Hollywood never seems to tire of trying to re-invent the super-hero genre. Every summer, studios roll out fresh takes on iconic characters, hoping to find the right mixture of grim realism, cutting-edge effects and gripping narrative to hook audiences and produce a blockbuster sensation. While it occasionally works, most re-boots aren't anywhere close to the roots of a character. Far more fascinating, in my opinion, are the films wherein Tinseltowners try to approximate a super-hero story, taking new elements and creating something heretofore unseen. M. Night Shyamalan did so, to mesmerizing effect, in Unbreakable, as did Brad Bird with The Incredibles and to a lesser extent, Alex Proyas, in Dark City.

Doug Liman's Jumper, adapted from Steven Gould's series for young adults, is an intriguing blend of straight-ahead multiplex entertainment and dark drama that initially, at least for myself, was only notable because of its persistent, irritating ads on Fox and elsewhere. But once you give yourself over to this brisk (83 minutes), stylish sci-fi adventure, it's actually quite appealing and could find a following on DVD.

The eternally tortured Hayden Christensen stars as David Rice, an Ann Arbor, Mich. teen who discovers at a young age that he can teleport himself anywhere in the world, with no obvious consequences. Unhappy at home with his father William (Michael Rooker) and longing for his absentee mother Mary (Diane Lane), David runs away from home, teleporting himself into a very wealthy existence, while leaving behind his true love Millie (Rachel Bilson, making her first significant feature film debut).

It's not long before David, a Jumper, finds himself hunted by the ruthless Paladins, led by the silver-haired Roland (Samuel L. Jackson in easy-paycheck mode). The Paladins travel the globe, tracking down Jumpers and killing them; in doing so, they further their own slightly fanatical religious views. David meets up with the rough-and-tumble Griffin (Jamie Bell), who clues him in and helps him save not only himself, but Millie as well.

Jumper is undeniably a bit fantastical, but Liman's insistence on location shooting lends the film a veracity it would otherwise lack. Seeing the actors actually darting around the Colosseum or Times Squares or the Great Pyramids in Egypt grounds the film and makes it less of a greenscreen-heavy affair. The plot whips along, leaving little time for contemplating the whole (David S. Goyer, Jim Uhls and Simon Kinberg are all credited as writers) and managing to balance an origin story with a fitfully compelling narrative.

The cast is game, with only Bell and Jackson really breaking out of the cliches for a moment or two. The special effects are, for the most part, top-notch, with plenty of "wow" moments, such as when David and Griffin take a BMW "jumping" through busy Tokyo streets. I wouldn't mind seeing a Jumper sequel (although the film's dismal box office performance doesn't augur well; as of the first weekend in May, it still hadn't made back its budget), but it would be intriguing to see this series get darker. As super heroes and super-hero films go, Jumper is one of the rare few that takes flight.

The Video:

Presented in an anamorphic widescreen transfer of its original aspect ratio of 2.35:1, Jumper pops from first frame to last, a film stocked with vivid visuals. The multiple locations -- Rome, New York, Tokyo, blustery Michigan -- spring to life, with crisp detail and robust color saturation. With so much going on, it'd be easy to slip up and let some smearing, noise or other visual flaw through, but this is a sharp-looking presentation.

Plenty of show-off moments for the home theater speakers here -- explosions, that nifty "whoosh" noise the Jumpers make and of course, lots of other chaotic situations, all neatly rendered in both Dolby Digital 5.1 and DTS 5.1 tracks. There were no glaring deficiencies apparent, however, the DTS track slightly edges out the Dolby Digital in terms of warmth, clarity and detail. Optional Spanish and French Dolby 2.0 stereo tracks are included, as are optional English and Spanish subtitles.

As with most Liman films on DVD, the director tosses in everything but the kitchen sink when it comes to supplements. (Even the slipcover is sort of a bonus: It's decked out with a nifty lenticular image of star Christensen.) Liman, writer/producer Kinberg and producer Lucas Foster sit for a commentary track, while the eight minute, one second "animated graphic novel" "Jumpstart: David's Story" (presented in anamorphic widescreen) further fleshes out the protagonist's back story. The 35 minute, 31 second doc "Doug Liman's Jumper: Uncensored" (presented in anamorphic widescreen) goes behind the scenes of the turbulent production. The 10 minute, 54 second "Jumping Around the World" (presented in anamorphic widescreen) details the numerous locations of the film, while the seven minute, 35 second "Making an Actor Jump" (presented in anamorphic widescreen) explores the special effects. "Jumping from Novel to Film: The Past, Present and Future of Jumper" is an eight minute, seven second featurette (presented in anamorphic widescreen) that covers the film's roots in Gould's young adult novels, with six deleted scenes (presented in anamorphic widescreen) are included, playable separately or all together for an aggregate of 11 minutes, 12 seconds. The four minute, 29 second "Previz: Future Concepts" (presented in anamorphic widescreen) displays some of the working schematics for action sequences, with trailers for the cable network FX and the seventh season of "24" completing the disc. A second disc contains a downloadable "digital copy" of the film.

Doug Liman's Jumper, adapted from Steven Gould's series for young adults, is an intriguing blend of straight-ahead multiplex entertainment and dark drama that initially, at least for myself, was only notable because of its persistent, irritating ads on Fox and elsewhere. But once you give yourself over to this brisk (83 minutes), stylish sci-fi adventure, it's actually quite appealing and could find a following on DVD. Recommended.