THE JACKAL 1997
A film review by Timothy Voon
Copyright 1998 Timothy Voon
3 :-( :-( :-( for stopping dead in its tracks
Cast: Bruce Willis, Richard Gere, Sydney Poitier, Diane Venora, Mathilda May, Tess Harper Director: Michael Caton-Jones Screenplay: Chuck Pfarrer based on the motion picture screenplay THE DAY OF THE JACKAL by Kenneth Ross
If I could sum this movie into a single word, it would be SLOW. If I had the pleasure of renaming THE JACKAL it would become THE TURTLE. I haven=92t seen an action thriller with so little action and so few thrill= s since the days I was a connoisseur of budget movies made for television. Even with two popular stars like Willis and Gere, this movie still suffers from a lack of charisma, charm and character. It=92s hard to pump life into this dead animal of a movie, when the only thing going for it is an overdone scavenger hunt between two middle-aged Hollywood stars.
The plot is simple. Assassin extraordinare, THE JACKAL (Willis) has been contracted to kill somebody important. When I found out who it was, I yawned and went back to snooze. This movie is so quiet that you could have a good 45 minute nap between the 1st and 2nd bullet, a 30 minute doze between the 2nd and 3rd bullet, before finally being rudely awoken by a sudden spurt of loud explosions, frenzied firing and frantic screaming. Some people would say save the best till last, I call it post mature ejaculation =96 too loud and very messy.
In this movie Bruce baby doesn=92t have to worry about the missing hairs on his head, or the flab on his tum. He is THE JACKAL, the man with a hundred faces, a thousand smiles, a million disguises, but hey Bruce you=92ll never fool us into believing you=92re a Super Model. His nemesis= , IRA sharp shooter Gere, is as authentic as serving somebody Earl Grey when they asked for Irish Coffee =96 sadly miscast.
In conclusion, THE JACKAL is as mysterious as a fart in a crowded room, as action packed as pointing a finger at an unsuspecting victim and as thrilling as getting away with it. A very disappointing effort overall.
Timothy Voon e-mail: stirling@netlink.com.au
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