The Day of the Jackal

Drama Action & Adventure Mystery English

An unrivalled and highly elusive lone assassin, the Jackal, makes his living carrying out hits for the highest fee. But following his latest kill, he meets his match in a tenacious British intelligence officer who starts to track down the Jackal in a thrilling cat-and-mouse chase across Europe, leaving destruction in its wake.

Cast:	Eddie Redmayne, Lashana Lynch, Eleanor Matsuura, Chukwudi Iwuji, Úrsula Corberó, Adoney Díaz Barajas,

All Guild Reviews of The Day of the Jackal

Image of scene from the film The Day of the Jackal

Even Eddie Redmayne can’t elevate this empty adaptation of Frederick Forsyth’s assassin thriller

Rohan Naahar | Independent Film Critic writing for Collider

Thu, December 19 2024

Starring Eddie Redmayne and Lashana Lynch, the new mini-series adaptation of Frederick Forsyth's thriller is too bloated to recommend.

Oscar-winner Eddie Redmayne is at his slipperiest in The Day of the Jackal, the new mini-series based on the classic beach read by Frederick Forsyth. The book was previously adapted into a lithe (and largely faithful) movie back in 1973, but has been updated for a modern audience by series creator Ronan Bennett. The bones of the story — a cat-and-mouse chase between an assassin on a mission and a secret agent tasked with stopping him — remain the same, but Bennett’s attempts to flesh the narrative out are mostly unsuccessful.