Once again, it's a weekend battle of head-to-head stars. In this corner, we have Ryan Reynolds, a great actor with a lot of talent who can't seem to find a hit, career-making role no matter how hard he tries. And in this corner we have Hayden Christensen, the man who turned Darth Vader into a lady. Let's drop the cage. You know the rules. Two men enter! One man leaves!
In the box office this weekend: Winner = Reynolds Oh yeah, this one's gonna be tough. A smart, quirky romantic film about the foibles of falling in love, put together by the folks who have made a number of romantic hits, versus a science fiction/fantasy film about a guy who can teleport, played by the whiny Darth Vader. On Valentine's Day weekend. Definitely, Maybe will take this one down handily.
In the critical arena: Winner = Reynolds Already well liked by the critical set, Reynolds goes into this with a cast that is loved, not liked by the same set. And it turns out that the film is pretty darn good. Jumper, on the other hand, is coming out of a studio that has been handing the critic sacrificial lambs in the sci-fi/fantasy genre for several years now, and everyone seems to be coming back surprised at just how okay the film really is. But they're not coming back impressed by Hayden. Just the effects of him disappearing and reappearing.
In their careers: Winner = Reynolds Both guys are talented. I would go so far as to say Reynolds is incredibly talented. But neither has a firm grasp on his career right now. Reynolds just simply couldn't choose a hit movie if his life depended on it. But no matter how crappy a movie he ends up in, everyone walks out proclaiming that he was the best part. Christensen, on the other hand, is reeling. Being tapped for the Star Wars prequels was supposed to propel him to stardom a la Harrison Ford. Instead, he's taken the Mark Hamill route and completely failed to catch on to mainstream audiences. If Jumper fails to capture the imagination of a large audience, Hayden could easily find himself a sci-fi B-movie go-to guy.
In a fight: Winner = Reynolds I've met Reynolds. The guy is cut like he was carved out of marble. He'd mop the floor with whiny Darth Vader any day.
Winner = Reynolds He's the next big thing. Hayden's got a long way to go just to get into Reynold's league. This week goes to Reynolds.
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