# Jackal, The (1997)

### reviewed by
Luke Buckmaster

    Review: The Jackal
    By Luke Buckmaster

Believe it or not, the real Jackal lives to this day and is currently safely tucked away in a high security prison. The 1973 film The Day of the Jackal was a critically acclaimed account of the true story of a professional assassin (code-named The Jackal), on a mission to kill the French president during the early 1960's.

Bruce Willis and Richard Gere star in the modern re-make The Jackal, which unfortunately is not historically accurate and only very distantly related to the original story.

The Jackal (Bruce Willis) has been hired to kill an important figure in the US government. Declan Mulqueen (Richard Gere) is our hero in this story; who is an underground operative released from jail to help the FBI track down this deadly killer. This is easier said than done, as The Jackal is a master of disguise and is constantly changing appearances and disappearing without a trace. Along with the FBI's Deputy Director (Sidney Poitier) and a dedicated small team, Mulqueen must track down The Jackal before his job is complete - although his target, location and identity are unknown

For thrills and spills, The Jackal supplies plenty of impressive action scenes; but any film that is related to a true story should make sure not to let what is popular control what is historically accurate. This alone is the films biggest downfall, as it shows no respect or consideration for the 1973 hit - and thankfully through legal procedures the "Day of" was forcefully removed from the films title. Even Edward Fox, who played the leading role in The Day of the Jackal, refused to have a cameo role for old time's sake.

Director Michael Caton-Jones (Rob Roy, Memphis Belle) would have been far better off to have made The Jackal a stand alone film rather than delve into the harsh world of re makes, where anything that is made is automatically compared to its predecessor.

What he has created, however, is highly entertaining action film that not only lets us witness an explosive screen duo but also shows Bruce Willis kissing (eep) another man.

    3 stars out of 5
    Great action and suspense, but isn't related to the story of the Jackal much at
    all

Movie Zone: http://moviezone.alphalink.com.au bucky@alphalink.com.au

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