Sunday, 8 August 2021

ALL-TIME CLASSIC MOVIE FAVOURITES – THE JACKAL (1997)

 

“The Jackal” is a crime drama, screenplay by Kenneth Ross loosely based on the novel by Frederick Forsyth and Directed by Michael Caton-Jones.

The action starts in Moscow, where the FBI and their Russian counterparts, the MVD, are working on a joint mission to apprehend Russian mobster Ghazzi Murad (Ravil Isyanov) for murder, but he is killed in the process.

In retaliation Ghazzi's brother, Terek (David Hayman) hires an assassin by the code name Jackal (Bruce Willis) to carry out a hit on a high profile American target.

Initial intelligence points to that target being Donald Brown (John Cunningham), the Director of the FBI.

The Jackal is known only by name and reputation, no one in authority knows who he is or what he looks like, some are not sure he even exists, FBI Deputy Director Preston (Sidney Poitier) learns of only one person alive who they know has had ties to the Jackal: former Basque separatist Isabella Zanconia (Mathilda May) , but her whereabouts are unknown, so Preston, MVD officer Valentina Koslova (Diane Venora) turn to the only person who might lead them to her, former IRA gunman Declan Mulqueen (Richard Gere), but first they need to get him out of Federal Prison.

 

It’s a great intelligent thriller rather than an all action thrill fest, Willis portrays the perfect cold-blooded assassin, if I have one criticism it would be Richard Gere’s dodgy Irish accent, but it’s still a great thriller.

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