer Tom Rothman told Liman "The lead is 18. Wouldn't the movie be better if he was 25? You have a huge movie here and adults won't go and see an 18-year-old. They'll consider it a children's movie. You could make a bigger movie than that." Liman agreed on casting older actors for furthering the romantic aspect of the film. In August, actor Hayden Christensen
Hayden Christensen
Hayden Christensen is a Canadian actor. He appeared in Canadian television programs when he was young, then diversified into American television in the late 1990s. He moved on to minor acting roles before being praised for his role of Sam in Life as a House, for which he was nominated for a Golden...
replaced Sturridge in the lead role as David just two weeks before the beginning of shooting, as the studio "became concerned about not having a more prominent actor in their trio of young stars." After Christensen was recast for the lead role, Liman replaced Palmer with Rachel Bilson
Rachel Bilson
Rachel Sarah Bilson is an American actress. Bilson grew up in a California show business family, and made her television debut in 2003, subsequently becoming well known for playing Summer Roberts on the prime time drama series The O.C. Bilson made her film debut in the 2006 film The Last Kiss and...
.
Filming
In September 2006, Jumper was filmed at various locations in Peterborough, OntarioPeterborough, Ontario
Peterborough is a city on the Otonabee River in southern Ontario, Canada, 125 kilometres northeast of Toronto. The population of the City of Peterborough was 74,898 as of the 2006 census, while the census metropolitan area has a population of 121,428 as of a 2009 estimate. It presently ranks...
and principal photography began in Toronto in October. In December 2006, Liman negotiated with the Rome Film Commission for rare access to film for three days in the Colosseum
Colosseum
The Colosseum, or the Coliseum, originally the Flavian Amphitheatre , is an elliptical amphitheatre in the centre of the city of Rome, Italy, the largest ever built in the Roman Empire...
. The scene in the Colosseum was originally written for the Pantheon
Pantheon, Rome
The Pantheon ,Rarely Pantheum. This appears in Pliny's Natural History in describing this edifice: Agrippae Pantheum decoravit Diogenes Atheniensis; in columnis templi eius Caryatides probantur inter pauca operum, sicut in fastigio posita signa, sed propter altitudinem loci minus celebrata.from ,...
, at which exterior shots were also filmed. The crew was required to keep equipment off the ground by using harnesses and had to rely on natural light for filming. Filming took place for 45 minutes in the morning and in the evening so as not to disturb the public touring the amphitheater throughout the day. In order to maximize the short period for filming, four steadicam
Steadicam
A Steadicam is a stabilizing mount for a motion picture camera that mechanically isolates it from the operator's movement, allowing a smooth shot even when moving quickly over an uneven surface...
s were set up to ensure time was not wasted in reloading the camera. A visual effects supervisor explained how visual effects were needed for various aspects after filming: "There were three kinds of shots: there were shots where they were able to get most of what they needed in the Coliseum itself; and then there were shots on a set that needed extensions beyond the limits of the set; and then there were shots where we needed to create the Coliseum basically from scratch."
After filming in Rome, scenes were filmed in Toronto during December 2006 to January 2007 and wrapped at the Canadian location on January 19. On January 26 in Toronto, 56-year-old David Ritchie, a set dresser, was fatally struck by frozen debris while dismantling an outdoor set in wintry conditions. Another worker was injured and was sent to a hospital with serious head and shoulder injuries. After Toronto, the cast and crew traveled to Tokyo to film scenes. One scene required over 30 shoots as the scene could only be filmed in between traffic light changes. As a result of director Liman insisting Christensen perform his own stunts, the actor injured his hand, split open his ear, and developed a hyperdilated pupil
Mydriasis
Mydriasis is a dilation of the pupil due to disease, trauma or the use of drugs. Normally, the pupil dilates in the dark and constricts in the light to respectively improve vividity at night and to protect the retina from sunlight damage during the day...
that required hospital care while filming various scenes.
In February 2007, the next filming site was set up at Gallup Park in Ann Arbor, Michigan
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Ann Arbor is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the county seat of Washtenaw County. The 2010 census places the population at 113,934, making it the sixth largest city in Michigan. The Ann Arbor Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 344,791 as of 2010...
. Sixty students from the nearby Huron High School were cast as extras for the film. Since additional filming was required of the area, twenty other students were used for a day of filming in September. Altogether, filming took place in 20 cities in 14 countries.
