Bruce Willis has always been able to win our hearts as a hero against his will. In “The Jackal”, which will be broadcast in full on free TV this Friday, Bruce Willis slips into the role of the villain – and is more ruthless than ever!
“The Jackal” by Fred Zinnemann is one of the great classics of 1970s suspense cinema. The political thriller is as style-defining as it is exciting, not only because of the grandiose editing, but also because of the meticulously illustrated planning of an assassination attempt on the then French President – and the resulting cat-and-mouse game between the contract killer (magnificently played by Edward Fox) and the French police.
The remake, which is also titled “The Jackal“ and will be broadcast in full on RTL II today, May 20, 2022 at 10:05 p.m., can of course not keep up with the original. But if you’re in the mood for fast-paced action entertainment from the 90s, you’re welcome to tune in here. Mainly because Bruce Willis really enjoys slipping into the role of the villain.
If you don’t manage to watch “Der Jackal” on free TV tonight, then don’t worry. The film is currently also available with an Amazon Prime Video subscription at no extra charge:
›› “The Jackal” on Amazon Prime Video*
That’s what “The Jackal” is about
The assassin “The Jackal” (Bruce Willis) is absolutely ruthless. If he gets enough money, he kills everyone he is sent to kill. However, his perfect, fast and always clean work is damn expensive. So also when he is hired to eliminate the FBI Director Donald Brown (John Cunningham). Price: $70 million! The FBI and the KGB have been after the assassin for a long time, but so far without success.
Because wherever the agents show up, the killer has already done his job and disappeared again. But the FBI still has an ace up its sleeve: former IRA terrorist Declan Mulqueen (Richard Gere). This is summarily set on the jackal and a nerve-wracking chase begins, which will soon claim the first lives…
Bruce Willis shines as an ice-cold killer
In the official DashFUN review, “Der Jackal” was able to secure a solid 3 out of 5 stars. In his conclusion, our author Tobias Mayer writes: “The Killerhatz may be far away from a place in the film Olympus, but it always offers exciting and fast-paced entertainment. Bruce Willis deserves special praise: his ice-cold killer is the frosty center of the thriller and raises the film above the genre average.“
Anyone who has already seen “The Jackal” knows that Bruce Willis’ almost diabolical presence outshines the entire film. The curious thing is that Willis wasn’t initially supposed to play the role of the assassin, but Richard Gere was first offered the part. Luckily, from today’s perspective, he didn’t feel like it and preferred to embody the hero. In contrast to Willis’ performance, Gere’s performance is “pale” according to critics.
Director Michael Caton-Jones, who once made a name for himself with films such as “Doc Hollywood” with Michael J. Fox, “This Boy’s Life” or “Rob Roy”, does not come close to the classic role model with his production, but has a good feel for clean action sequences. It’s still annoying that a rather questionable picture of Russian and Soviet history is drawn here, but The duel between Bruce Willis and Richard Gere still provides suspense and some tougher fight sequences.
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