The Jackal (1997 film)

Plot

A joint operation between the FBI and the MVD in Moscow leads to the demise of the younger brother of Azerbaijani mafia boss Terek Murad. Intending to retaliate, Murad hires an ex-KGB asset, an international hitman operating under the codename "The Jackal", to assassinate an unidentified prominent American for $70 million. Two weeks later, the MVD capture and interrogate one of Murad's henchmen, Viktor Politovsky, and discover the assassination plot. The interrogation, coupled with recovered documents, leads the FBI and MVD to suspect that FBI Director Donald Brown is the intended target.

Using a series of disguises and stolen or forged IDs, the Jackal prepares for the assassination attempt. FBI Deputy Director Carter Preston and Russian Police Major Valentina Koslova turn to imprisoned IRA sniper Declan Mulqueen for help. They believe that his former lover, a former ETA militant and fugitive named Isabella Zancona, can identify the Jackal. Mulqueen reveals that he also knows the Jackal and his methods and agrees to help in exchange for his release as well as U.S. citizenship and safe haven for Zancona. Mulqueen and Zancona want revenge on the Jackal after he wounded her in Libya, causing her to miscarry their unborn child. Zancona, now married, provides information to help identify the Jackal, including that he is a United States Army Special Forces veteran with combat experience from his stationing in El Salvador and describes him as sociopathic with no emotions. Zancona discreetly slips Mulqueen a key to a dropbox containing a clean passport and $10,000 cash to return to Ireland. However, Preston had earlier threatened Mulqueen that if he escaped, if he refused to cooperate, or if an IRA squad tried to rescue him, he would be shot.

Meanwhile, when the Jackal arrives in Montreal to collect a large caliber weapon, a contact notifies him that hijackers are pursuing it. The Jackal kills one hijacker with an extremely poisonous chemical and evades the others. He then hires Ian Lamont, a mechanic and small-time hoodlum, to build a control mount for the weapon. The Jackal demands that all design specs be turned over to him, and he also requires Lamont's complete confidentiality. When Lamont, underestimating the threat represented by this assassin, tries extorting more money, the Jackal kills him during a live-fire test of the weapon. The FBI discovers Lamont's remains and evidence that the Jackal intends to use a long-range heavy machine gun for the assassination. The Jackal sails across the Great Lakes to Chicago, where he evades the FBI and almost kills Mulqueen, leading Mulqueen to deduce there is a mole tipping off the Jackal. They discover that the director of the Russian Embassy in Washington, D.C., gave the Jackal a direct access code to FBI records, allowing him to track down and kill Koslova and two FBI agents. Before dying, Koslova – passing on a taunt from the Jackal – tells Mulqueen that "[Declan] cannot protect his women".

As the Jackal drives to Washington, D.C., Mulqueen deduces from the Jackal's mocking statement that his target is not Director Brown, but in fact the First Lady of the United States, who is scheduled to give a public speech. The Jackal, masquerading as a gay man, dates Douglas, a man he encountered earlier in a bar; unbeknownst to Douglas, he uses his garage to store his weapon. When a news report exposes the Jackal's identity, he kills Douglas. On the date of the First Lady's speech, the weapon is hidden in a minivan parked near the speaker podium, with the Jackal planning to shoot the First Lady via remote control. However, before the Jackal can take his shot, Mulqueen uses a marksman's rifle to destroy the weapon's scope and takes off in pursuit of the Jackal, while the sniper accompanying Mulqueen blows up the van's fuel tank. The Jackal blindly opens fire before his vehicle is destroyed, causing Preston to be shot and wounded while tackling the First Lady to safety. Following a chase through the Washington Metro tunnels, Mulqueen confronts the Jackal, who is then shot from behind by Zancona; however, the Jackal's gun discharges a shot, and Mulqueen is also wounded. While Zancona tends to Mulqueen, the Jackal, though severely wounded, has survived: he tries to retrieve a spare weapon. Seeing this, Mulqueen grabs Zancona's pistol and shoots the assassin several times, finally killing him.

A few days later, Preston and Mulqueen witness the Jackal's burial in an unmarked grave. Preston reveals that he is returning to Russia to pursue Terek Murad and his gang, and that Mulqueen's request to be released was denied but he will likely be moved to a minimum security prison. Preston also remarks that his heroics in saving the First Lady have made him "untouchable" within the FBI: knowing his current clout will prevent any backlash against him, he turns his back on Mulqueen, allowing him to go free.

