Premise: David Rice (Hayden Christensen) is a high school student in Ann Arbor, abandoned by his mother at five, enamored with Millie, a fellow student, and picked on by at least one classmate. On a winter’s day, while about to drown, he discovers he can transport himself instantaneously to anyplace on earth. He leaves town, goes to New York City, robs a bank vault, and comes to the attention of a shadowy group of government hunters.
Eight years later, the hunters, led by the murderous Roland (Samuel L. Jackson), get a fix on David. He heads home, searches out Millie, invites her to travel with him, and only later realizes that Roland and his crew are seriously deadly. Is everyone close to David in danger? (courtesy IMDB.com)
Analysis: This is a movie that could have been much, MUCH more. The action was pretty intense at points, but the dialogue was very weak, and the number one problem I had with the movie is that it seemed a bit short-sighted as far as the plotline, and it was only 1hour and 24 minutes long, so it felt like it was a bit too rushed for what they were try to do.
All I could think about at the end of the movie was, “was this just a setup for a sequel… did the writer like, die or something and never finished the movie…?” Tons of things left wide open, <spoiler = What about his mom? What about Roland?>
The action sequences were great, special effects were great, the premise itself is interesting! I read a book a few years back by Alfred Bester called “The Stars My Destination” that, though set in a futuristic world, reminded me so much of this movie in teleportation, (lacking, of course, much of the revenge motif of the book).
Overall, an interesting concept, but the ball was dropped here 
Best Quote(s):
David Rice: Let me tell you about my day so far. Coffee in Paris, surfed the Maldives, took a little nap on Kilimanjaro. Oh, yeah, I got digits from this Polish chick in Rio. And then I jumped back for the final quarter of the N.B.A. finals–courtside of course. And all that was before lunch. I could go on, but all I’m saying is, I’m standing on top of the world.
Official Trailer:
IMDB Website: Click here
IMDB Rating: 5.9 out of 10
My Netflix Rating: 3 stars out of 5
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3 Comments
May 28, 2009 at 7:42 am
I agree completely with your review, although I wouldn’t have pulled as many punches. This movie lacked a plot and had corny dialogue. They could’ve done a lot more with this premise and instead they just made it into another junky movie that is driven by it’s special effects.
May 28, 2009 at 4:15 pm
Yah, I guess I was nice because I felt bad for the people involved with the movie… just another example of a movie premise utterly destroyed by cheap/lazy screenwriting.
Thanks for the comment Tony! Did you end up moving like you were talking about a few months ago?
August 14, 2009 at 5:05 am
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