The Jackal (1997 film)

The Jackal
Theatrical release poster
Directed by Michael Caton-Jones
Produced by
Screenplay by Chuck Pfarrer
Story by Chuck Pfarrer
Based on The Day of the Jackal
by Kenneth Ross
Starring
Music by Carter Burwell
Cinematography Karl Walter Lindenlaub
Edited by Jim Clark
Production
company
Mutual Film Company
Alphaville Films
Distributed by Universal Pictures
Release date
  • November 14, 1997 (1997-11-14)
Running time
 124 minutes
Country United States
Language English
Russian
Budget $60 million[1]
Box office $159.3 million[1]

The Jackal is a 1997 American political action thriller film directed by Michael Caton-Jones, and starring Bruce Willis, Richard Gere, and Sidney Poitier. The film, which is a loose remake of the 1973 film The Day of the Jackal, involves the hunt for a paid assassin.

Plot

A joint mission of the FBI and the MVD leads to the death of the younger brother of an Azerbaijani mobster. In retaliation, the mobster hires an assassin known only as the "Jackal" to kill an unidentified target. The Jackal demands $70 million for the job, to which the mobster agrees. Meanwhile, the MVD capture one of the mafia's henchmen. During interrogation, the henchman reveals the name "Jackal". This, coupled with documents recovered from his briefcase, leads the FBI and MVD to assume the target for the retaliatory hit is FBI Director Donald Brown.

As the Jackal begins his preparations for the assassination—utilising a series of disguises and stolen IDs in the process—the FBI learns of one person who can identify him. FBI Deputy Director Carter Preston and Russian Police Major Valentina Koslova turn to a former IRA sniper named Declan Mulqueen, who had a relationship with an ETA militant named Isabella Zancona, who they believe can identify The Jackal. Mulqueen agrees to help in exchange for their best efforts to get him released from prison.

It later transpires that Mulqueen has a personal motive for hunting the Jackal: the assassin wounded Zancona while she was pregnant with Mulqueen's child, causing a miscarriage. Zancona provides information that can help identify the Jackal, including the fact that he is American and that he had served in the U.S military and was stationed at El Salvador. Meanwhile, the Jackal arrives in Montreal to pick up the weapon he intends to use and hires gunsmith Ian Lamont to design and build a mount for it. Underestimating the threat represented by the assassin, Lamont demands more money; the Jackal kills him with own weapon. The FBI discovers Lamont's remains and, with Mulqueen's help, deduce that the Jackal intends to utilize a long range heavy machine gun.

With the help of a Russian mole in the FBI, the Jackal realizes that he is being tracked by Mulqueen with assistance from Zancona, and he infiltrates her house after receiving an FBI access code from his insider. Instead of Zancona, however, he finds Koslova and Agents Witherspoon and McMurphy. He kills the agents and mortally wounds Koslova. The Jackal says that Mulqueen "can't protect his women," which she repeats to Mulqueen as she dies.

As the Jackal makes his final preparations, Mulqueen realizes that his target is not Brown, but the First Lady, who is due to give a major public speech. The Jackal plans to shoot the First Lady via remote control. Arriving just in time, Mulqueen successfully sabotages the Jackal's weapon, while Preston absorbs a bullet meant for the First Lady. After a cat-and-mouse chase through the subway tunnels, Mulqueen and Zancona shoot the assassin dead.

A few days later, Preston and Mulqueen stand as the only witnesses to the Jackal's burial in an unmarked grave. Preston reveals that he is going back to Russia to pursue the mobsters who hired the Jackal. It is revealed that Mulqueen's request to be released was denied, but that he will likely be moved to a minimum security prison. Preston's heroics in saving the First Lady have made him a hero in the FBI. Knowing his current clout will prevent any real backlash against him, Preston turns his back on Mulqueen, allowing him to go free.

Cast

Reception

Critical response

The Jackal received a 21% rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 29 reviews, with an average rating of 4.3/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "The Jackal is a relatively simple chase thriller incapable of adding thrills or excitement as the plot chugs along."[2] Metacritic gave the film a score of 36 out of 100 based on 20 reviews.[3] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B-" on an A+ to F scale.[4]

Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times called it a "glum, curiously flat thriller";[5] Ruthe Stein of the San Francisco Chronicle called it "more preposterous than thrilling";[6] and Russell Smith of the Austin Chronicle called it "1997's most tedious movie".[7]

Box office

The Jackal was released on November 14, 1997, with an opening weekend totaling $15,164,595.[1] It went on to gross $159,330,280 worldwide, against a $60 million budget.

Music

The original score for "The Jackal" was composed by Carter Burwell. It was never officially released on CD, although Burwell uploaded select cues from the film to his website. The project was not a happy experience for Burwell; he disliked the script, and disapproved of producer Danny Saber's remix of his score.[8]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Box Office Mojo: The Jackal". Retrieved 2009-03-01.
  2. ↑ "The Jackal (1997)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved March 5, 2018.
  3. ↑ "The Jackal Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved March 5, 2018.
  4. ↑ "CinemaScore". cinemascore.com.
  5. ↑ Ebert, Roger (November 14, 1997). "The Jackal". Chicago Sun-Times. Chicago, Illinois: Sun-Times Media. Retrieved September 5, 2018.
  6. ↑ Stein, Ruthe (November 14, 1997). "'Jackal' Can't Hide From Absurd Plot / Willis alters look in mishmash thriller". The San Francisco Chronicle. San Francisco, California: Hearst Corporation. Retrieved September 5, 2018.
  7. ↑ Smith, Russell (November 14, 1997). "The Jackal". The Austin Chronicle. Austin, Texas: Austin Chronicle Corp. Retrieved September 5, 2018.
  8. ↑ "Carter Burwell - The Jackal".
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