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The Jackal - Collector's Edition

The Jackal - Collector's Edition

List Price: $14.98
Your Price: $13.48
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Gere has an accent and Willis changes identitys, good
Review: a solid thriller with Willis as The Jackal and he is hiring to kill a man, Gere is the man in prison who knows The Jackal's evern move. good beginning with the club scene then goes into that famouse scene where the guy gets an axe in the back of the head and then it gets good with Willis switching faces and putting beards on. by the end we have an assassination attempt, a great chase threw the subway and a killer ending. Willis has never been better, Gere with a great Irish accent, Poitier always enjoyable.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: WOUAH ... !!! ...WHOU !!! ... FRIGHTENING & AWFUL !!!
Review: THIS GEORGEOUS MOVIE IS FABULOUS AND INTERPRETED WITH AN OTHER BETTER FASHION THAN THE REALITY TRUE STORY OF THE TRUE JACKAL WHO'S REALY EXISTED MANY YEARS AGO WHEN HE HAS RUN AFTER, PURSUED MANY POLITICALS THROUGHT THE WORLD ! NOW HE IS ENCLOSED AND HE MARRYED A WOMAN IN HIS PRISON ! WHERE ? I DON'KNOW BUT HE IS ALIVE SURE ! THIS MOVIE IS SO REALY DIFFERENT THAN THE ORIGINAL WITH A SPLENDID SLAYER WHO HAS NOT EMOTION WHEN HE KILL EVERY ENEMY WHO'S ACROSS FROM SIDE TO SIDE HIS ROAD WITCH HE TAKE AT ANY MOMENT BRUCE WILLIS IS A COLOSSAL ACTOR WHO'S ABLE TO CREATE MANY MANY FRIGHT WHEN HE WANT !!! ... BBBRRRRRR !!!!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: It's a terrific action flick! See it!
Review: There's a reason this movie is on TV all the time... it's great. A very good plot, excellent acting, a scary villain, a sympathetic protagonist and strong ending (I love those), make this a 5-star action movie choice! I enjoyed it very much.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: This Really IS a bad movie
Review: Okay, Bruce Willis is this master assassin who never leaves a trace. Right? When the gun maker he hires tries to keep his original blueprint, what does he do? He kills the guy. This leads the police to the victim's studio. Guess what they find there? That's right, the blueprints! And that's what helps them solve the crime he's planning to commit. Boy, this Jackal is a genius - isn't he? Later in the movie he crosses from Canada into the US by boat. Then he makes his getaway from the police using his van. Only one problem, he left the van in Canada (or did he somehow carry it on the boat?) It didn't seem like that big a boat. Well, you get the idea. The film asks you to believe your dealing with an evil genuis, too bad it was written by a dunce.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: A highly inferior remake
Review: In 1971, Frederick Forsyth thrilled readers the world over with "The Day of the Jackal," a highly detailed story of a mysterious assassin hired to kill French President Charles de Gaulle. Two years later, Fred Zinnemann directed an excellent film version of the novel, with Edward Fox as the Jackal and Michael Lonsdale as the French police detective trying to find him before it's too late.

And now we have this.

Bruce Willis stars in "The Jackal" as an enigmatic gunman hired by the Russian mafia to kill the director of the FBI. (Why the head of the FBI and not someone Russian? The mafia chief says it will "send a message," as the FBI is cooperating with the Russian police, but that really doesn't make a whole lot of sense.) Trying to find him before the kill takes place are Sidney Poitier as the FBI deputy director, Diane Venora as a Russian police colonel, and Richard Gere (sporting an Irish accent) as an IRA terrorist who is sprung from prison to help in the search.

Willis tries to play the Jackal as a cold, calculating killer, but a lot of the time he just appears to be sleepwalking. Poitier gnashes his teeth and chews the scenery, but he really doesn't have a lot to do in this film, and he knows it. Venora is there simply to add a bridge between the Russians and Americans, and Gere -- I have no idea why he's in this movie to begin with. After all, the original novel and film did quite well without throwing a character like his into the mix. Why the filmmakers decided to start overhauling the story and add entirely new major characters is beyond me; perhaps they thought they were updating it somehow. Plot holes exist in abundance, as do a few utterly inexplicable scenes which feel like they have nothing to do with the rest of the film.