Visual effects
The New Zealand visual effects studio Weta DigitalWeta Digital
Weta Digital is a digital visual effects company based in Wellington, New Zealand. It was founded by Peter Jackson, Richard Taylor, and Jamie Selkirk in 1993 to produce the digital special effects for Heavenly Creatures. In 2007 Weta Digital’s Senior Visual Effects Supervisor, Joe Letteri, was...
was initially selected to assist in creating a preview clip for the 2007 Comic-Con Convention
Comic-Con International
San Diego Comic-Con International, also known as Comic-Con International: San Diego , and commonly known as Comic-Con or the San Diego Comic-Con, was founded as the Golden State Comic Book Convention and later the San Diego Comic Book Convention in 1970 by Shel Dorf and a group of San Diegans...
. The studio's 100 employees later developed the visual effects for 300 of the 600 shots in the film. In total, there are more than 100 jumps in the film, and each jump was modified based on the distance and location the character(s) jumped. The jumps were developed using Nuke
Nuke (software)
Nuke is a node-based compositor produced by The Foundry, and used for film and television post-production. Nuke is cross-platform, and is available for Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux...
and Shake
Shake (software)
Shake is a discontinued image compositing package used in the post-production industry. Shake was widely used in visual effects and digital compositing for film, HD and commercials. Shake exposes its node graph architecture graphically. It enables complex image processing sequences to be designed...
software programs. Many of the shots, including those of Big Ben and the Sphinx
Sphinx
A sphinx is a mythical creature with a lion's body and a human head or a cat head.The sphinx, in Greek tradition, has the haunches of a lion, the wings of a great bird, and the face of a woman. She is mythicised as treacherous and merciless...
were created using the program Maya
Maya (software)
Autodesk Maya , commonly shortened to Maya, is 3D computer graphics software that runs on Microsoft Windows, Mac OS and Linux, originally developed by Alias Systems Corporation and currently owned and developed by Autodesk, Inc. It is used to create interactive 3D applications, including video...
. Weta's VFX supervisor Erik Winquist explained how the visual effects of the jumps were created: "The concept of what a jump looks like changed and evolved a little over the course of post production. There are shots in the film that use still array footage but not in the same way that we saw in The Matrix
The Matrix
The Matrix is a 1999 science fiction-action film written and directed by Larry and Andy Wachowski, starring Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Carrie-Anne Moss, Joe Pantoliano, and Hugo Weaving...
. The Matrix was largely about stopping time whereas this was about using slow shutter speeds on those still array cameras to end up with a streaky motion-blurred image as the perspective was changing, which is a pretty interesting look." Other visual effects studios that assisted with the film include Hydraulx
Hydraulx
hy*drau"lx, alternatively spelled HYDRAULX and Hydraulx, is a visual effects company based in Santa Monica, California.It was founded in 2002 by Greg and Colin Strause, directors of Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem. In 2005, the studio completed over 700 visual effects shots for feature films...
, Digital Domain
Digital Domain
Digital Domain is a visual effects and animation company founded by film director James Cameron, Stan Winston and Scott Ross. It is based in Venice, Los Angeles, California...
, and Pixel Magic.
Critical reception
The film received widespread criticism and negative reviews from critics. Rotten TomatoesRotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
reported that 16% of critics gave the film positive reviews, based on 156 reviews, with an average score of 4/10; the consensus was "An erratic action pic with little coherence and lackluster special effects." Metacritic
Metacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
reported the film had an average score of 35 out of 100, based on 36 reviews. Austin Chronicle
Austin Chronicle
The Austin Chronicle is an alternative weekly, tabloid-style newspaper published every Thursday in Austin, Texas, United States. The paper is distributed through free news-stands, often at local eateries or coffee houses frequented by its targeted demographic...
s Marc Salov called the film "...pretty slick, entertaining stuff, well-crafted by Liman, edited into a tight, action-packed bundle of nerviness." Edward Douglas of ComingSoon.net wrote that the film was "An impressive feat as a vehicle for Doug Liman to pull out the stops with some of the most jaw-dropping stunts shot in some of the most amazing locations on earth." Empire
Empire (magazine)
Empire is a British film magazine published monthly by Bauer Consumer Media. From the first issue in July 1989, the magazine was edited by Barry McIlheney and published by Emap. Bauer purchased Emap Consumer Media in early 2008...
had a verdict of "[Doug] Liman’s least charismatic action movie and the least developed, but it still packs some cracking action into its brief running time and lays foundations on which a great franchise could be built." Australian film reviewer David Stratton
David Stratton
David James Stratton is an English- Australian film critic and television personality.-Life and career:Born in Trowbridge, Wiltshire, England in 1939, Stratton was sent to Hampshire to see out the war years with his grandmother, an avid filmgoer, where he was taken to the local cinemas regularly...
was far less kind, stating that "this film represents a new [watershed] in the history of the cinema because it's got no plot, it's got no characters, it's got no action scene that makes any kind of sense", and awarded it half a star out of five.
Despite negative critical reception, the movie was a public and box office success, grossing over $220 million worldwide.
