The Jackal
Universal Pictures | Release Date: November 14, 1997 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
36
METASCORE
Generally unfavorable reviews based on 20 Critic Reviews
Positive:
1
Mixed:
11
Negative:
8
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
60
Chicago ReaderLisa Alspector
Plotted densely enough to make the lulls forgivable, this movie concerns a contract killer (Bruce Willis) who employs several small-business owners to craft his super-high-tech weapons and the many accessories that enable him to assume multiple identities. Read full review
60
EmpireKim Newman
It's a good job this works so well as a machine-made movie, because its grasp of political realities is nebulous. Read full review
50
ReelViewsJames Berardinelli
Actually, the more distance the studio places between the two films, the better, because the 1997 production can't hold a candle to the 1973 release, and an attempted comparison only makes the new Bruce Willis/Richard Gere vehicle look worse. Read full review
50
The New York TimesStephen Holden
The Jackal, like most expensive thrillers nowadays, knows how to do gadgets, pyrotechnics, underground subway chases and panicked crowd scenes. But except for Mr. Gere's uphill battle, it has only the vaguest idea of how to do people. Read full review
50
San Francisco ChronicleRuthe Stein
Amusing performances -- especially from Willis, who takes on a new personality with each new hairstyle -- can't disguise the fact that the film is basically a pastiche of recent movies. Read full review
50
Dallas ObserverPeter Rainer
The Jackal isn't much--it certainly isn't up to the 1973 Fred Zinnemann Day of the Jackal it loosely adapts and updates--but it does offer the fascination of watching big-ticket actors attempt to spin their images. Read full review
50
Entertainment WeeklyOwen Gleiberman
A trashy, frenetic remake of Fred Zinnemann's 1973 The Day of the Jackal, The Jackal is mired in blood, cheap shocks, and a random network of improbability. Read full review
50
TV Guide MagazineMaitland McDonagh
Though consistently handsome, the film never quite achieves the shallow but hugely seductive intensity of its MTV-style opening credits sequence. Read full review
50
Washington PostDesson Thomson
To enjoy it, however, you have to do the mental equivalent of squinting your eyes, so the credibility is only fuzzily ridiculous. Read full review
40
The A.V. ClubMaria Schneider
At best, The Jackal is an uninspired, by-the-numbers action thriller. Read full review
40
Washington PostStephen Hunter
The Jackal is based on a fabrication so absurd that it almost made me laugh out loud. Read full review
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