The Jackal
Oh how I wish I could have seen Kevin Jarre and Chuck Pfarrer work out the screenplay for THE JACKAL. They must have read the novel, or even worse, just watched the previous film version, and then thought, "Let's focus most of the film on THE JACKAL!" I haven't read the book, but I know that it must have been better than this. THE JACKAL, which ripped its premise from a 1973 production of THE DAY OF THE JACKAL, is a film which wants to try something new, to show us the criminal's mind work as he sets up for his next target. However, we have seen it before, and done much better (IN THE LINE OF FIRE). Unfortunately, the film focuses so much attention on The Jackal (Bruce Willis) that we begin to care for him more than the good guys. I must admit that I did like one of the heros, but she is left with a smaller part than all the male characters in the film.
THE JACKAL opens promisingly, with a title sequence similar to that of SEVEN. In the background, we see some historical war scenes composed of poorly edited television broadcasts. The music, by Carter Burwell (FARGO, and others), is moody and well done. But once actors start appearing on screen, THE JACKAL doesn't just slow to crawl... it comes to a halt. A glimmer of hope shines when Sidney Poitier arrives, but left with a small scrap of a role, that glimmer is snuffed out. Opening with a scene which is quickly forgotten, Valentina Koslova (Diane Venora, HEAT) and FBI Deputy Director Carter Preston (Poitier) try to arrest a Russian terrorist (I assume, as they never quite tell us). The Russian terrorist ends up dead, and as cliched as it might be, his brother wants revenge.
The brother hires The Jackal to show America something they would never forget. The Jackal is assigned, with a $70 million price tag, to assassinate a high-ranking U.S. Government official. Who is it exactly? We aren't sure, and we don't find out until late in the film. This is supposedly added for suspenseful purposes, but instead, with the
THE JACKAL opens promisingly, with a title sequence similar to that of SEVEN. In the background, we see some historical war scenes composed of poorly edited television broadcasts. The music, by Carter Burwell (FARGO, and others), is moody and well done. But once actors start appearing on screen, THE JACKAL doesn't just slow to crawl... it comes to a halt. A glimmer of hope shines when Sidney Poitier arrives, but left with a small scrap of a role, that glimmer is snuffed out. Opening with a scene which is quickly forgotten, Valentina Koslova (Diane Venora, HEAT) and FBI Deputy Director Carter Preston (Poitier) try to arrest a Russian terrorist (I assume, as they never quite tell us). The Russian terrorist ends up dead, and as cliched as it might be, his brother wants revenge.
The brother hires The Jackal to show America something they would never forget. The Jackal is assigned, with a $70 million price tag, to assassinate a high-ranking U.S. Government official. Who is it exactly? We aren't sure, and we don't find out until late in the film. This is supposedly added for suspenseful purposes, but instead, with the