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Director:
(Doc Hollywood, Memphis Belle, Rob Roy, Scandal, This Boy’s Life)
Michael Caton-Jones
Producers:
James Jacks, Sean Daniel, Michael Caton-Jones and Kevin Jarre
Screenplay
Chuck Pfarrer
Music:
Carter Burwell
Cast:
The Jackal: Bruce Willis (Blind Date, Color Of Night, Death Becomes Her, Die Hard 1-3, Fifth Element, Last Boy Scout, Last Man Standing, Pulp Fiction, Striking Distance, Twelve Monkeys)
Declan Mulqueen: Richard Gere (American Gigolo, An Officer And A Gentleman, First Knight, Internal Affairs, Intersection, Pretty Woman, Primal Fear, Red Corner)
Preston: Sidney Poitier (The Greatest Story Ever Told, In The Heat Of The Night, Sneakers)
Valentina Koslova: Diane Venora (Bird, FX – Murder By Illusion, Heat, Romeo And Juliet, The Substitute)
Isabella: Mathilda May (Naked Tango, The Tit And The Moon)
Lamont: Jack Black (Mars Attacks!, Never Ending Story 3)
Woolburton: Leslie Philips (Caught In The Act, I Was Monty’s Double, The Longest Day, and several Carry On films)
The Jackal
is the 1990’s remake of the Edward Fox film, The Day
Of The Jackal, updated with high-tech gadgetry and special effects.
Bruce Willis is the Jackal – the greatest assassin in history, out to
eliminate a top U.S. Government official. Declan Mulqueen (Richard Gere),
an imprisoned underground operative, is – as it happens – the only man who can
stop him. It’s up to Sidney Poitier to send a thief to catch a thief.
All of this seems a bit bizarre because Gere’s character has killed a number
of government bigwigs in the past and the Americans are effectively letting
him out, albeit under their supervision, to stop another one more murder,
at great cost to the U.S. taxpayer of course. Two wrongs don’t make a right,
but this is a piece of flashy Hollywood fare where the rules don’t always apply.
Bruce Willis continues to be one of the best actors of his generation, playing
many different roles throughout his career and doing similar throughout this
film as he changes outfits a great number of times to ensure he always fits in
but remains never to be recognised. On the other hand, Richard Gere piles on
the Oirish accent way too thick to the point where it sounds incomprehensible
and makes him sound ridiculous and Sidney Poitier is the FBI man who stumbles
from scene to scene reciting lines from the script as if he doesn’t particularly
care, but rolls his eyes around just enough to throw viewers off the scent.
Diane Venora, as Major Valentina Koslova is worth a watch as the feisty
Russian agent playing second-fiddle to Poitier.
The picture quality throughout the film is outstanding and is given plenty of
chances to prove itself taking in plenty of different locations such as
Moscow, Helsinki, Montreal, Washington D.C. and Virginia, some of these
locations being visited more than once. Framed at 2.35:1, the widescreen ratio
is the only way to watch this film as the director utilises the frame to
capture all the splendour of each city, not to mention the abundance of colours
in chapter 19 during the brief Regatta boat race.
The surround sound mix is nothing short of excellent too. Carter
Burwell‘s magnificent score sets the pace of the film and draws the viewer
in, while your speakers will get a big workout from a number of key scenes
such as “The Real Test” (ch.17) – Bruce tests the big gattling gun for the first
time with and without a moving target, “Witherspoon’s Mistake” (ch.21) – a radio
is set to switch on automatically and LOUD to distract the friendly
neighbourhood FBI folk and “The Jackal Strikes” (ch.26) – Bruce uses his
aforementioned BFG to tear seven shades of you-know-what out of the local
hospital in an attempt to assassinate the First Lady.
In addition to the aforementioned score, the soundtrack has some brilliant
music such as
Primal Scream (Star), Oasis (Wonderwall),
Fatboy Slim (Going Out Of My Head),Bush (Swallowed),
Black Grape (Get Higher) and two tracks from
Massive Attack (Superpredators and Endtrack).
The film is copiously chaptered with 31 spread throughout the two-hour film.
This release does have strong competition though. Despite a cracking widescreen
transfer, £24.99 buys you no extras, not even a trailer. Compare that
to the American NTSC release where $40 gets you the film in Dolby Digital 5.1,
plus feature-length audio commentary from director Michael Caton-Jones, as well
as 60 minutes of extras comprised of a ‘making of’ documentary featuring
interviews with the principal cast members, behind-the-scenes footage, an
alternate ending which differs slightly, production stills and the original
theatrical trailer.
The side-break seems slightly misplaced. A perfect opportunity would be straight
after Bruce tests out his big new gun, but the film continues for a couple of
minutes to show Poitier, Gere et al in Montreal hearing about the Jackal’s
latest activities and then setting off to find him. It’s unfortunate, but
probably unavoidable since one scene fades into the next instead of a straight
cut.
Overall, although you know exactly how this film will end given Hollywood’s
propensity for good to always triumph over evil – thus negating one line of the
back cover’s sleeve notes: “..and a story that’s guaranteed to always keep you
guessing” – there is a great deal of fun to be had watching Bruce carry out his
deadly work. It’s just a shame that in terms of supplemental material it cannot
hope to compete when compared to the U.S. release.
FILM : ***½
PICTURE QUALITY : *****
SOUND QUALITY : *****
EXTRAS : 0
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OVERALL : ***½
Review copyright © Dominic Robinson, 1999.
Reviewer of movies, videogames and music since 1994. Aortic valve operation survivor from the same year. Running DVDfever.co.uk since 2000. Nobel Peace Prize winner 2021.