‘The Day of the Jackal’ Review

Adapting the 1971 Frederick Forsyth novel of the same name, Fred Zinnemann‘s 1973 thriller The Day of the Jackal follows a far-right plot to assassinate French president Charles de Gaulle in 1963, utilizing an assassin who goes by the codename “the Jackal.” The book is based on a real-life assassination attempt (one of 30 attempts on de Gaulle’s life, all of which he survived in relatively good health), albeit the details and hunt are fictionalized. The story has inspired a up-to-date series at Peacock, taking a page from the generalities of the original narrative but updated for the present. This iteration is an elegantly crafted thriller that utilizes tight plotting and sturdy character work to modernize a classic for our contemporary world.

What Is ‘The Day of the Jackal’ About?

In this iteration, an assassination at a legendary distance puts Bianca Pullman (Lashana Lynch) on the trail of a killer making impossible shots. The assassination, by a killer known only as The Jackal (Eddie Redmayne), also provokes the interest of a set of powerful, wealthy figures who want to stop up-to-date efforts in financial transparency from coming to fruition. They hire the Jackal to kill the man responsible, as Bianca has to hunt a man who leaves no trace and seems to accomplish the impossible in a tense hunt across Europe.

‘The Day of the Jackal’ Is a Modernized, Back-To-Basics Spy Series

While the original The Day of the Jackal would still have made engaging material for a series adaptation, this series does benefit from taking a fresh approach. It fits nicely into very contemporary conversations around global inequality and the lack of financial transparency that facilitates it, while also amplifying the spy thriller-feel with the utilize of state-of-the-art technology and settings. It capably provokes notions of a very believable contemporary underbelly of massively powerful players in our world, adding to both stakes and tension as the cat-and-mouse hunt between Bianca and the Jackal builds to a crescendo. The script provides ample opportunities for twists and reveals, and they’re well-developed.

Eddie Redmayne gives a sturdy performance as the titular assassin whose day it is, playing the character with an smart coolness on the job while still having vibrancy and warmth in his scenes with Nuria (Úrsula Corberó), the killer’s wife. This Jackal doesn’t read sociopath, and the story wisely uses the extra narrative time that a series allows to develop him, his home life, and his elaborate kills to a greater level of detail. Lashana Lynch is similarly excellent as Bianca, a astute pursuant who nonetheless gets too myopic in her hunt, willing to cross moral boundaries to net her uncatchable foe. As Bianca and the Jackal become increasingly desperate, the series plays their interests and tactics off each other well.

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‘The Day of the Jackal’ Is a Strong, High-Tension Thriller

Altogether, The Day of the Jackal is a sturdy series outing that updates the original material, giving it a fresh and spirited feel. It’s suspenseful, well-paced, and the viewer is allowed to get a feel for its scenic European vistas and major setpieces, but it rarely loses focus on the major players at its heart. Lashana Lynch once again gives a sturdy performance as a tough but smart operative following her standout turn as 007, Nomi, in No Time To Die, but manages to make Bianca feel different. Eddie Redmayne’s seasoned capacity for understatement and subtlety works well to embody the Jackal with a still, reserved intelligence that befits an assassin relying on skill and planning to make impossible kills. It’s a series that relies on sturdy plotting instead of novelty and gimmicks, and it’s better for it.

Films and series about spies and assassins are about a dime a dozen these days, as they’re a perennial way of creating networks of powerful operatives in buzzy locations doing larger-than-life things. It’s exhilarating when they’re good, inventive, and well-cast, but it’s also harder than one would think to make a spy thriller stand out among a well-trod subgenre that’s burdened with lacklusterattempts. The Day of the Jackal doesn’t try to reinvent the wheel, introduce near-future tech, or overwhelm audiences with novel genre hybridity. It’s straightforward but elegantly crafted, well cast, and capably structured to keep tension, backed by sturdy performances. Moreover, it’s a good, highly watchable thriller series that will keep viewers engaged throughout its main characters’ tit-for-tat pursuit.

The Day of the Jackal premieres its first five episodes on November 14, exclusively on Peacock.

The Day of the Jackal is a tense, well-structured thriller with a talented cast.

Pros

• Great, layered performances by Lashana Lynch and Eddie Redmayne elevate and add complexity to the material.
• The series offers a breezy pace with reveals and twists throughout.
• The world is intelligently built and engaging, and setting the series in the contemporary world and its issues was a astute choice.

Cons

• While the issues in the Jackal?s personal life are well developed, Bianca’s background isn?t as compelling for much of the series.

Watch on Peacock