Jackal, The Review

The Jackal is a remake of Fred Zinnemann`s 1973 The Day of the Jackal. Bruce Willis takes on Edward Fox`s eponymous role as a superior assassin, a master of disguise, who, this time around, it appears, has been hired to teach the FBI a lesson by bumping off its director. But the FBI is onto his plan, Agent Preston - Sidney Poitier - working with his Russian counterpart Valentina Koslova - Diane Venora - are working desperately to track the Jackal in North America, reluctantly getting involved with long-term prisoner, IRA terrorist Declan Mulqueen - Richard Gere - who`s one of the few people to know what The Jackal actually looks like... Asking Bruce Willis to play intelligent cool with some of the more ludicrous situations presented to him in The Jackal is asking a bit much, but Richard Gere brings a sense of his character to the film, as does Sidney Poitier and Diane Venora as the scarred chain-smoking Valentina. The film makes a major mistake in killing off one of its more charismatic characters way too early, but the stupidities of various situations are the ruination of this remake. Part of the pleasure of the original was the cleverness of the Jackal, the skill he brings to his various disguises; Bruce Willis is recognisable whatever they do to him. Director Michael Caton-Jones presents us with a handsome-looking film that`s unfortunately lacking the intelligence of Kenneth Ross` original screenplay. Apparently Zinnemann was upset at the thought of the remake before he died, I think I can understand that.