The Jackal
©1997 Matt Petras
What do you do when you absolutely must have someone killed, when you need the best. You hire the person that is least known, but has all the necessary skills to do the job right. You hire the Jackal. The man that the CIA can't even prove to exist. What do you do if you are the target of this Jackal, well to put it in the bluntest of terms you die, unless you get really lucky. If you're the FBI, you pray to find some sort of clue as to who the Jackal is, former colleagues, enemies, and if you are lucky you'll find one.
Now you have a bit of an idea what this movie is about. The plot of this movie is well, weak to say the least. There are gaps left right and center. On more than one occasion you find things out that make the story sound well, less than fresh. For example the three main assassins in this story just happen to know each other, that's still OK. That two of them should be lovers, that's a bit unbelievable in that profession but it still works. That the two main male characters are mortal enemies, all I have to say is *yawn*. This is what happens when Hollywood puts its spin on things. That plot line has been used so many times its not countable. Although I am not 100% if its been used in this fashion, never the less it shines through in all its unoriginality. Also if you are going to make a movie that is based on a movie, you might want to look at the original source. I do have to say one thing about the plot. The build up was well done and flows pretty well. The ending, well I'll leave that for you to decide but I did not like it. Too predictable, and I may have just ruined the whole movie by telling you those two words. Somethings just seem to happen in this movie, if it was done well like it was done in the beginning then yes this would have turned out to be a really good movie.
The build up for this movie was good, that is about the only real thing about the plot, that worked well. OK, it wasn't that great either, it was a bit too long and too drawn out for a plot that needed some more work. It raises the expectations of the viewer too much for the ending that ensues. The style this movie follows at the begging is really effective but this is not carried through unfortunately. The characters for the story would have been more believable if they didn't become so clique.
The acting for this movie is actually pretty decent for the most part. I think that the casting for the parts was actually done fairly well and personally I cannot find a better bad guy for this movie. Bruce Willis played the bad guy in this movie admirable for the most part and the build up and general beginning left nothing to be desired, again shoddy plot ruined what seems to have been a good performance. Richard Gere, also played his part decently, although his heart doesn't seem to be in it as much. Some of his mannerisms just don't come off as that of an assassin. Sorry Mr. Gere(if you ever see this) I think that you could have done a better job with this, even though the accent must have been hard to accomplish.
All in all, I would not recommend this movie too much. It is something of an action movie that tries to become a thriller. It is a pretty fun watch and if you don't pay too much attention to the details you might enjoy it. But then again, isn't that why you go to see movies? I wouldn't recommend this movie all that much, mind you it is an OK watch and you get what you paid for. Some suspense, some action and two major names of the movie industry. The movie isn't nearly as good as it could have been. I rate this movie *{1/2} / 4. The potential was there.
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