The Jackal

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.

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.

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've never understood why The Jackal has been cursed with poor reviews from pretty much everybody. From the day I saw it as a 17-year-old in January 1998 I always found it entertaining and exciting. This might be down to the fact that I have never seen the 1973 original.

Brucie plays a nameless assassin, cool as ice and utterly emotionless. Richard Gere is the only man to have seen him. He's let out of prison to assist the FBI in catching the Jackal before he takes out an uncertain high-ranking official. Willis and Gere are, for the most part, leading their own movies as they never meet until the climax. It's very interesting watching them both go about their business, Willis hatching a master plan and Gere methodically picking apart his trail and hunting him down. There is great support from Sidney Poitier and cutie-pie Diane Venora as a scarred Russian cop.

With a wide variety of brilliantly photographed locations across the US and Canada, and plot with a medium-level of complexity it's not entirely brainless viewing but not too taxing as to alienate lazy viewers. I honestly do not get why so many people hate it. Willis has done far worse films (even seen Mercury Rising?) that get off scot-free somehow, but The Jackal doesn't get off so lightly. Aside from Gere's slightly dodgy Oirish accent I have no complaints about this film. Give it a chance and you might just be entertained.

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!