#306: The Jackal

Release Date: November 14th, 1997

Format: Streaming (Tubi)

Written by: Chuck Pfarrer

Directed by: Michael Caton-Jones

2 Stars

The Jackal is a cat-and-mouse action flick starring Bruce Willis as an international assassin (codename: Jackal) and Richard Gere as an imprisoned IRA member and former colleague. When the FBI gets intel that the Jackal is planning to kill a prominent, unidentified American in a public setting, they decide to release the Irishman to help them intercept the assassination attempt before it’s too late.  

Sounds pretty exciting, huh?

It is in spots, but the script from Chuck Pfarrer (Navy SEALs, Hard Target, Barb Wire), a real-life Navy Seal, is too long. Also, director Michael Caton-Jones (Doc Hollywood, This Boy’s Life) can’t hone in on just what type of movie he’s making. Is this an edgy David Fincher thriller about a sociopathic lone wolf a la Seven (#252)? Or is this a big Michael Bay adventure with cool slow mo and sweeping helicopter shots, like The Rock (#42)? Or maybe The Jackal is a Michael Mann crime drama about men dedicated to their dangerous way of life, like Heat (#6)?

In the end, The Jackal trudges indiscriminately across all three tableaus.             

The performances are pretty hammy too, which is sort of fun, but this is a movie that wants you to take things seriously. After an hour or so, though, you’re just as interested in Willis’ wigs and Gere’s shifting Irish accent as much as you are in who will get shot and when.