Bruce Willis has a ton of action films under his belt and more often than not, he is the hero. While his roles aren't really all the varied since he tends to be some person that excels at violence in some capacity, it is quite rare the we get to see him as the villain and this is a big part of the reason why I enjoyed Jackal.
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On the flip side of things, we don't normally see Richard Gere in the role of an action star and for the most part, that is not what happens here either. He doesn't get down and dirty and engage in any sort of physical combat (because it would probably look silly if he did) but instead he is just an ex IRA mastermind that has a history with the man that is simply known as The Jackal.
Some Russians want retaliation against the USA (it's always the Russians, it always has been) but unable to do it themselves, they hire The Jackal, whose real name is never revealed at any point in the film, to do their dirty work for them. We are not made aware of what said target is throughout the entire film and this is what sets this movie apart from other ones with a similar tone. We are kept guessing about who his intended target is and this adds more suspense to what his motivations and even his destination actually are.
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Bruce Willis pulls off this role wonderfully as the Jackal, despite the fact that it is a bit of a parting of ways from his normal role as a comedy bad ass and instead takes on the role of a dark and calculating assassin. His prowess in hand-to-hand combat isn't showcased as much as you would expect from Willis in a film, but instead his abilities of espionage and avoidance of detection are his strong suit. It also probably doesn't hurt that he has tons of connections and we are not made aware of why he has these things or how he acquired them. I suppose it isn't important.
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One of the best moments in the film that might surprise a lot of viewers as much as it did me was the bit role that Jack Black plays in it. It is a completely non comedic role and something important to understand was that back in 1997 (when this film was released) Black was still kind of finding his legs and was not yet the comedic superstar that he is today. In fact, it would be 3-4 more years before Black would land any sort of major role and during the late 90's he appeared to be taking just about anything that was offered to him.
If you don't watch this film I still encourage you to at least look up the clips that Jack Black is in because I feel as though he showed very early on that he is more than capable of playing serious roles and his performance in this film likely lead to his inclusion in Enemy of the State the following year.
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Richard Gere does the entire film in an Irish accent and according to an Irish friend of mine, he does a damn near perfect adaptation of the accent. While it is very common for non-Americans to adapt an American accent, it very rarely goes the other direction, so I think this shows that Gere is pretty dern good at what he does. Despite this, I found Richard's character to be wooden and a bit boring and this is part of the reason why you find yourself cheering for the "bad guy" throughout the duration of this nearly 2 hour film.
Should I watch it?
If you have ever been a fan of Bruce Willis' work then personally I found it refreshing to see him on the "other side" of the good guy / bad guy spectrum for once and this is a major part of the reason why I really enjoyed this movie. Plus, the fact that you don't really see exactly where the story is going (which is what Bruce's character is all about) it makes it much more entertaining than your usual action film. This movie did very well financially and in my opinion is one of the better political action films that has happened in the past quarter of a century. Technology has evolved quite a bit since 1997 but for the most part you wont notice it. I only looked at my phone a couple of times during the entire film and in my world at least, that is a sign that it is definitely worth checking out. Perhaps you will agree.
The Jackal is currently available on Netflix in most regions.
