Some of the best TV series of this century are brilliantly presented, yet distinctly from the small screen, like a “Ted Lasso” or a “Veep” or a “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” while others are more clearly cinematic in nature, for example, “Band of Brothers,” “Game of Thrones,” and “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power.” It’s about the budget, of course, but it’s also about the scope and parameters of the storylines.
From Academy Award winner Eddie Redmayne as the titular character to the beautiful and extensive location shoots in London, Budapest, Vienna and Croatia to the big action scenes, the Peacock series “The Day of the Jackal” clearly falls into the latter category. As cliché as it may be to say this, each of the ten chapters is more like a movie than a television episode.
This is the third major adaptation of Frederick Forsyth’s best-selling 1971 novel, following the classic 1973 film directed by the great Fred Zinnemann of ‘High Noon’ and ‘From Here to Eternity’ and the disappointing and very loose 1997 version with starring Richard Gere and Bruce Willis.
In this British production from Irish writer Ronan Bennett, we kick off with a spectacularly executed premiere episode that immerses us in the lives of the two main characters: the almost mythological assassin who will become known as Jackal (Redmayne), and a tenacious, weapons expert British intelligence officer named Bianca Pullman (Lashana Lynch), who is willing to take great personal and professional risks to identify, locate and take down the Jackal. (This is a return to MI6 for Lynch, following her turn as agent Nomi, who is assigned the 007 number in “No time to die.”)
In that first episode, we learn that the Jackal is a master of disguises and accents when he poses as a German guard to get a job, and that he is a marksman with extraordinary abilities, as demonstrated when he takes on a polarizing political candidate eliminates. from a distance of 3,850 meters, which, if confirmed, would be a world record for sniper kills. (The fatal shot in the murder scene is brutal, shocking and gruesome.)
The Jackal’s fastidious performance and the visuals of certain scenes remind you of Michael Fassbender in ‘The Killer’ by David Fincher but while the latter was a deliberately anonymous guy who wore a bucket hat and regularly ate at McDonald’s, the Jackal, while equally secretive, is stylish, proud of his indifference and almost theatrical in his techniques and lifestyle. He is also extremely wealthy, and when he is not traveling the world on his latest assignment, he enjoys free time on his lush grounds in Cádiz, Spain, with his beautiful and loving wife Nuria (Úrsula Corberó) and their young son.
Nuria obviously has no idea what her husband actually does for a living, and the same goes for Bianca’s husband Paul (Sule Rimi) and their daughter Jasmine (Florisa Kamara). Over the course of the series, we get perhaps one too many reminders of how Jackal and Bianca are different sides of the same coin; whether it’s a birthday celebration for Jackal’s son or a dinner party at Bianca’s house, we know the phone will ring, and Jackal and/or Bianca will tell them to take this call, and moments later they’ll be standing there with bags in the hand, apologizing that they have to leave. Duty calls, and all that.
British intelligence officer Bianca Pullman (Lashana Lynch) takes on the risky assignment of tracking down the Jackal.
While the original ‘Day of the Jackal’ focused on a plot to assassinate French President Charles de Gaulle, the update centers on the Jackal entering into a contract to kill a fictional technology entrepreneur named Ulle Dag Charles (Khalid Abdalla). to kill, who is about to kill. unveil revolutionary software that will reveal the true nature of the financial dealings of the world’s most powerful billionaires. (Needless to say, the world’s most powerful billionaires would love to put a stop to that plan.) With the luxury of a 10-episode series, “Day of the Jackal” has room for some subplots, but it never feels like the unnecessary padding that appears in many limited series that should be more, well, limited.
In addition to the virtuoso cinematography, cracking dialogue and universally great performances, the series makes extensive use of music, from British singer-songwriter Celeste’s Bond-esque title theme ‘This Is Who I Am’ to the perfect use of “Everything in Its Right Place” by Radiohead in the opening minutes of the series to a breathtaking and chilling explosion of The Who’s “Won’t Get Fooled Again” to mark a hugely important development. coach. This is one big thriller on the small screen.