Cast

• Bruce Willis as The Jackal
• Richard Gere as Declan Joseph Mulqueen
• Sidney Poitier as FBI Deputy Director Carter Preston
• Diane Venora as Major Valentina Koslova, MVD
• Mathilda May as Isabella Celia Zancona
• J. K. Simmons as FBI Agent Timothy I. Witherspoon
• Richard Lineback as FBI Agent McMurphy
• John Cunningham as FBI Director Donald Brown
• Jack Black as Ian Lamont
• Tess Harper as First Lady Emily Cowan
• Leslie Phillips as Woolburton
• Stephen Spinella as Douglas
• Sophie Okonedo as Jamaican Girl
• David Hayman as Terek Murad
• Steve Bassett as George Decker
• Yuri Stepanov as Viktor Politovsky
• Ravil Isyanov as Ghazzi Murad
• Walt MacPherson as Dennehey
• Maggie Castle as Maggie, the 13 year old hostage
• Daniel Dae Kim as Akashi
• Michael Caton-Jones as man in Video
• Peter Sullivan as Vasilov
• Richard Cubison as General Belinko
• Serge Houde as Beaufres
• Ewan Bailey as Prison Guard
• Jonathan Aris as Alexander Radzinski
• Edward Fine as Bill Smith
• Larry King as himself
• Murphy Guyer as NSC representative

Production

The film was in production development from August 19 to November 30, 1996. It was filmed in international locations such as Porvoo, Finland, including its special effects. The film began production titled The Day of the Jackal, but the author of the original novel Frederick Forsyth and the director and producer of the original film Fred Zinnemann and John Woolf opposed the production. They eventually filed an injunction to prevent Universal Pictures from using the name of the original novel and film, and it would be marketed as being "inspired by" rather than directly based on Forsyth's novel. Edward Fox also reportedly turned down a cameo appearance in the film.

Chuck Pfarrer had written the first script. He was finishing up a three-year deal at Universal when he was offered the project. Pfarrer initially said no, but he agreed to write the script to fulfill contractual obligations to the studio, then Kevin Jarre did a rewrite to Pfarrer's script, contributing the Richard Gere character, Declan Mulqueen, an imprisoned IRA terrorist who strikes up a bargain to assist the FBI. Caton-Jones later said in an interview with The Washington Post that he regretted not being there to supervise and contribute more to the screenplay:"I never really liked the script. It was always too long, So I was trying to trim it as I went along and I really made the film in the editing room, stripping a lot of excess away".

An early test-screened version of the film had an innocent man shot by Willis' character hiding out in a gay bar. The audience loudly cheered the killing, which came to the attention of GLAAD. Chaz Bono (the group's entertainment media director) spoke with Jackal producer Sean Daniel, who arranged to have the scene re-edited. Bruce Willis successfully fought to keep a same-sex kiss in the film.

Release

Home media

The Jackal was released on VHS, DVD and LaserDisc on April 28, 1998.

Reception

Critical response

The Jackal received a 24% rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 33 reviews, with an average rating of 4.6/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "The Jackal is a relatively simple chase thriller incapable of adding thrills or excitement as the plot chugs along." Metacritic gave the film a score of 36 out of 100 based on 20 reviews.{{cite web|url=http://www.metacritic.com/movie/the-jackal|title=The Jackal Reviews

Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times called it a "glum, curiously flat thriller"; he also included the film in his "Worst of 1997", comparing it to the 1973 film and calling it a "retread", "cruder", and "dumbed down". 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".

At the 1997 Stinkers Bad Movie Awards, Richard Gere received a nomination for Worst Fake Accent, but he lost to Jon Voight for Anaconda and Most Wanted.

Box office

The Jackal was released on November 14, 1997, with an opening weekend totaling $15,164,595. It went on to gross $159,330,280 worldwide, against a $60 million budget.

Music

Main article: The Jackal (soundtrack)

The original score for The Jackal was composed by Carter Burwell. It was never officially released on CD, although Burwell uploaded select cues from the film to his website. The project was not a happy experience for Burwell; he disliked the script, and disapproved of producer Danny Saber's remix of his score.

References

References

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4. (1997-09-25). "Helmer takes new shot at 'Jackal'".
5. (1996-10-28). "'Jackal' Filmmakers Assail New Film With Classic Title". The Los Angeles Times.
6. "The Day of the Jackal".
7. (2016-11-29). "The Screenwriter of SEAL Team 6: An Interview with Chuck Pfarrer by Kent Hill".
8. (1997-10-25). "There's Just a Nodding Acquaintance". The Los Angeles Times.
9. (1997-11-09). "The Jackal and The Running Dogs". The Washington Post.
10. Wolk, Josh. (November 19, 1997). "Kiss Me Deadly".
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17. Stein, Ruthe. (November 14, 1997). "'Jackal' Can't Hide From Absurd Plot / Willis alters look in mishmash thriller". [[Hearst Corporation]].
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20. (November 19, 1997). "'Jackal' shoots to No. 1 at weekend box office". [[Sun-Sentinel.
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