Brief Comments On The Jackal *spoilers*

NOTE: Also posted on the Day of the Jackal board...

I just got done watching "The Jackal" a little bit ago and I thought I'd offer my comments on it.

First of all, I can honestly say I was pleasantly surprised. I was expecting a POS remake of one of my favorite films and it ended up being a reasonably entertaining action film. It obviously doesn't touch the original but it's hardly a blotch on its name either. For the life of me I can't see why Zinnemann and Forsyth were so violently against this film, it could have turned out a lot worse. For most of its length it at least stays true to the source material.

The movie is flawed in a number of ways, but it's not bad. I'll try to be succinct, but no promises:

- Bruce Willis was great as the Jackal. But the character isn't as compelling as Edward Fox in the original. Fox is a suave, sophisticated man and a thorough professional - but he's not a psychopath! He doesn't enjoy killing (or gives no indication of it) and only kills when he has to. Willis on the other hand is clearly psychotic, proven by the climax if nothing else. The original Jackal would also NOT engage Mulqueen and the Russian officer in a shootout in a public place, even with a silencer, that's just stupid and a sure way to blow cover. Similarly, the Jackal killed people by strangulation and quick blows to the neck/head, not by shooting them in very bloody manners (or with poison) in ways that would leave an obvious trail of bodies for the authorities to find. Willis gives a great performance, however, and the flaw is in the writing rather than the performer.

- While it's cool that they used a lot of the dialogue and plot devices from the original film/novel, some of it seemed tacked on for little reason other than an homage. The scene where Sidney Poitier says that he "tapped everyone's phone" is a case in point. This scene is funny in the original because Lebell has been looked down upon as an upstart little police inspector by the snobbish government ministers up to that point. In this film, it's just a tacked-on bit of dialogue since Poitier's character is second-in-command at the FBI. Also, the bit with the Jackal hooking up with the gay guy HAD A PURPOSE in the original. How exactly does it serve this film? No explanation is given that I can recall.

- Richard Gere was okay although his accent was rather bad. I think it's more than a little ludicrous that he would become the de facto head of the investigation considering he's a convicted IRA terrorist, but it's an action movie so I won't harp on it too much. Sidney Poitier and Diane Venora are both pretty good.

- The ending was too cliche and redefines deus ex machina. That's the kind of lazy writing I hate in films, and I lost a bit of respect for it with that.

Still, on the whole, "The Jackal" wasn't too bad. I give it a 7/10. Any other thoughts or comments?


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