Der Schakal

I entered the theater with fond memories of Fred Zinnemann's 1973 "Day of the Jackal", expecting a chance to scoff at a butchered remake of a fine, suspenseful and tensely-paced film. After the first half-hour or so, it suddenly occurred to me that what I was seeing was not a remake at all, but a parody. Then I began to enjoy myself.

Watching to see what modern filmmaking sensibilities had made of the more memorable scenes from the original kept me thoroughly entertained for the rest of the show. Edward Fox's neat little sniper's rifle--with its disguise constructed from a marvelous, high-tech material called "stainless steel"--metamorphosed into an immense carbon-fiber contraption suitable for demolishing an armored battalion. Fox's deadly silent assassination of a cantaloupe turned into a market-garden recreation of the Battle of the Bulge. And so on.

I don't think my companion, or anyone else in the theater, appreciated my snickers and occasional belly laugh. Too bad. I had a great time.

The picture deals the known history about Jackal.Bruce Willis stars as an ice cold series killer,he's employed by the Russian Mafia wants avenge for a FBI intervention in its issues and his target is allegedly killing FBI's chief. Jackal is an unknown man and he's solely known by a convict terrorist from IRA named Declan(Richard Gere).He's given a bargain by an experienced FBI official(Sidney Poitier)and his group(Diane Venora,J.K.Simmons) and the chase,the manhunt, is on to find the vicious killer escaped with ominous purports.They team up to catch the biggest world hired murderer.Declan contacts with an ex-ETA terrorist(Mathilda May)who had a deep relationship with Jackal.Meanwhile the unemotional murderer is preparing the hired assassination and buys technological weapon to an arms-crafter(Jack Black)what are experimented in alive(in similar scenes from the first version with Cryl Cusak).

The picture contains lots of action,suspenseful,past paced thriller,intrigue,tension but at times it seems too similar to another action films.Agreeable chemistry between Richard Gere and Sidney Poitier along with excellent action sequences like as the breathtaking final game in the subway are someone of the worthwhile items in this rehash from the classical Day of Jackal.Willis,Gere and Poitier,the trio protagonist, make a solid portrayal of their characters backed by a splendid secondary casting. The film is based in Frederick Forsyth's best selling novel of political intrigue previously adapted successful by Fred Zinnemann with Edward Fox.However here is quite different,but the target is political ,the general Charles de Gaulle by the OAS(terrorist organization anti-independence Algeria),while in this film is apparently the FBI's director. Colorful cinematography with beautiful locations by Karl Walter Lindenlaub and enjoyable music by Carter Burwell .The motion picture is regularly directed by Michael Caton Jones.

I thought that this was an intelligent thriller that lived up to the original. I thought that willis portrayed the perfect cold-blooded assassin. Richard Gere did a fine job as well. Even though you can tell his cheesey accent is a fake. This is not an action movie, so if you're expecting cars and planes blowing up, it doesn't happen. Even though one car blows up. This is a thriller and a good one at that.

I was sure this movie was going to be a disappointment, but after seeing it I have to say I was deeply wrong. Sure, the story has numerous big holes (Gere knows the operating technique of his opponent so well and down to the last detail, you'd think they used to live together from the moment they were born - total exaggeration, another example are the lame effects when he's between two trains), and Gere's dialect is way off (for some reason it didn't bother me at all), but the rest is pure action and entertainment extravaganza. Bruce Willis was a perfect choice for the Jackal and Sidney Poitier was as always amazing and really helped the atmosphere of the movie with his role. The ending was a bit short, but in my opinion necessary, because I knew what was going to happen, so why delay it. Nicely done, and great music. 7/10

The main purpose of this movie is to show Bruce Willis in a villain character, the very first of his career. He will do a few more, later, in the late 2010's, in direct to DVDs craps. I like this Michael Caton Jones feature, it is a fast paced action movie, tense, on the condition you don't compare with the Zinneman's feature of course. I was waiting for a face to face between Gere and Willis, I found it very interesting, exciting and I was not deceived. But I still don't know what Sid Poitier, already an old timer, did in this film. But he's good, as usual. And for the first time in his career, he doesn't play a Black man role; his character could have been played by a Chinese, Arab, White actor. Poitier who, all long his life, symbolized the Civil Rights fight. The best moments are when Willis kills people, watch out for this face; he is absolutely exquisite.