One of the worst movies I've ever seen

Excellent, a Must See

Awesome Movie

If you're interested in the topic at hand, you should just watch it and judge yourself because the reviews have gone very biased by people that didn't even watch it and just hate (or love) the creator. I liked it, it was well written, narrated, and directed and it was about a topic that interests me.

(Originally reviewed: 05/03/2017) There I was thinking Mr Willis didn't have any more hidden pieces of trash lying about but here is The Jackal a film that would be formulaic if it had any style in its plotting. The film starts with atrocious dialogue, stereotypically personality free bad guys and a Russian antagonist asking one of his friends if he managed to kill any militia cops in the event of his brother's death and when he says none he apparently must die and gets an axe in the back of his head. It's the code says this villain, but others might say well we think it's stupid and over the top and you would be correct on both counts as I found that whole scene an insulting to audience members who like a better reason for how events turn out; but luckily that Russian simply hires Willis's character a few minutes later, now his name is unknown as he is in and out of identities and a master of disguise so he's nicknamed The Jackal. I 'll admit Bruce Willis play's this character effectively; playing a harsh but menacing villain, if only he had some form of a competent story to help him; but to no avail.Richard Gere play's the imprisoned Irish protagonist 'Declan Mulqueen' and though at first I was unsure if he was going to go in and out of accents; he really did give a solid performance and he's likable; has a good Irish accent and has a vendetta against The Jackal for a reason I will not disclose but he and Willis do have a couple of good scenes together; and the performances by the rest of the cast, especially Diane Venora as a major militia officer are decent with the exception of a weapon and so called info dealer played by Jack Black who is plain and simple a pig and an annoying hippy who belches, rambles on and brings nothing to the film except another reason to dislike it. Also featuring are a cringeworthy, unnecessary gay bar sequence and a completely separate, cruel, distasteful scene involving a character being used as target practice to test a weapon and the way its shown is completely sick and twisted; and whether you like the character or not, there's no need for such a sinister sequence.The outcomes of the plot are as inept as the plot; instead of explain anything it just hopes the audience will find it believable but anyone willing to ask questions may be extremely frustrated like myself, as I kept wondering how could The Jackal operate a Gatling gun/multi tuned weapon while being a huge distance away from it, we know it's operated by a button and yet that button is obviously shown on the weapon and it can go off from a distance with no explanation on how, as I didn't see Willi's character with a detonator or a switch so it's clear the picture is beyond absurd and it even tries to twist it's alleged plot several time's thinking it's clever but in truth it's merely stupid and so bad I couldn't even merit a laugh.Then of course a lot of people are killed like usual in these type of films, usually FBI agents or Russians cops for nothing more than a pointless body count; and whichever way you look at it; the action is forgettable and poorly directed. I was simply unimpressed with it; and especially Michael Caton-Jones's direction; which is equally as bad as Kenneth Ross and Chuck Pfarrer's screenplay which is truly awful at times; and most noticeably in the final act which defies sense and reason where Declan's wife played by Mathilda May manages to come out of nowhere at a shootout in a train station and fire off a shot; two questions 1) how did she manage to get there so fast and 2) how on earth did she know exactly where to find them. The picture is filled with pure idiocy, void of sense, trashy and an utter mess; it may not be the worst film Willis has ever done but it sure is among them.

The Jackal (1997): Dir: Michael Caton-Jones / Cast: Bruce Willis, Richard Gere, Sidney Poitier, Diane Venora, Jack Black: Remake of Day of the Jackal that gets reduced to formula and a game of cat and mouse. Bruce Willis stars as the Jackal, an assassin whose disguises mainly consist of wigs but his methods are savage. The C.I.A enlist a criminal played by Richard Gere to help track down Willis. Graphic violence becomes the norm including a scene where someone's arm is blown off. It is obvious the Gere and Willis will meet and have a violent confrontation that will solve absolutely nothing. Director Michael Caton-Jones handles the action but the production is nothing marvelous. Willis and Gere have little screen time together and when they are within the same general location it is indicated with a really lame glare via Willis as if he senses Gere's presence. Willis also phones up some homosexual guy whom he shoots dead for no reason. Also wasting time is Sidney Poitier and Diane Venora who hopefully didn't get their hopes up on this film actually turning out good. Jack Black appears to supply Willis with arms only to have his arm blown off before being finished off with a second blast. This sort of junk has been done countless times but for the two leads it will hopefully lead to a better film to embark upon in the future. The screenplay has more bark than bite. Score: 1 / 10

