The Jackal (1997 film)

Plot

A joint mission of the FBI and the MVD leads to the death of the younger brother of an Azerbaijani mobster. In retaliation, the mobster hires an assassin known only as the "Jackal" to kill an unidentified target. The Jackal demands $70 million for the job, to which the mobster agrees. Meanwhile, the MVD capture one of the mafia's henchmen. During interrogation, the henchman reveals the name "Jackal". This, coupled with documents recovered from his briefcase, leads the FBI and MVD to assume the target for the retaliatory hit is FBI Director Donald Brown.

As the Jackal begins his preparations for the assassination—utilising a series of disguises and stolen IDs in the process—the FBI learns of one person who can identify him. FBI Deputy Director Carter Preston and Russian Police Major Valentina Koslova turn to a former IRA sniper named Declan Mulqueen, who had a relationship with an ETA militant named Isabella Zancona, who they believe can identify The Jackal. Mulqueen eventually agrees to help in exchange for their best efforts to get him released from prison.

It later transpires that Mulqueen has a personal motive for hunting the Jackal: the assassin wounded Zancona while she was pregnant with Mulqueen's child, causing a miscarriage. Zancona provides information that can help identify the Jackal, including the fact that he is American and that he had acquired military training in El Salvador. Meanwhile, the Jackal arrives in Montreal to pick up the weapon he intends to use and hires gunsmith Ian Lamont to design and build a mount for it. Underestimating the threat represented by the assassin, Lamont demands more money and is killed by the Jackal. The FBI discovers Lamont's body and, with Mulqueen's help, deduce that the Jackal intends to utilize a long range heavy machine gun.

With the help of a Russian mole in the FBI, the Jackal realizes that he is being tracked by Mulqueen with assistance from Zancona, and he infiltrates Zancona's house after receiving a FBI access code from his insider. Instead of Zancona, however, he finds Koslova and Agents Witherspoon and McMurphy. He kills the agents and mortally wounds Koslova. The Jackal says that Mulqueen "can't protect his women," which she repeats to Mulqueen as she dies.

As the Jackal makes his final preparations, Mulqueen realizes that his target is not Brown, but the First Lady, who is due to give a major public speech. The Jackal plans to shoot the First Lady via remote control. Arriving just in time, Mulqueen successfully sabotages the Jackal's weapon, while Preston absorbs a bullet meant for the First Lady. After a cat-and-mouse chase through the subway tunnels, Mulqueen and Zancona shoots the assassin dead.

A few days later, Preston and Mulqueen stand as the only witnesses to the Jackal's burial in an unmarked grave. Preston reveals that he is going back to Russia to pursue the mobsters who hired the Jackal. It is revealed that Mulqueen's request to be released was denied, but that he will likely be moved to a minimum security prison. Preston's heroics in saving the First Lady have made him a hero in the FBI. Knowing his current clout will prevent any real backlash against him, Preston turns his back on Mulqueen, allowing him to go free.

Critical response

The Jackal received a 15% rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 27 reviews. Metacritic gave the film a score of 36 out of 100 based on 20 reviews.

Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times called it a "glum, curiously flat thriller"; Ruthe Stein of the San Francisco Chronicle called it "more preposterous than thrilling"; and Russell Smith of the Austin Chronicle called it "1997's most tedious movie".

Box office

The Jackal was released on November 14, 1997, with an opening weekend totaling $15,164,595. It went on to gross $159,330,280 worldwide, against a $60 million budget.

Music

The original score for "The Jackal" was composed by Carter Burwell. It was never officially released on CD, although Burwell uploaded select cues from the film to his website. The project was not a happy experience for Burwell; he disliked the script, and disapproved of producer Danny Saber's remix of his score.