Jackal, The (1997)
Action | Adventure | Thriller

Tagline: How do you stop an assassin who has no identity?

A ruthless assassin has been hired to eliminate someone at the very top of the U.S. government. Constantly changing his identity and location, he is known only as the Jackal. Everything about this hit man, including his sinister timetable, is a secret.

Aware of the Jackal's presence but uncertain of his purpose, the FBI's Deputy Director faces the biggest challenge of his career. In order to track down this cold-blooded killer, he and a by-the-book Russian intelligence officer enlist the aid of an imprisoned Irish terrorist. These unlikely allies enter a global race against the clock to stop the mysterious mercenary before he can complete his deadly assignment.

Storyline: Russian mobster Terek Murad has declared open season on the Russian militia and the United States FBI over the shooting of his brother in a Moscow nightclub. He hires "The Jackal" -- an elusive, nasty assassin -- to kill FBI Director Donald Brown. Present at the shooting of Murad's brother were FBI Deputy Director Carter Preston and Major Valentina Koslova of the Russian militia. Nearly no one has ever seen The Jackal, save for Declan Mulqueen, an imprisoned IRA sniper. Upon learning that the Director Brown is a target, Preston and Koslova enlist the services of the reluctant Mulqueen to track down the Jackal before he can assassinate Brown. Written by Jeff Cross

User Comment: Jeff Taylor • Most of my friends were disappointed from the lack of car chases and explosions, however these are the reasons I liked it. It is rare these days to have a director trust his audience to have some intelligence. Most people do not need a five-minute sex scene or twenty bodies hitting the pavement to understand passion or anger. All that is required is a decent script and competent actors. The Jackal delivers on both counts.

Willis' portrayal of the professional assassin called the Jackal has not been approached in coldness and ruthlessness since The Terminator. The Jackal is never looked upon for motivation beyond money. He is a machine. He kills. He does not quit. If your death will help his mission, he will kill you.

Gere's character (Declan Mulqueen) is much more main-stream; the reformed criminal trying to do the right thing. You actually do like the character and understand his feelings of guilt over of his actions in the past. One of the greatest things in this movie is the relationship between Declan and Valentina Koslova, played by Diane Venora. This itself is worth watching the picture.

I recommend this film if you what some action but would like a dose of some reality as well.

Summary: Good thinking-man's thriller.

[CSW] -3.2- This film does suffer slightly from continuity slippage within the plot's development which could perhaps be explained if some of the deleted scenes were added back. Bruce Willis makes a great villain, so much so that I found myself routing for him a lot of the time. This does make a nice contemporary approach to the classic story line on the conspiracy to assassinate France's Charles De Gaulle. The actions and suspense keeps you going right to the end.

--- JOYA ---


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