Disclaimer: If you are a viewer that mainly prefers art-house-type movies, then you might as well ignore this review. In addition, if you're not able to take a an action political thriller movies, ignore this review, as well. We'll both be better off.The Jackal (1997) is one of the best political action thriller movies I have ever seen. It is entertaining enough and worth seeing on it's own. It is million times way better than the movies that are made today. The gory violence of "The Jackal" is a big "screw you" to PG-13 thriller movies. The movie is very enjoyable it has everything in it. The acting in this movie is very realistic and superb. The action is non stop and intense and delivers on a good way. Bruce Willis did outstanding acting performance of the character Jackal. He acted the role perfectly and very believable realistic. He was cold ruthless man with thousand names and thousand faces and mystery disguise. He killed anyone who figure it out his true identity or was suspecting him. He used a lot of guns and weapons. This movie made from the book was brilliant and intense packed so that the viewer is hooked up on the edge of a seat and keeps guessing what will happened next. This is the first time I saw Bruce Willis playing a villain in the movie and did gave us superb acting performance. He did in this film a masterful performance ever.The acting in this movie is very realistic and phenomenal and I mean from everyone who played in here. This movie delivers a surprising top notch entertaining with a potent story and some good twists that help to live up expectations. This is Michael Caton-Jones's best movie to date and that he ever made. The director did an outstanding direction debut and knew what he was doing. Richard Gere as Declan Mulqueen an Irish Republican Army sniper who was locked and imprisoned in maximum security did and outstanding job helping the FBI and Russian Police tracking down an intelligent and genius assassin down. Richard Gere was very convincing in his role as an Irish, his ascent was more British than American. Even for American his ascent was convincing. I thought that Richard Gere could have been the next James Bond 007 not that we have Daniel Craig in it.This is Sidney Poitier's final film appearance to date. I think he acted convincing and it was his best performance I have ever seen! Sidney Poiter played three times an FBI agent that I counted. Twice in a year 1988 Shoot To Kill and Little Nikita and the third time in this movie in the year 1997. I don't count other movies he played in the 70's. I am glad that he is still alive. The last actress I wanna say that I love in here is Diane Venora as Major Valentina Koslova, MVD. This was her last and I mean last acting debut of her role of a tough woman. I never saw her in any other roles like are that now, she even wear a scars on her face, It was outstanding. I only wish that Diane Venora would get more roles like is this one. She was awesome and I loved her, the death scene was really amazing no one could acted better.With these players set in motion, it's up to the script to deliver the real substance of the movie. (One often sees great performances in mediocre films... here the story transcends the performances -- an impressive feat.) The script delivers. The action scenes were incredible and very fantastic. The shout out scenes are incredible and outstanding executed. Even Jack Black has a small role in it. The most awesome scene that I have in mind is the helicopter when US Marine sniper Akashi (Daniel Dae Kim) gives the rifle Heckler & Koch SR(TC) to Declan Mulqueen (Richard Gere), who uses the rifle to shoot the scope off of The Jackal's (Bruce Willis) automated machine gun. Akashi then uses the rifle to shoot the gas tank and ignite the fuel, blowing up the SUV housing the gun. That scene was realistic I am pretty sure that Richard Gere had a lot of practice with the riffle, before he was in front the camera shooting with the riffle in the film.The face off between The Jackal (Bruce Willis) and Declan Mulqueen (Richard Gere) was phenomenal! It was so realistic acting performance that I seriously believe it and I was convinced that the acting is and the story evolves in realistic world. I'm not sure what else would you want in a movie like this? Probably moral content, the movie portrayed and executed perfectly the book. I have very enjoyed this movie from beginning till the end it is my favorite best action thriller ever. I am giving it 10/10.The Jackal is the 1997 action thriller starring Richard Gere as a former IRA sniper who is recruited by the FBI to track down a professional assassin known as "The Jackal" (Bruce Willis), who has been hired by a Russian mobster to eliminate a major American political figure. The film is a loose remake of the 1973 thriller The Day of the Jackal./: That is the basic plot and I think this movie deserved to bashed or hated for. It is much better than the new movies are today!!!10/10 Score: A+ Studio: Mutual Film Company Alphaville Films, Universal Pictures Starring: Bruce Willis, Richard Gere, Sidney Poitier, Diane Venora, Mathilda May, Jack Black Director: Michael Caton-Jones Screenplay: Chuck Pfarrer Story by Chuck Pfarrer Based on The Day of the Jackal by Kenneth Ross Producers: James Jacks, Sean Daniel, Michael Caton-Jones, Kevin Jarre Rated: R Running Time: 2 Hrs. 04 Mins. Budget: $60.000.000 Box Office: $159,330,280

