The Jackal

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The Jackal

R

1997

2h 4m

Mystery & Thriller

Action

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

27%

Tomatometer

30 Reviews

51%

Popcornmeter

50,000+ Ratings

During an FBI raid on a Moscow nightclub, the brother of Russian gangster Terek Murad (David Hayman) is killed. Murad wants revenge and hires anonymous hit man the Jackal (Bruce Willis) to kill FBI Deputy Director Carter Preston (Sidney Poitier). With the help of Russian agent Valentina Koslova (Diane Venora), Preston finds the only man who knows what the notorious Jackal looks like, imprisoned IRA terrorist Declan Mulqueen (Richard Gere), and forces him to help hunt down the hit man.

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Critics Consensus

The Jackal is a relatively simple chase thriller incapable of adding thrills or excitement as the plot chugs along.

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David Ansen

Newsweek

Mar 5, 2018

The usually reliable director Michael Caton-Jones hasn't a clue how to freshen up such stale material. If you bite your fingernails, it will only be from boredom.

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Mike Clark

USA Today

Jan 9, 2018

2.5/4

The international pursuit grows borderline monotonous but there is a jump in pacing during the Washington, D.C., climax.

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Roger Ebert

Chicago Sun-Times

Jan 1, 2000

1.5/4

The Jackal is a glum, curiously flat thriller about a man who goes to a great deal of trouble in order to create a crime that anyone in the audience could commit more quickly and efficiently.

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Dan DiNicola

The Daily Gazette (Schenectady, NY)

Jan 10, 2023

C-

Sidney Poitier is the FBI deputy director and the only one in the cast to lend this movie credibility.

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Mike Massie

Gone With The Twins

Jul 11, 2022

8/10

A few moments of potential white-knuckle confrontations deflate, but they’re minimal; the actors do such an outstanding job of taking their roles seriously that it’s difficult not to get wrapped up in the suspense.

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Mal Vincent

The Virginian-Pilot

Mar 29, 2022

2/4

As suspense, it's suspenseless.

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Jacob W

@RT17896586 Oct 30, 2026

This is a remake of the classic movie the day of the Hackle. This version is really good. Notably because Bruce Willis who normally plays the hero plays the lead role as the villain. He plays this really well with Gere up against him. What’s also notably is Jack Black who like in the movie Enemy Of The State plays a serious role which is something that he is really good at. This is a great underrated movie that while it may not have done well on its release it is a good film.

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Stephen C

@dogfood23111 Oct 20, 2026

The worldwide gross is $159,330,280.00.

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Robert P

@Superbad Oct 6, 2026

The Jackal is a 2.5 star Movie!

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Darth V

@RT94285784 Sep 24, 2026

One of the 1990 lovable movies. Great actors, good action.

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Chris F

@thechrisfigaro Aug 9, 2026

The 1973 version handles the same story so much better. The Jackal in that one felt intelligent, patient, and genuinely dangerous. This version turns him into an idiot who constantly undermines his own plan.

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Jagdpanzer T

@RT44446946 Jul 28, 2026

Ignore the mixed negative comments. The *real* problem with this film is immediately obvious to any intelligent person. The problem is the we spend almost the entire first act and much of the second watching the Jackal (Bruce Willis) doing interesting things while executing his plan, and as viewers it's almost impossible to not become invested in seeing this plan come to fruition. Do you see the issue here? The entire point of the movie and the mission of the protagonist (Richard Gere) is to *stop* that from happening. In other words the plot is in essence completely self-sabotaging. Most audience members will be rooting for the villain and as such are being set up for disappointment. I mean... they even named the film after him. You can also ignore the people saying that Sidney Poitier is the only good actor here. They're just virtue-signaling, and in reality the entire cast did a fine job with what they had to work with. Despite everything it's still a serviceable thriller.

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Michael Caton-Jones

Director

Bruce Willis

The Jackal

Richard Gere

Declan Mulqueen

Sidney Poitier

Carter Preston

Diane Venora

Valentina Koslova

Tess Harper

The First Lady

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Synopsis

During an FBI raid on a Moscow nightclub, the brother of Russian gangster Terek Murad (David Hayman) is killed. Murad wants revenge and hires anonymous hit man the Jackal (Bruce Willis) to kill FBI Deputy Director Carter Preston (Sidney Poitier). With the help of Russian agent Valentina Koslova (Diane Venora), Preston finds the only man who knows what the notorious Jackal looks like, imprisoned IRA terrorist Declan Mulqueen (Richard Gere), and forces him to help hunt down the hit man.

Director: Michael Caton-Jones
Producer: Kevin Jarre, James Jacks, Sean Daniel
Screenwriter: Chuck Pfarrer
Distributor: Universal Pictures
Production Co: Alphaville Films, Mutual Film Company
Rating: R
Genre: Mystery & Thriller, Action
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Nov 14, 1997, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Apr 19, 2016
Box Office (Gross USA): $54.9M
Runtime: 2h 4m
Sound Mix: Surround, DTS, Dolby Digital
Aspect Ratio: 35mm, Scope (2.35:1)

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