Review of The Jackal (1997) by John D — 16 Jul 2008

Jeff Shannon makes a strong arguement about overlooking the fact that this is a remake. Immediately, any opportunity to appreciate Jones's masterplan as a subtle thriller is quite literally blown away by the bombastic nature of pleasing the Hollywood suits.

For a personal indulgence, Bruce Willis (okay, "The Jackal") making Swiss cheese of the abominable Jack Black is worth hitting the rewind button over and over and over... Gere struggles with a mish mash effort of an Irish accent that questions if there is ANY place in Ireland with a brogue like that, leaving Poitier struggling to hide his bemusement.

This one is Willis's show from start to finish, the chance to try anything beyond a formulaic boys' own remake was well lost long before the first bullet was fired, so instead, the villain becomes the polar opposite of John McClane laughing all the way to the bank.

Definitely an action adventure, not a thriller which far too many critics have laughably branded it as.