It took a friend a lot of convincing to make me see "The Jackal". After all, the original "Day of the Jackal" remains one of my all-time favorites and since I'm not particularly fond of remakes, I gave this film a skip for many years. However, there come those days of 'nothing else on TV, so what the hell' and must admit, the remake isn't half-bad.Edward Fox is one of my favorite on screen-assassins, having played his role so convincing, that it was frightening. His passionless killing-machine made him look less human than Arnies Terminator and, seeing the "Day of the Jackal" as a kid, the thought that people like this could actually exist, gave me the creeps. Other than his strange stage-crooner-persona of 'Bruno', Bruce Willis' Jackal may well be the most unusual Willis you've seen to date. Let's speak honest: Bruce is a character whom everybody likes to watch on screen – but a thespian with a great repertoire he's not. Willis seems to try and 'out-Herod' Edward Foxes psychopath from the original – and does a remarkable job. At times his performance is eerie, indeed having the evil glare of a jackal.It's a nice nod to the original (where it is not only left open whether the Jackal was hetero-, homo-, bi-sexual or something completely different) that there are hints that Willis' Jackal may actually be gay. This is not meant to sound demeaning but a gay Bruce Willis is like, let me think, a straight Bruno (the Sasha Baron Cohen Bruno, not Willis' alter-ego). While Edward Fox slept with victims of both sexes, Willis is only once seen seducing a future victim, in this case a male politician. But more so, during the few moments where we see the supposed real personality (if something like this exists) of the Jackal, there's something distinctly feminine about the character. One example would be when he kills Major Koslova, the other, more poignant, when he receives the call that the contract is off while taking a bath and sipping on Rose wine (also a remarkable scene because Willis manages to do all the acting with his eyes alone).To speak of the 'supporting' roles (because a film with Bruce Willis, other than "Pulp Fiction" only has one real star): all fine as you'd expect from veterans like Richard Gere (despite the cringe-worthy accent), Sidney Poitier (sadly, one of his last few screen-appearances), JK Simmons, Tess Harper or Jack Black (according to rumors, the audience was cheering him being shot to bits, with people remarking "wish this would happen in every film he's in").Of course the movie has weaknesses and plot-holes that are bigger than that Freudian nightmare which is the Jackals gun. For the life of me I still don't understand how the ex-terrorist Isabella Zanconia could have aided with the capture of the Jackal. But so what? In the end, this is a "boy's movie": boys who like big guns and dramatic action-scenes involving helicopters, car-chases and big guns. Boys who like loud, snappy techno-soundtracks accompanying Bruce Willis firing big guns. Boys who like to watch Jack Black being obliterated by a big gun. In short, boys like you and me – and despite still not being very fond of remakes, I can honestly say that I liked "The Jackal". "Doesn't have to be caviar all the time", goes a saying – sometimes a burger from greasy McDs will do, just as there are times for a no-brainer like "The Jackal".7 generous points out of 10, because giving points doesn't cost money.