Box office
The film was released Thursday, February 14, 2008 in the United States and Canada, in the hopes of pulling in business on Valentine's DayValentine's Day
Saint Valentine's Day, commonly shortened to Valentine's Day, is an annual commemoration held on February 14 celebrating love and affection between intimate companions. The day is named after one or more early Christian martyrs named Saint Valentine, and was established by Pope Gelasius I in 496...
. The film was targeted at an audience of both males and females below the age of 25. Jumper grossed $27.3 million on 4,600 screens in 3,428 theaters from Friday to Sunday, ranking first for the weekend at the box office. In its first weekend, the film set the record for the largest February release in Korea
Korea
Korea ) is an East Asian geographic region that is currently divided into two separate sovereign states — North Korea and South Korea. Located on the Korean Peninsula, Korea is bordered by the People's Republic of China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the...
and had the first place position in 11 of the 30 markets it was released in. For the first two weekends of its release, the film maintained its number one position in international markets, while slipping to the second position in the United States to the release of Vantage Point
Vantage Point (film)
Vantage Point is a 2008 American political action thriller film directed by Pete Travis. It was adapted from a screenplay written by Barry L. Levy. The story focuses on an assassination attempt on the President of the United States as seen from a different set of vantage points through the eyes of...
. The film's worldwide gross is $221,231,186 with $80,172,128 from the box office in the United States and Canada and $142,059,058 from other territories. It was the 28th highest-grossing film worldwide for 2008.
Novel tie-ins
Steven GouldSteven Gould
Steven Charles Gould is an American science fiction author and teacher. He has written eight novels and is best known for his 1992 novel Jumper, which was made into a film and released in 2008. He is married to science fiction writer Laura J...
, the author of Jumper
Jumper (novel)
Jumper is a 1992 science fiction novel by Steven Gould. The novel was published in mass market paperback in October 1993 and re-released in February 2008 to coincide with the release of the film adaptation. It tells the story of David, a teenager who escapes an abusive household using his ability...
and Reflex
Reflex (novel)
Reflex is the 2004 sequel to the best-selling 1992 novel Jumper by Steven Gould.-Synopsis:Since the conclusion of Jumper, David Rice, a young man with the ability to teleport, has married Millie and occasionally works for the National Security Agency, only accepting jobs that he finds to be morally...
also wrote Jumper: Griffin's Story
Jumper: Griffin's Story (novel)
Jumper: Griffin's Story is a novel by Steven Gould released August 21, 2007, as a tie-in to the movie Jumper. It follows the character Griffin as he deals with the death of his parents and the relentless pursuit of the Paladins through his adolescent and teenage years...
as a tie-in for the film. The novel, released on August 21, 2007, focuses on the character Griffin which was created by screenwriter David Goyer specifically for the film. Because Griffin had not appeared in the two prior novels, Gould developed Jumper: Griffin's Story as a backstory of the character's early childhood before the film. When writing the novel, Gould had to work closely with a producer of the film to ensure that the story did not conflict with the film's premise.
Oni Press
Oni Press
Oni Press is an American independent comic book publisher based in Portland, Oregon. It was founded in 1997 by Bob Schreck and Joe Nozemack with the goal of publishing the kinds of comics and graphic novels they themselves would want to read...
released a graphic novel, Jumper: Jumpscars, that portrays several back stories related to the film. The novel was released on February 13, 2008, one day before the film's wide release. A publisher for Oni Press commented on the tie-in to the film, stating: "The world that was being built around these characters was so well-realized and the mythology so interesting that other stories about this conflict would be plentiful and add to what the filmmakers were building." The novel was written by Nunzio DeFilippis
Nunzio DeFilippis
Nunzio DeFilippis is an American writer of comic books and television. He writes with his wife, Christina Weir, whom he met while they were both students at Vassar College. The two have written for two seasons on HBO's Arli$$, and have sold story ideas to the Disney Channel's Kim Possible...
and Christina Weir
Christina Weir
Christina Weir is a writer of comic books and television. She writes with her husband, Nunzio DeFilippis, whom she met while they were both students at Vassar College....
and illustrated by Brian Hurtt.
Soundtrack
The score for the film was released on February 19, 2008, after the film's release in theaters. The tracks were all written by John PowellJohn Powell
John Powell is a British composer, best known for his scores to motion pictures. He has been based in the United States since 1997 and has composed the scores to over fifty feature films. He rose to fame in the late 1990s and 2000s, scoring numerous animated films, and collaborating with...
. The music was conducted by Brett Weymark and performed by the Sydney Symphony Orchestra
Sydney Symphony Orchestra
The Sydney Symphony Orchestra , commonly known as the Sydney Symphony, is an Australian symphony orchestra based in Sydney...
.
