Synopsis
Hired by a powerful member of the Russian mafia to avenge an FBI sting that left his brother dead, a psychopathic hitman known only as The Jackal proves an elusive target for the people charged with the task of bringing him down: a deputy FBI director, a Russian MVK Major, and a jailed IRA terrorist who can recognize him.
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Cast
- Bruce WillisThe Jackal
- Richard GereDeclan Mulqueen
- Sidney PoitierCarter Preston
- Diane VenoraMajor Valentina Koslova
- J.K. SimmonsFBI Agent T. I. Witherspoon
- Mathilda MayIsabella Zanconia
- John CunninghamFBI Director Donald Brown
- Jack BlackIan Lamont
- Stephen SpinellaDouglas
- Tess HarperThe First Lady
Recommendations
- 50
ReelViews
Actually, the more distance the studio places between the two films, the better, because the 1997 production can't hold a candle to the 1973 release, and an attempted comparison only makes the new Bruce Willis/Richard Gere vehicle look worse. - 50
The New York Times
The Jackal, like most expensive thrillers nowadays, knows how to do gadgets, pyrotechnics, underground subway chases and panicked crowd scenes. But except for Mr. Gere's uphill battle, it has only the vaguest idea of how to do people. - 50
San Francisco Chronicle
Amusing performances -- especially from Willis, who takes on a new personality with each new hairstyle -- can't disguise the fact that the film is basically a pastiche of recent movies. - 40
The A.V. Club
At best, The Jackal is an uninspired, by-the-numbers action thriller. - 38
Chicago Sun-Times
The Jackal, on the other hand, impressed me with its absurdity. There was scarcely a second I could take seriously. - 30
Film Threat
Not since "Peacemaker" have we witnessed such a battle of wits. - 30
Los Angeles Times
Sporadically effective, it appears not to have particularly excited the people who made it, and that lackadaisical quality is a drawback. - 30
Austin Chronicle
This remake of Fred Zinnemann's well-regarded Day of the Jackal (1973) not only fails to match the modest entertainment value of Frederick Forsyth's workmanlike source novel, but actually moves into late contention for the title of 1997's most tedious movie.
