Eddie Redmayne transforms into Jackal in effective thriller (review)

Hunted by Lashana Lynch, the former star of Fantastic Beasts makes an excellent hitman, chilling and inscrutable.

He can knock out a politician from 3 kilometers away and disappear without leaving a trace. The awesome Eddie RedmayneOscar for Best Actor for his incarnation of Stephen Hawking in A wonderful story of time (2015), then Danish Girl acclaimed by Tom Hooper (2016) before brilliantly embodying a hero of the saga Harry Potterin the trilogy of Fantastic Beaststhis time transforms into a hitman in The Day of the Jackal. An elite assassin, who executes targets all over the world, without batting an eyelid, on behalf of wealthy sponsors. A master of disguise, no one knows his face and he takes down his targets with terrifying efficiency, until he attracts the attention of an MI6 agent.

The Jackalit is originally a novel by Frederick Forsyth, first embodied in the cinema by Edward Fox (1973) then by Bruce Willis (1997), in a somewhat silly Hollywood remake. It is Richard Gere who was tracking down the psychopathic killer at the time. This time, the series of Ronan Bennett (creator of Top Boy) takes care to draw a Jackal clearly more nuanced, more mysterious. Behind the icy blue gaze ofEddie Redmaynewe never really know what the assassin with many lives is thinking.

This totally dusted remake takes the form of a slick thriller with careful photography and exhilarating intensity. This Jackal takes us to the four corners of Europe, and targets one another with striking composure. The staging is extremely effective and results in a captivating spy series, full of suspense, which owes everything to the two exciting performances: that of Redmayne, but also that of Lashana Lynchformer sidekick of James Bond at the cinema, who relentlessly tracks down the elusive assassin. The Day of the Jackal then takes on the appearance of a game of cat and mouse, in which we graciously allow ourselves to be caught.

The Day of the Jackal, season 1 in 10 episodes, to watch on Prime Video on December 6, 2024 on Prime Video.