The Jackal [HD]

Great Actors, Superior Plot but Falls Short in Delivery
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...

Remake Without Connection to Original, but Not Bad
Michael Caton-Jones is one of those directors who never makes a really good movie, but usually there's something interesting about them. Actors must love him because he's certainly lured a lot of the best into his productions. Maybe that's his weakness, a penchant for big names and not really being able to offer them proper vehicles for their talents. They wind up overacting, out of control. DOC HOLLYWOOD is a good example. Cute premise, appealing stars, and what happens? Caton-Jones fails to lift it out of routine romantic comedy. He had an attractive cast, and a fantastic soundtrack, in SCANDAL, the 1989 film of the Profumo/Christine Keeler affair, but it just sat there and failed to give off sparks. MEMPHIS BELLE was more of the same, a war picture that did not revive the war picture as it was meant to. ROB ROY was an aimitation of BRAVEHEART and CITY BY THE SEA--well, what the devil was that anyhow? Caton-Jones had a real success with THIS BOY'S LIFE, in which he...

Blu-ray review for an enjoyable movie.
There are plenty of opinions about the movie. Personally, The Jackal is one of my favorites that gets popped into the player at least once a year.

Movie opinion aside though, the Blu-ray transfer of the movie is outstanding; crisp, sharp, and beautifully color-balanced. The DTS sound is full and nicely directional through a 5.1 surround-sound system. To enjoy a favorite movie is one thing, but the visual and auditory experience of The Jackal Blu-ray just adds to the pleasure.

BTW, often Blu-ray/DVD combos come with two discs; not this one. It is a double sided disc with the Blu-ray on one side and the DVD on the other. If you're experiencing your 6th decade of fun (or more) on this planet like me, grab your readers and a magnifying glass to check the center label to see which side you're playing.

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