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Jackal, The
Well-paced, slick remake of Zinnemann's 1973 thriller The Day Of The Jackal. Starring Bruce Willis, Richard Gere and Sidney Poitier
Was it brave or foolhardy to rework Fred Zinnemann's efficient 1973 The Day of the Jackal? Universal Pictures went out of their way to insist The Jackal wasn't a remake of Zinnemann's original, and while admittedly it is not recreated shot-for-shot, it still builds up the excitement using the same basic plot while adding more characters to the mix than in the original. Bruce Willis is the eponymous assassin, contracted by the head of the Russian mafia to extract revenge for the murder of his brother in a joint Russian/FBI sting. The target, to be gunned down publicly and spectacularly, is the head of the FBI. However, the FBI get wind of the plot and deputy head Carter Preston (Poitier) commences the operation to hunt him down. Preston is aided in his quest by Russian agent Valentina Koslova (Venora) and ex-IRA terrorist Declan Mulqueen (Gere), the only man who knows what The Jackal looks like, and who is offered his freedom in return for his cooperation. The film follows the parallel paths of the assassin and the hunters, as The Jackal prepares his weaponry and plans to smuggle himself into America without detection - while his pursuers are always one step behind. With De Gaulle as the chosen target of The Day Of The Jackal, history dictated the outcome, but The Jackal's fictional target presents the possibility that the assassin may successfully complete his assignment. Willis undergoes a series of clever disguises throughout the film, while the disparate trio of pursuers, Poitier, Venora and Gere, strike enough sparks to create a taut but dynamic thriller. Verdict An expensive-looking high-tech thriller that makes only passing reference to the original, as remakes surely should. |
