The Jackal (1997 film)

"The Jackal" redirects here. For other uses, see Jackal (disambiguation).

The Jackal
File:Thejackalposter1.jpg Film poster
Directed by	Michael Caton-Jones
Written by	Chuck Pfarrer
Produced by	Michael Caton-Jones Sean Daniel James Jacks Kevin Jarre
Starring	Richard Gere Bruce Willis Sidney Poitier Diane Venora Mathilda May
Cinematography	Karl Walter Lindenlaub
Edited by	Jim Clark
Music by	Carter Burwell
Distributed by	Universal Pictures
Release dates	November 14, 1997
Running time	124 min.
Languages	English Russian
Budget	$60,000,000 (estimated)

The Jackal is a 1997 suspense film starring Richard Gere, Bruce Willis, Diane Venora and Sidney Poitier. It was directed by Michael Caton-Jones. While its title is similar to the 1973 film The Day of the Jackal, it shares only a few story elements.

Plot

A joint mission of the American Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Russian FSB leads to the death of the younger brother of a Russian mobster. To carry out the retaliatory killing of an unknown target, the mobster hires an enigmatic assassin known only by the pseudonym, "The Jackal" (Willis). The Jackal's price is $70 million, with half paid up front and the other half payable upon completion of the job. If word of the operation gets out, the Jackal has the option whether or not to continue, either way the initial payment is his to keep. The Jackal advises the mobster to find a place to hide out until after the operation is complete.

Whilst hiding out the Russian FSB capture one of the mobster's henchman, during the interrogation he reveals information about Jackal. This coupled with the documents recovered from the henchman's briefcase lead the FBI and Russian police to assume the target for the retaliatory hit is the FBI Director Donald Brown.

As the Jackal begins his preparations for the assassination the FBI learns of one person who can identify the Jackal, FBI Deputy Director Carter Preston (Poitier) and Russian Police Major Valentina Koslova (Venora) turn to a former Irish Republican Army sniper named Declan Joseph Mulqueen (Gere) who had a relationship with a Basque woman named Isabella Zanconia (Mathilda May), whom they believe can identify The Jackal. However, Mulqueen refuses to tell them the whereabouts of Zanconia, saying instead he will take them to her. The FBI declines the offer, as they are leaving he claims to have met The Jackal. The price of his help is release from prison and a pardon so he can return to Ireland. The FBI cannot grant his request but Mulqueen settles for their best efforts to get him freed.

It becomes apparent that Mulqueen, Zanconia and the Jackal have a history, but it isn't until Mulqueen reveals the Jackal wounded Zanconia while she was pregnant with Mulqueen's child do Preston and Koslova realize why it's so personal.

After a botched assassination attempt on Zanconia, the Jackal kills two FBI agents and mortally wounds Koslova. As she is dying the Jackal tells Koslova if she sees Mulqueen before her death to tell him, "You can't protect your women."

Preston and Mulqueen decide to barricade the Director in a military base. Mulqueen ponders the message the Jackal left for him, and deduces that the target is not the Director but the First Lady (Tess Harper).

While opening a hospital the First Lady is giving a speech, the Jackal attempts the assassination via a remote computer controlled machine gun mounted in a nondescript minivan located nearby. Preston shields the First Lady, but is wounded in the leg.

With the assassination attempt a failure, the Jackal tries to escape in the subway, but he is confronted and wounded by Mulqueen, who is also wounded. The Jackal gains the upper hand by taking a civilian hostage, forcing Mulqueen to surrender his weapon. As the Jackal is about to kill Mulqueen, Zanconia sneaks up from behind and shoots him in the neck. Thinking the Jackal is dead, they lower their guard, and the Jackal attempts to kill them again. Mulqueen grabs Zancona's gun just in time, and shoots the Jackal dead.

Preston, recognized as a hero and an "untouchable" for saving the First Lady's life, lets Declan Mulqueen escape.

Box office reception

The Jackal premiered November 14, 1997 with an opening weekend totaling $15,164,595. It would go on to gross $159,330,280 worldwide.

Critical reception

The film received mostly negative reviews from critics. Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times called it a "glum, curiously flat thriller"; Ruthe Stein of the San Francisco Chronicle called it "more preposterous than thrilling"; and Russell Smith of the Austin Chronicle called it "1997's most tedious movie".

Fred Zinnemann, director of The Day of the Jackal, fought with Universal Studios to change the title of the movie so it wouldn't have the name of the original classic. He was 89 years old at the time (Frederick Forsyth, who wrote the novel the original film was based on, also publicly stated his distance between his novel and the remake). The film was credited as being "based on the screenplay for Day of the Jackal by Kenneth Ross. The producers of the film were disappointed as they admired the original film and novel.

The movie does borrow several plot points, characters, and even lines of dialogue from the original film, includidng:

• The Jackal's meeting with the head of the Russian Mafia, and his repeated phrase "Half now, half upon completion"

• The Russian Mafia heads hole up in a pension (hotel) in Helsinki with a team of bodyguards (Russian police and FBI officials learn in a briefing via slide show). Unable to extract them, Russian police perform self-help in capturing their courier, who reveals the assassination plot under torture.

• A scene of the Jackal spray-painting his car shirtless was used in the original.

• The Jackal kills the gunsmith for trying to extort additional money from him via holding the plans for his weapons. (In the original, it was the passport forger rather than the gunsmith who does this.)

• At a meeting of investigators, Preston plays a tape recording of the Jackal's source and one of those present admitting their guilt. Also the exchange: "How did you know whose phone to tap?" "I didn't, so I tapped all of them."

• The Jackal picks up a homosexual (Stephen Spinella) at a bar and later kills him. In the original, it was to gain a place to stay the night; in this case, it was to gain a parking permit to be used for his assassination plot. In both films, the Jackal kills him during a TV newscast warning of the Jackal's identity.

Behind the scenes

• Sean Connery, Liam Neeson and Matthew McConaughey were all invited to be in the movie, but they all turned it down.
• Originally, Gere was selected for the Jackal's role, but asked to play Mulqueen instead.
• Edward Fox, from the original Jackal, turned down a possible cameo appearance, probably as the banker the Jackal deals with on the overseas transfers.
• The Jackal was filmed in Richmond, Virginia, Chicago, Washington, D.C., Moscow, London, Helsinki, Porvoo, Toronto, and Montréal.
• The Washington D.C. Metro system in the movie is actually the Montréal Métro.

See also

• The Jackal (fictional character)
• KPV heavy machine gun

External links

• The Jackal at IMDb