The Jackal

Casting nationals to play characters from other countries with atrocious accents ruined this from the off. I should have seen the writing on the wall when Scot David Hayman debuts playing ... a Russian. Then there was a plethora of awful Russian accents before the Pièce de résistance, Richard Gere playing an Irishman. His accent was so bad I switched it off and watched something else.

The main reason I went to see The Jackal was Bruce Willis. I wanted to see him as a villian, and I thought he was OK. Unfortunately the rest of the film could've used some fine tuning in a lot of places. I really didn't buy Richard Gere as an Irishman either. Sydney Potier is good in just about anything, and he brought his usual intensity to a underwritten role. Willis' part is a little more interesting, he skulks around, making his plans and killing people. But he wasn't as crafty or as suave as the original Jackal. In the end, Gere and Willis are locked into a showdown and that very old movie cliche raises its ugly head once more. A word to characters who want to make sure the bad guy is down for good: Aim for the freaking head!