Jumper: Promise of greater depth pulls viewer through the plot gaps

With great power comes no responsibility in this high-concept science fiction adventure "Jumper" about a young man with the ability to teleport or "jump" to wherever he wishes. "Jumper" has been panned by better critics than me, but I happened to like it -- well most of it. And it wasn't just Hayden Christensen's smile that melted my critical heart. The film has obvious flaws, definitely too much violence, and Samuel Jackson's villain doesn't quite ring true. However, the premise intrigued me and I would like to see more.

When David Rice was 5 years old, his mother vanished and he was raised by a brutal, neglectful father who never brought him a birthday gift or noticed his son had an unusual gift. This gift, by the way, only serves David, who is the first superhuman or superhero with no desire to help humanity.

As a teenager, David is involved in an accident that enables him to consciously recognize his power to teleport anywhere. It took him many years to figure this out. After seeing David's teen years, we "jump" forward to present time, where David (Hayden Christensen) is living "The Life" in a luxury duplex in New York City. He can take stuff with him as he jumps, so he goes into bank vaults and takes as much cash as he wants. But David is an honest guy. He leaves I.O.U.s at the bank.

In his cool bachelor apartment that looks like a showroom for Toys for Multimillionaires, he watches a live news report on stranded flood victims who could only be saved by "a miracle." And -- he does nothing. With an insouciant shrug, he goes about his business, setting off for a round-the-world tour of beaches and bars that will have him back in his cozy bed by nightfall. David's immaturity seems a natural byproduct of his ability to do whatever he wants and get off scot-free. This undercuts what should have been an engaging story of a reluctant hero caught in a twisted spiritual war.

Then a mysterious cabal of assassins called "Paladins" (meaning champions of a cause) led by the sinister Roland (Samuel L. Jackson) starts tracking him, and the people David left back home -- his shattered dad (Rooker) and tentative girlfriend (Rachel Bilson) -- are in danger. The Paladins are all-powerful and vanquish "Jumper"s with high doses of electricity (tethers). The fanatic Roland believes that the "Jumper"s are snubbing their nose at God, and does not hesitate to kill the people that "Jumper"s hold dear.

Suddenly David meets another "Jumper," Griffin (Jamie Bell) who seems to know what's going on, but may be trouble. However, now that he's met Griffin and Roland, David has a mission in life. Griffin doesn't want to be involved in helping David, as he is on his own mission to stop Roland, but a reluctant alliance starts.

Doug Liman (director of "Mr. & Mrs. Smith" and "The Bourne Ultimatum") directs in deliriously dynamic punk-rock style. A punch thrown in Tokyo could knock an opponent into the Sahara; every showdown becomes a maelstrom of shifting locales and sly visual surprises.

The characters have big personalities, although David's cocky arrogance leaves the film without a hero we really care about, despite his heart-stopping smile. There is also the problem of Roland's motivation for ethnically cleansing the world of "Jumper"s, which seems to stem from a hazily described medieval war or something (to say nothing of who funds his crusade or how he stays top-secret despite his bleach-white hairdo).

This is a movie about young romance, sightseeing and blowing things up, not necessarily in that order. Despite plot holes big enough to jump through (so to speak), it's a thoroughly satisfying mash-up of action-mad spy thriller and sci-fi blockbuster. "Jumper" is positioned as the first installment of a trilogy and, if Christensen follows through on the character's promise of greater depth, I'll willingly line up for the next two.