THE ASSIGNMENT 1997
A film review by Timothy Voon
Copyright 1998 Timothy Voon
1 :-( for the assassin
Director: Christian Duguay Writer: Dan Gordon, Sabi H. Shabtai Cast: Aidan Quinn, Ben Kingsley, Donald Sutherland, Claudia Terri, Lilliana Duguay
Ever noticed how some Hollywood ideas are always released in pairs i.e. last years DANTE'S PEAK and VOLCANO, this years upcoming ARMEGADDON and DEEP IMPACT. So it is with THE ASSIGNEMENT and THE JACKAL. Both stories are about the same man, but each takes a very different approach.
Needless to say, I detested the one starring Bruce Willis and Richard Gere, for more reasons than can possibly fill this review. As for THE ASSIGNMENT starring Aidan Quinn, Ben Kingsley and Donald Sutherland – well it's marginally better. The subtle difference is that one actually bored me to tears and the other was much better than I had expected. Much of the thrill of this movie, comes from the fact that the villain and hero are played by the same actor (Quinn). In general, I don't fancy the idea off look-a-likes confusing the elements of plot, but the final twist towards the end is reliant on this fact alone.
So who is this man they call ‘The Jackal' anyway? From daily news we know he was a ruthless assassin, now serving time in a French prison. This movie postulates how the most illusive terrorist of the twentieth century came to be captured.
An American naval captain, Annabel Ramirez (Quinn), carries an uncanny resemblance to this criminal. He is convinced by the CIA (Sutherland) and the Israelis (Kingsley) to embark on a most convoluted plot to bring down ‘The Jackal'. This involves a series of gruelling training exercises and sexual reprogramming to recreate the personality of the man he is hunting. It gets to a stage where the pleasant Ramirez begins detesting himself for becoming the Jackal.
Overall, well acted by the cast and far more intelligent than the other
movie which carries the same name.
Timothy Voon
e-mail: stirling@netlink.com.au
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