Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #10701 in DVD
• Released on: 2007-11-09
• Rating: Suitable for 18 years and over
• Number of discs: 1
• Format: PAL
• Original language: English, Russian
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 124 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
The Jackal is filmmaking by numbers: take two huge stars, Richard Gere and Bruce Willis, and pit them opposite each other in a plot that's already been audience tested. That director Michael Caton Jones' film is based not on Frederick Forsyth's novel but on the script for the 1973 original starring James Fox is the first clue that something here is amiss. Fred Zinneman's The Day of the Jackal was a genuinely taut and claustrophobic thriller; the remake is like a Rocky & Bullwinkle take on international terrorism disguised as an action movie. Dashing IRA terrorist, Declan Mulqueen (Richard Gere), is sprung from jail to help the FBI Deputy Director Carton Preston (Sidney Poitier) track down The Jackal, an amoral international terrorist who is a master of disguise. The FBI believes he is about to assassinate a US political bigwig and is engaged in a race against time to discover exactly who the target is and where they will be felled. Throughout the film Gere sports an Irish accent as ill-fitting and phoney as the bushy lip-wig that Willis adopts at one point as a disguise. The usually warm-hearted Willis plays the steel-jawed terrorist with a cool reserve, but he doesn't have much character development to work with (apart from a misguided attempt to introduce a gay subtext). At over two hours of running time with plenty of exposition and precious few action sequences, this film is a test of will for the audience as well as the protagonists.

On the DVD: The DVD includes a lengthy "making of" featurette, several deleted scenes and an alternate ending with some small dialogue changes. There is also an exceedingly dry director's commentary by Michael Caton Jones which muses on such mind-numbingly dull details as the colour of the subway platform in the film's climactic sequence. The film is presented in a clear print in 2.35:1 anamorphic format with 5.1 Dolby Digital sound. --Chris Campion

Customer Reviews

Don't bother
Not sure if this was intended to be a comedy but everytime Bruce Willis shows up with another 50 cent fake moustache or pregnant suit you can't help but think this must be another Naked Gun sequel.
From the opening shoot out in a Russian bar one might have thought this movie was going to have an edge to it particularly with the performance of Diane Venora and Sydney Poitier but it soon descends into a boring chase into espionage banality.
Save yourself 2 hours and just watch the trailer.

Remake or makeover? OK as entertainment.
As cop thrillers go, this film is better than average but it carries some heavy flaws. The film was slick and well made, it looked good though lacking art. The acting was as good as you would expect from Gere and Willis and the script was sharp. So what was wrong with this film?

The characterisation was too formulaic. Richard Gere was playing an Irish terrorist. A man who had seen active service with one of the most sophisticated and ruthless terrorist organisations ever seen. Yet, his character is portrayed as a light hearted folk hero.

At the same time, Bruce Willis, the Jackal is the most feared and skillful assassin on the planet and yet he cannot stick to his job. He has to go out of his way to bait the cops and leave clues as to his intentions. If Gere's Declan Mulqueen is unlikely, Willis' Jackal is simply impossible. OK, derranged psychopaths may taunt their police pusuers but the worlds smartest assassin? I think not.

I thought that some of the violence in the film was not necessary for the plot. I always feel it's a shame if a director feels the need to try to extend the appeal of a film in this way.

Should be called Hyena, because it's laughable!

After sitting through this montage of Bruce Willis theatricals I found myself wondering what had happened.

Full of third rate acting and fourth rate Irish accents.

Not one likeable character nor worthwhile scene. We get Willis, somehow camping it up throughout. Although in fairness the movie does have a slight spark when Willis is on screen, other than that wooden performances from all.

Not a patch on the original,with Edward (not James) Fox, and certainly not worth the energy, time or money.