Video game release
A video game titled Jumper: Griffin's StoryJumper: Griffin's Story
Jumper: Griffin's Story is a video game released for the PlayStation 2, Wii and Xbox 360 on February 12, 2008. It is based on the events of the 2008 film Jumper, released two days later.-Story:...
was made for the Xbox 360
Xbox 360
The Xbox 360 is the second video game console produced by Microsoft and the successor to the Xbox. The Xbox 360 competes with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
, PlayStation 2
PlayStation 2
The PlayStation 2 is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Sony as part of the PlayStation series. Its development was announced in March 1999 and it was first released on March 4, 2000, in Japan...
, and Wii
Wii
The Wii is a home video game console released by Nintendo on November 19, 2006. As a seventh-generation console, the Wii primarily competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's PlayStation 3. Nintendo states that its console targets a broader demographic than that of the two others...
consoles. The storyline focuses on the character Griffin as he attempts to avenge the death of his parents. Nicholas Longano of the video game publisher Brash Entertainment
Brash Entertainment
Brash Entertainment was an American video game publisher focused on licensed games.The company was co-founded in 2007 by Thomas Tull, Bert Ellis, President and COO Nicholas Longano, and CEO and Chairman Mitch Davis....
stated, "From the very first script read, we knew this had to be made into a game. The teleportation elements make for some very compelling gameplay." The game was released on February 12, 2008, two days before the film's wide release. Game Rankings
Game Rankings
GameRankings is a website that collects review scores from both offline and online sources to give an average rating. It indexes over 315,000 articles relating to more than 14,500 games.GameRankings is owned by CBS Interactive...
gave the Xbox 360 version of the game a 28% positive rating, based on 12 reviews. The PlayStation 2 version received a 35% positive rating while the Wii version had a 23% positive rating. Daemon Hatfield of IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
reviewed the Xbox 360 version and gave it a negative review: "Low production values, monotonous gameplay, and lackluster visuals make this a story you can jump past."
Home media
The film was released on Blu-ray DiscBlu-ray Disc
Blu-ray Disc is an optical disc storage medium designed to supersede the DVD format. The plastic disc is 120 mm in diameter and 1.2 mm thick, the same size as DVDs and CDs. Blu-ray Discs contain 25 GB per layer, with dual layer discs being the norm for feature-length video discs...
and DVD in North America on June 10, 2008 and internationally on June 16. Special features include a commentary, deleted scenes, an animated graphic novel, featurettes, and a digital copy
Digital copy
Digital Copy provides consumers who purchase a film on DVD or Blu-ray Disc with an additional, digital copy of the movie for devices capable of operating with a file in contrast to a DVD.-Features:...
allowing consumers to watch the film on portable devices.
Sequel
Prior to the film's release, Hayden ChristensenHayden Christensen
Hayden Christensen is a Canadian actor. He appeared in Canadian television programs when he was young, then diversified into American television in the late 1990s. He moved on to minor acting roles before being praised for his role of Sam in Life as a House, for which he was nominated for a Golden...
reflected on the possibility of one or more sequels: "This has definitely been set up in a way that will allow for more films, and Doug has been careful to make sure that he's created characters that will have room to grow." Lucas Foster during production of the film stated in an interview: "The ideas got so large, that they really couldn't fit into, you know, one or two movies, they needed to evolve over at least three movies. So we planned the story out over three movies and then we sliced it up in such a way as to leave room for the other two movies."
In response to the film's box office performance, director Doug Liman
Doug Liman
Douglas Eric "Doug" Liman is an American film director and producer best known for Swingers , The Bourne Identity , Mr. & Mrs. Smith , Jumper , and Fair Game .-Early life:...
has spoken of his ideas for a sequel. Among them are that Jumpers can reach other planets and travel in time, as well as their capacity for espionage. He has also stated that Rachel Bilson's character will learn how to jump (hinted by David falling unconscious before the jump from the river to the library), just as in Gould's sequel, Reflex
Reflex (novel)
Reflex is the 2004 sequel to the best-selling 1992 novel Jumper by Steven Gould.-Synopsis:Since the conclusion of Jumper, David Rice, a young man with the ability to teleport, has married Millie and occasionally works for the National Security Agency, only accepting jobs that he finds to be morally...
. In interviews that followed the release of film (as well as some of the featurettes on the DVD), Jamie Bell
Jamie Bell
Andrew James Matfin "Jamie" Bell is an English actor. He is best known for his roles in the films Billy Elliot , King Kong , Hallam Foe , Jumper , Defiance , The Eagle and The Adventures of Tintin: Secret of the Unicorn .- Early life :Bell was born in Billingham, in the Borough of...
was critical of the finished product of Jumper, describing his frustration while they were shooting the film.