The Jackal

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.

You can't really approach this as a remake of the classic 'The Day of The Jackal.' Though broadly similar, the entire feel of the two films is incomparable. And suspense thrillers are all about "the feel" aren't they?

The story is pretty standard fair - a super villain assassin (Willis) is going to make a big kill using a huge weapon and leaving a trail of bodies along the way. Gere, an IRA soldier (jailed for "terrorism") is brought on as consultant because he is one of the few people who has seen 'the Jackal", and given a few vague promises in exchange for his help. As it turns out, Gere has more than just knowledge - he has a vendetta. Poitier oversees Gere and the investigation of Willis, and comes to realize that Gere is the only hope of stopping him.

I like Sidney Poitier, Bruce Willis and Richard Gere, so I was predisposed to like this film. I was neither very surprised nor disappointed. The Jackal is entertaining and the performances are strong. Poitier is always a class act, and Willis and Gere have terrific anti-chemistry. There's nothing wrong with the cinematography or directing, and the pace of the film, though a little breathless, is fine. Regardless, the story-line never reached much beyond the ordinary thriller fare. Making a truly great thriller requires either doing something really original (very hard to do) or using a truly inspired script. This film's script is decent, but the story line could have used a little more careful thought and a bit more complexity.

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.

Comparing this movie with the original film, The Day of the Jackal (1973), from which this was adapted, I would say this new version is just okay. The original film is simply extraordinary and if you haven't seen it, I sincerely recommend that you do it today and compare by yourself.

Not sure why this movie seems so low rated, it's well worth a view ! It's fast paced with a number of strong actors and characters portrait very well by them. Maybe the story is not entirely believable, it seems that some leads are obtained a bit too easy, but does that matter? It's just great, action packed, clever, and if you like crime it should keep you on the edge of your chair. No, it's not like the original but I don't think the makers set out to do this. It would have been a crime to do that actually as the original is in it's own an excellent movie and remakes are most of the time disappointing. Go watch it, buy the DVD!