The fascination with the legend of the perfect assassin is clearly present in The Day of the Jackal. This time, there's also more focus on the person behind the weapon. A hitman with the nickname 'the Jackal' works for the highest bidder. With his reputation for infallibility, he can set his own price. His clients, therefore, pay his exorbitant fee without complaint. They know that once the contract is sealed, it's the end for the chosen target. This elusive assassin is creative, inventive, and emotionless; the ideal traits in his line of work.
Planning and executing murders is hard work, also time-consuming. Apparently, some hitmen also lead a normal life alongside their work. That's a great cover, of course, because lonely, wealthy bachelors stand out. A family man with a busy job that requires frequent travel is much less suspicious. An instant alibi, right?
In reality, such a combination is not ideal, as most partners want to know what their husband is up to when he's away. Love and trust are great, but they quickly get undermined when secret phone calls and missed birthdays happen a bit too often. Naturally, his wife becomes suspicious, and it gets worse when it's clear that her husband is indeed hiding things from her.
The double life of the main character is complicated...
This significantly complicates the main character's double life. To make matters worse, he gets swindled by a client. As the icing on the cake, there's also the concern of an MI6 agent with keen instincts and the looming deadline of his new assignment. This job will also be his last, as he plans to retire early after. This ultimate hit must succeed because if he can't fulfill the contract, he and his family are in great danger. "No pressure," as they say.
The Day of the Jackal is based on the 1971 book by Frederick Forsyth. The story was masterfully filmed in 1973 with a cold and believable Edward Fox as the Jackal. In 1997, Bruce Willis and Richard Gere got to redo the cat-and-mouse game between killer and cop in The Jackal. Now it's Eddie Redmayne's turn (as The Jackal) and Lashana Lynch (as the MI6 agent) to captivate viewers in a series.
What type of viewer is this series intended for? Well, anyone with some knowledge of "the world" and the techniques shown might struggle with some scenes. The scriptwriters also conveniently ignore all the difficulties involved in hitting a moving target from an extremely long distance. The film with Edward Fox was much more realistic and thus more believable in that respect. The love for that film is also clearly present in this series. I just have to say "melon," and the connoisseurs know what I'm talking about.
The Day of the Jackal contains both action and romance.
Anyone who can watch the series without being bothered by the overused 'Hollywood filter' will likely enjoy it. It's certainly interesting to see how The Jackal is challenged on multiple fronts simultaneously. He fights to meet his business obligations and uphold his image while also wanting to maintain his relationship. The Day of the Jackal contains both action and romance. This gives the story a bit more depth and humanity than the older portrayals.
A second season has already been announced. In it, The Jackal gets the chance to settle some old scores. Additionally, his past will play a bigger role. The producers have hinted that they'll incorporate more elements from Forsyth's book into this. We'll see how it unfolds.
About the writer, Karzal
Mike (1995) has been a member of MySeries since 2016 and is mainly active on the English version of the site. Since 2018, he has been actively translating news articles, columns, reviews and basically everything that ends up on the Dutch site. The original articles, columns and reviews were actually written by others. During the week Mike can be found at IKEA, where he is a national systems specialist and occasionally also in the classroom to teach an English lesson. In addition, Mike logically enjoys watching series and has actually been spoon-fed this from an early age. The genre doesn't matter, there is a place for everything in the otherwise busy life.