Now, if all this sounds like it doesn't have much to do with the 1973 film, let alone the novel, you're right. Both Forsyth and Zinnemann were reportedly extremely unhappy with this remake and asked that their names be removed from the credits. They also demanded that the film's title be changed from the original "The Day of the Jackal" to play down any connection with the 1973 film.

The best that can be said about "The Jackal" is that it's not a complete failure, as it maintains a reasonable level of suspense, but it simply cannot be compared to the 1973 film. Viewers are advised to skip this ill-advised remake and stick with the original.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: What the .... ??
Review: Here's another Hollywood remake of what was a great story (and a great movie as well). So far, this ranks as the worst remake of an action/spy movie that I can recall having seen. There's not one ounce of correlation between this movie and the origial "The day of the Jackal" (the book) other than the fact that the assasin in question has the same name! The suspense found in the book (and the movie with Edward Fox) has been replaced by cheap action scenes. Case in point: the killing of Jack Black, the creator of the "rifle" that Bruce Willis is using...

Even if you haven't read the book or seen the original movie, this only adds up to a mediocre action movie. And what is that accent that Richard Gere is attempting?

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Miscast, mishandled, worth missing
Review: Give the filmmakers credit for a couple of things, at least. The story moves along well and is filmed very well. There are a few moments that actually have a bit of tension, the music score works quite well, and occasionally everything gels into a good scene.

But let me get this straight. The FBI is on the hunt for an assassin so elusive only one woman in the world can ID him, she's disappeared years ago and is equally elusive, yet an Irish gun-runner in a US prison is the key to both so the FBI gets him out and basically lets him run the operation?

All the cliches are here, too. The "Here's the key to a locker in a bus/train station where you'll find (whatever)," the "invincible villain purposely leaving an obscure clue that is unconvincingly figured out just in the nick of time to foil his evil plot," the "master of disguise," the "stupid greedy minor character who tries to rip off the villain only to die in a horrible way," etc. etc. etc.

Poor Sidney Poitier. One of this nation's great actors is wasted in a role that could basically be played equally well by any one with a SAG card. Poor Tess Harper. The underrated actress gets high billing here, but only shows up for the last half-hour, and she plays a thinly-veiled Hillary Clinton, complete with horrible hairdo and abdominable wardrobe. Worse, her two scenes (only two?!) consist of a brief interview with Larry King and a public speech that plays in the background.

And Bruce Willis as the Jackal himself is as woefully miscast as the cold-blooded killer for hire. Trying to break out of type, Addison? It ain't workin'. In every single scene I expected him to break into a smirking wisecrack a la "Moonlighting" or "Die Hard," etc., being only momentarily able to sustain the truly psycho attitude.

Oddly, the one actor who fares best here is Richard Gere. I'll buy his Irish accent, and he plays his character well here, although, again, it makes one roll with laughter to see him time and again take leadership in planning sessions both with the director and deputy director of the FBI. Said big shots basically sit by and say "Yeah, that's a good plan, let's do it." And I do wish Gere would learn to open his mouth and speak up rather than mush his lines. He's no Brando.

So, to sum up: Stupid plot, badly miscast actors, and oh yes, one of the most left-field nonsensical endings you'll ever see...

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Somewhat Predictable, But Excellent
Review: Although this movie is somewhat predictable at times, I really like it. I have seen it many times and probably will see it many more. For comparison, also watch the 1973 film "Day of the Jackal". Although that is very good, even with its 1970s limitations, I think "The Jackal" is better. The early version is probably true-to-life, but the latter is very realistic and definitely leaves you feeling that it is very possible. Thumbs up for the cinematography, for sure. Bruce Willis and Richard Gere do outstanding jobs. Great for a weekend evening flick.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: TRUST ME THIS MOVIE IS AWESOME!
Review: Willis is great, what can I say, must of these reviewers most not like him! because this movie kicks [bottom]. Any Willis fan will love this. Gere and Poitier also are good in this film. The plot is good, easy to keep up with, but also makes you think, not many films can do that. This has a good blend of action and drama, When you have a cast like this one dose, you can't go wrong! oh and bruce is bad, he's a good "bad guy" i thank this is one of has only movie's were he is bad, well he was bad in The Siege(that is good to!).

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: great!
Review: this movie is so cool... it has 4 yes 4 great actors and actress.bruce w. gives one of his best performance ever.the only movie the bruce plays a badguy so far.this movie is better than the old one `the day of the jackal`...its a really good movie. you shoud BUY it NOW. if i liked you probly woud like it too.


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