The Jackal - Collector's Edition
|
List Price: Category: DVD See more DVD releases |
|---|
(Click here)
Buy this DVD movie at online store in your country
Canada
Canada
Movie Reviews of The Jackal - Collector's Edition
Movie Review: Great Actors, Superior Plot but Falls Short in Delivery
Summary: 3 Stars
Director Michael Caton-Jones has created a good dramatic and suspense filled film with outstanding actors and a riveting, masterful plot. Bruce Willis plays the lead role as the "Jackal" a cold and calculating assassin. Sidney Poitier is superbly cast as the FBI Deputy Director. Richard Gere plays Declan Mulqueen, an IRA. terrorist, imprisoned in the USA. Diane Venora is cast as the Russian Interpol agent, Valentina Kostova. Scenes were filmed in many locations in Europe, primarily Helsinki, Finland which also served to represent Moscow, and London, England; Montreal, Canada; Chicago, Illinois, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia. Essentially, the FBI and Russian agents managed to kill a Chechnyan mobster. Unfortunately, his brother is out for revenge and hires the Jackal to assassinate a top US official ... Initially, they believe the target is the Director of the FBI. However, as time evolves, Declan Mulqueen discovers who the real target is.
Bruce Willis is chilling and real in his role as the Jackal. He engages in multiple disguises and identities throughout the film to achieve his goals. He manages to get a computer guided high tech weapon built and smuggled into the United States undetected. He gains entry into the US via a power boat over the Lakes from Canada to Lake Michigan and there he joins a boat race in Chicago by blending in. The FBI gets permission to spring Declan Mulqueen out of jail ... in order to get his help to identify and apprehend the Jackal. He makes a deal to win his freedom, then joins in the chase to catch the Jackal.
It turns out the Jackal has another murder in mind along with accomplishing the task for which he was hired. The Jackal has an old score to settle with Isabella, a woman from his past who can identify him. She survived his attempt to kill her. She was a Spanish terrorist of Basque origins who worked with Declan Mulqueen many years ago. They had been lovers and she was pregnant with his child when the Jackal shot her ... It seems Declan Mulqueen also has a score to settle with the Jackal. While the plot is well developed, the film drags on a bit, as much of the film involves chasing the Jackal while he deviously manages to avoid detection, When he gets closer to his target and the deadline ... the film picks up speed and the story becomes more fascinating and complex. The ending is exciting and satisfying. Some feel the film made in 1973, "Day of the Jackal" upon which this film is based, is superior. Never having seen the former, I can only judge this film. Overall, this could have been a *more* exciting film given the action, drama, and well layed out plot but too much time is wasted in the big chase which makes one feel the film is much longer than it should be. Erika Borsos [pepper flower]
Movie Review: A Rather Intense Thriller
Summary: 4 Stars
Bruce Willis as a bad guy? Yuppers! Bruce drops his, "Die Hard" hero hat and becomes a totally cold-hearted hitman known as, "The Jackal". Bruce is a really creepy, cunning assassin that few people have ever seen and live to tell about it. Richard Gere, playing an former IRA terrorist who is now in prison, is one of those rare people who can recognize the Jackal. He cuts a deal with the FBI to help find the Jackal before he kills an important, unknown ( so far ) target. Jack Black also stars as a techno-geek with great weapon building skills who meets a rather grisly end at the Jackal's hands. This movie had me guessing continuously as to who was the Jackal's target, ( I was way off when I found out ) and the action and suspense had me hooked. I enjoyed it very much. Movie Review: Loved it
Summary: 4 Stars
Once I got over gere's ridiculous attempt at an Irish accent, the movie was excellent.
Great plot, great acting..even by gere.....all star cast.....nice twists.....great action.....a surprise conclusion not many see coming that makes the movie that much better.
Worth 4.5 stars...maybe 5, but I am stingy with my stars
If items can be rated overall with half stars due to the average overall vote, they should allow us to rate with half stars instead of single stars only.....
Movie Review: Does contain a directors commentary.
Summary: 3 Stars
For anyone who is interested, this DVD (ISBN 0-7832-2688-8) does contain a commentary by director Michael Caton-Jones. Why Universal doesn't put that information on the box is beyond me. They've done it before(12 Monkeys springs to mind); have features someone might want, but not list them on the packaging.Movie Review: What's wrong with it?
Summary: 5 Stars
Personally, I thought this was a great movie. Well written, full of twists and turns, and contrary to many of the reviews I've read on here, has a nearly flawless plot. The only reason I'm writing a review for this movie is to clear up what some of the other people have said about it.
People have written things like "Why did that Jackal make it so complicated" or things similar to this. First of all, the giant gun he uses and the public place he attacks at are all part of what he was paid to do, and if you people would have paid attention to the story you would have known that.
Second, he wasn't "Already in the U.S." as at least one reviewer put. He was in Russia! Yes, he was an American, but he was in Russia discussing the terms of his job, from where he traveled to Canada and THEN the U.S.
And another thing, it was questioned why he took a ship to enter the U.S., and one reviewer put that he could have used his van or taken a bus. He used a ship to avoid border patrols in his van, and HOW IN THE WORLD WAS HE SUPPOSED TO GET THAT GUN AND MOUNT ON A BUS???