A simply nonsensical story
Jumper begins with Rice as a teenager developing a crush on fellow school student, Millie (Rachel Bilson). In an effort to make his feelings known, Rice gifts Millie with a present which unfortunately for him, gets thrown by a bully onto a frozen lake. Not to be deterred, Rice walks across the ice and as he probably should have known, falls through it. Struggling to make his way out of the ice-covered lake, Rice then suddenly teleports to the school library, taking a chunk of water with him.
That literally is that, Rice can now teleport. No explanation as to how or why, just that he now can. To make matters worse, a surely freezing cold Rice just gets up in the library and walks home - I'm guessing that the "jumping" process must have warmed him up as his time spent swimming in the frozen lake seemed to have no effect.
Following his discovery, a little practise ensues and before you know it, Rice is teleporting wherever he likes. So much so in fact that he'll even teleport across his own apartment, and indeed from one side of his couch to the other. Leaving his drunken dad at home, Rice robs a bank and begins to live the Playboy lifestyle most teenagers dream of. Certainly not your usual superhero.
That however only lasts so long, whilst trying to re-establish a relationship with childhood sweetheart, Millie, Rice encounters another Jumper, Griffin (Jamie Bell), who tells him all about Paladins.