In Rome, another jumper (Jamie Bell) teams with David in an effort to avoid being captured by Roland (Samuel L. Jackson), part of a line of jumper-hunters referred to as paladins. Yet even he is poorly drawn, motivated by a vague form of religious fervor that takes offense at manifestation of supernatural power by beings other than the Almighty. "You are an abomination," Roland tells a jumper. "Only God should have the power to be all places at all times." Of course, teleportation, while supernatural, is not the same thing as omnipresence. David can be at one place one moment, then another place the next moment. This is not "all places at all times," but the filmmakers aren't interested in theological correctness.

We're told that this cosmic conflict between jumpers and paladins is ages old, but the film focuses only on Roland's team and the two jumpers, plus a briefly seen third jumper who is killed by Roland.

Despite an intriguing premise, Jumper is surprisingly inert. The film presents no moral lessons beyond the mistaken idea that teleportation equates to omnipresence and omnipotence. Its romance is perfunctory, and Christensen and Bilson do little more than stare longingly at each other. Jackson and Bell are the only standout screen presences, with Jackson's trademark glare and Bell's quips keeping the film from completely bottoming out at several points. Too bad, then, that both Jackson's and Bell's characters are as underdeveloped as the lead performers.

Jumper could have been the start of an entertaining franchise had it registered a pulse and shown some promise in terms of its story. Unable to clear even lowest of plot thresholds, however, it deserves to make a quick trip through theaters and materialize on video shelves imminently.

Questions? Comments? Contact the writer at crosswalkchristian@earthlink.net.

CAUTIONS:

• Language/Profanity:  Lord's name taken in vain; some profanity; a character extends his middle finger.
• Drugs/Alcohol:  Drinking by numerous characters in several scenes.
• Sex/Nudity:  David leaves a bar with a girl he meets there and is shown shirtless beside a bed after they've had sex; David and Millie kiss and take off each other's shirts and pants before jumping into bed in their underwear; man slaps a woman's bottom.
• Violence:  David teleports himself directly into a tree; jumpers are hunted, beaten, subdued and stabbed to death; bar brawl; David threatens to drop a man off Mt. Everest; a flame-thrower is aimed and shot at various people.
• Crime:  David uses his powers to rob banks.
• Religion:   who believes him to exhibit powers reserved for God. These hunters are said to be "religious nut jobs."