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The Day Of The Jackal (2024) is a slightly more modern take on the Frederick Forsyth novel, although while this TV series version often does have a stylish look to it as if it was a classic ’70s movie, I doubt James Fox ever used a laptop back then.
Yes, I’ve still to watch that film, although I did see the ’90s movie, The Jackal, where Bruce Willis looked more like Ned Flanders at the ‘gun testing’ scene. And the opener does see our lead, played by Eddie Redmayne (Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore), testing a powerful telescopic rifle by firing it at the side of a building, not too much higher from where others are stood. I know if I tried that in Sniper Elite 5, it would easily be heard!
Before we get to the meat of his main assignment, the man codenamed “Jackal” has a target of politician Manfred Fest (Burghart Klaussner), but there’s an initial scene which doesn’t appear to add up to much until things settle into place a bit later on.
Before long, Nuria (Úrsula Corberó) comes into his life with an offer he can’t refuse but will certainly want to push the price up for, as she represents an organisation led by Charles Dance (playing Charles Dance, as always), who want the death of UDC, aka Ulle Dag Charles (Khalid Abdalla – The Crown Season 6), a tech entrepreneur who’s basically an Elon Musk-type character. But will they be able to afford his price? Either way, it’s going to be high because for the first time, he’s being asked to meet face-to-face.
Learning about his movements and going after him is MI6’s Bianca Pullman (Lashana Lynch – No Time To Die), who has her own day-job to carry out in the meantime, toting a submachine gun, even though the Elite UK Forces website confirms that despite receiving firearms training, she would be unlikely to use one in the line of duty, that duty instead befalling on the United Kingdom Special Forces.
Still, this is TV, and while Redmayne puts on an assured performance as the assassin, I’m not won over on Lynch as of yet. For example, we also get scenes with Bianca with her family, but while I get they have to establish that situation – because her work often takes her away from them, I really don’t care about her back story.
Add in plenty of globetrotting – including some places where it’s clearly not the country in question, and just some CGI added into a scene shot in London – and so far I’ve seen the first two episodes, where there’s also a number of elements I’ve not mentioned, so as to avoid spoilers.
However, while I’m not considering this a surefire hit of a series at this point, it’s certainly worth sticking with for a while.
Additionally, this drama has cost £1m per episode. That’s actually damn cheap for 10 episodes of high-quality TV, I’d have thought. I’ll look forward to seeing the reaction once it’s released.
That said, although I’d always avoid spoilers, there’s one element I MUST mention! At one point, we see Nuria in a restaurant with a glass of orange juice on a glass table… but no coaster?!! Ooh, tut tut!
Thanks to our friends at Sky for the screener prior to release.
The Day Of The Jackal (2024) is not available to pre-order on Blu-ray or DVD, but is on Sky from tomorrow. I understand two episodes are available at launch, with more to follow weekly.
Detailed specs:
Cert: 
Running time: 60 minutes per episode (10 episodes)
Release date: November 7th 2024
Studio: Sky TV
Format: 2.39:1
Series Directors: Paul Wilmshurst, Anu Menon, Brian Kirk,Anthony Philipson
Producers: Christopher Hall, Erika Milutin, Gergö Balika
Screenwriters: Ronan Bennett, Charles Cumming, Shyam Popat, Jessica Sinyard
Novel: Frederick Forsyth
Music: Volker Bertelmann
Cast:
The Jackal: Eddie Redmayne
Bianca Pullman: Lashana Lynch
Nuria: Úrsula Corberó
Damian: Ben Hall
Edward Carver: Jonjo O’Neill
Jeremy Whitelock: Adam James
Leonora Boggs: Christy Meyer
Manfred Fest: Burghart Klaussner
Elias Fest: Lucas Englander
Katrina: Paula Kroh
Joachim Müller: Jan-Martin Müller
Keith Canvey: Martin McDougall
Paddy Denham: Laura Checkley
Martin Krasner: Scott Alexander Young
Paul Pullman: Sule Rimi
Jasmine Pullman: Florisa Kamara
Ulle Dag Charles: Khalid Abdalla
Damian Richardson: Ben Hall
Osita Halcrow: Chukwudi Iwuji
Werner Leckner: Thomas Marz
Isabel Kirby: Lia Williams
Alison Stoke: Kate Dickie
Zina Janson: Eleanor Matsuura
DS Michael Gillespie: Jack Doolan
Emma Stoke: Katherine Devlin
Chris: Russell Balogh
Rasmus: Andreas Jessen
Marjorie Marshall: Lucy Russell
Gary Cobb: Gerard Kearns
Captain Baldwin: Eddie Elks
Talk Show Presenter: Jonathan Rhodes
Television Newsreader: Helen Austin
Police Officer: Lee Byford
Police Officer: Stuart Whelan
Timothy Winthorp: Charles Dance
Norman: Richard Dormer
Emma Stone: Katherine Devlin
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.