gere , willis , poitier chase each other around the world
the jackal a film review by michael redman copyright 1997 by michael redman
when the soviet union imploded , the western countries lost their shadow .
with the united states friendly with the russians , we no longer had an entity to blame for the world’s problems .
this showed up in hollywood films as the communist government was no longer the easy bad guy .
it’s time to rejoice because we’ve found our new villain .
now it’s no longer the russian government who sends killers out into foreign lands , it’s the russian _mafia_ .
a perfect solution , it combines the dread of organized crime and the still-present uneasiness with the former eastern block countries .
best of all , the villains are still foreigners : fear of the other always plays best .
so it is a crime lord in moscow that sends legendary hitman the jackal ( bruce willis ) to assassinate a highly placed us government figure in retaliation for the death of his brother during a nightclub raid .
the fbi is at a loss as to how to protect the target from someone they’re not sure even exists .
coming to their rescue is former ira operative declan mulqueen ( richard gere ) who is temporarily released from prison to assist fbi agent carter preston ( sidney poitier ) and russian major valentina koslova ( diane venora ) .
mulqueen’s ex-girlfriend basque terrorist isabella ( mathilda may ) is the only person who has seen the elusive jackal .
( presumably there is an exclusive international terrorist club somewhere where the three met . )
the film follows two parallel tracks as the jackal prepares for his $70 million hit and mulqueen attempts to locate him while preston makes sure that the irishman doesn’t slip away .
crossing numerous borders and donning various disguises for both himself and his mini-van , the killer is always one step ahead of his pursuers .
being very loosely based on the same book the 1973 thriller ” the day of the jackal ” , comparison between the two films is inevitable .
there is no doubt that the original is the better movie , playing the story for suspense rather than the current action/adventure .
as a mystery , ” the jackal ” has enough holes in it to ruin the tale , but if you can accept it for what it is , there’s entertainment to be had .
holes ? let’s see ? a pivotal clue for mulqueen is so obscure that he must possess psychic powers to pick it up .
for a 20-year veteran that can command the big bucks , the jackal is an incredibly poor shot .
the final scene between gere and willis occurs in a location that should be mobbed with police , but it’s just the two of them .
willis’ disguises usually look like bruce willis and are just as interesting as val kilmer’s in ” the saint ” .
( and lest you misunderstand , that’s not a compliment . )
but the three stars are fun to watch .
it’s good to see gere in something other than a business suit .
willis has a mixed history in picking projects , but his characters are always watchable .
poitier is by far the superior actor , but has limited screen time .
the problems in logic are flaws , but don’t ruin the experience .
occasionally there are movies that transcend their blemishes .
this is one of them .
[the appeared in the 11/20/97 ” bloomington voice ” , bloomington , indiana]