Summaries

Synopsis

In a Moscow nightclub, A joint operation between the FBI and the MVD is taking place to arrest Ghazzi Murad for the murder of a Russian Mayor, but Ghazzi has no intentions to go quietly. When FBI Deputy Director Carter Preston (Sidney Poitier) steps in to confront him, Ghazzi jumps at him with a knife. He is stopped however by MVD Major Valentina Koslova (Diane Venora) who is forced to kill him in self defense. One of Ghazzi's associates then delivers the bad news to Ghazzi's brother, Therek Murad, one of Russia's most dangerous crime boss, who kills him out of anger when he finds out his brother was killed and no cops were taken out in the altercation.

In retaliation, Therek calls a meeting with a professional assassin who's only known for his code name "The Jackal" (Bruce Willis). He explains to The Jackal that he will deal with the MVD on his own but would like to send a clear message to the United States and the FBI to stay out of his affairs. He then shows The Jackal a picture and asks if he would accept to kill this American target. The Jackal agrees and explains that if he does the job, he will have to disappear and stop operating for good. Considering the risks, he agrees to do the assignment for a $70 million, half now, half upon completion, to which Therek agrees. The Jackal also adds that should there be an information leak, The Jackal alone will decide if the operation continues or not. Either way, he will keep the first half. He then advises Therek to lay low until the job is done. Therek accepts the deal.

Two weeks after the death of Ghazzi, seven MVD operatives have been killed and the blood keeps being shed all over Russia. Intelligence reveal that Therek has been hiding in a Porvoo, Finland hotel for eight days with his top lieutenants and bodyguards. Only one of his henchmen comes out twice a day to go to the post office.

The MVD moves in on the henchmen and captures him for an intense interrogation session that ends up killing him. During the interrogation, the henchman reveals the name "Jackal". The name catches Preston's attention who reveals he has heard the name before but was never able to prove whether the man truly exists or not. Koslova confirms his existence as he was hired by the KGB some times in the past, however, no one knows who he is or even what he looks like. The name coupled with documents recovered from the henchmen's briefcase, leads the FBI and MVD to assume the American target for the retaliatory hit will be FBI Director Donald Brown.

Meanwhile, The Jackal begins his preparations for the assassination. Throughout the movie, he is seen several times altering his physical appearance to avoid recognition; using wigs, fake beards, accessories, dying his hair, disguises and even a fat suit.He first steals some IDs at the airport and have fake ones created by an artist whom he compensates generously for her work. He then goes to the bank where he discusses his several accounts and opening new ones. While at the bank, he is given access to his banker's computer in private which he uses to shop online on the black market for a gun he could use for the job. He ends up purchasing a Polish long-range, high cyclic rate heavy machine gun meant to be mounted on a vehicle. The Jackal then travels to Canada under a fake ID where he purchases a blue mini van which he disguises as a white mini van with easily removable paint. With a good pressure gun, he can turn his white mini van into a blue one in less than a minute.

In the meantime, the FBI learns of one person who could possibly identify The Jackal: A former Basque separatist named Isabella Zancona (Mathilda May) who is believed to be currently hiding from the Spanish Government within the U.S. However, no one knows where to find her. Through her history, they find her former boyfriend: Declan Mulqueen (Richard Gere), an Irish IRA sniper currently serving two life sentences in a U.S maximum security prison for acts of terrorism and weapons trafficking.

They visit Mulqueen who refuses to disclose Isabella's location. They offer to grant Isabella full citizenship and protection from the Spanish government as well as never letting them know she is in the U.S but Mulqueen is quick to point out that neither the U.S nor the Spanish government know where she is at the moment and that is a far better status than what they are offering. He does however soften up when The Jackal is mentioned. He agrees to help them if they promise to do everything in their power to grant him freedom to go back home. Preston refuses and starts leaving when Mulqueen reveals that he too can identify the Jackal on sight. He also points out he'd be a good asset to them since he knows enough about The Jackal to identify his methods. Preston is not satisfied with just Mulqueen and insists to speak with Isabella. Mulqueen finally agrees on the condition that Isabella's involvement remains a complete secret and he is allowed to get out of jail to assist them with the investigation. He also asks to be present when they talk to Isabella. Preston agrees to Mulqueen's terms and takes him out of jail.

Mulqueen, true to his word, takes them to Zancona's house who is now married with children but her family don't know anything about her past as a freedom fighter. Isabella runs at Declan upon sight and agrees to answer Koslova's questions while Preston and the FBI remain at a safe distance. Preston reminds his partner Witherspoon (J.K Simmons) their promise to Mulqueen not to include any information regarding Isabella in their report. Isabella provides information that can help identify the Jackal, including the fact that he is American with military training and combat experience in Special Operations and was once stationed in El Salvador. She also reveals that, unlike most people like her and Declan who were passionately fighting for a cause, The Jackal was always cold and emotionless. After the interview, Isabella discreetly gives Mulqueen a key to a drop box that has a clean passport and $10,000 cash for him to go back to Ireland. However, Mulqueen refuses to use it as he has given Preston his word he wouldn't run. He promises however to use it if he clearly sees the FBI might turn on him. On their way back, Koslova finally warms up to Declan and has a conversation with him. She also warns him that she knows about the key and hopes he will not use it until their business is concluded.

Back at the office, they have a meeting with FBI Director Brown and members of different services, including the Russian embassy, to form a crisis cell entirely focused on chasing down The Jackal. However, it appears many of them clearly underestimate who the man really is and how serious of a threat he should be considered. Declan reveals The Jackal probably has four sets of perfectly good IDs to move around anywhere in the world. He also reminds them that he's been at the top of a trade that doesn't allow error for twenty years and should be taken with the highest level of seriousness.

Meanwhile, the Jackal is in Washington, vetting a children's hospital that will open in two weeks. A gala opening is scheduled which will be chaired by FBI Director Brown and the First Lady among others. He then goes to a local gay club where he heavily flirts with a local businessman whom he cons into giving him his business card and promises romance when he gets back in town. He also steals a parking permit from one of the cars in the parking lot. He then travels to Montreal, Quebec, Canada to pick up the weapon he purchased. That night, he notices he's being followed. He goes to a local internet cafe where he is notified by his Internet contacts that a group of hijackers have located and are pursuing his weapon. He goes back to his hotel where he rushes to the bottom of the parking garage and uses a pressure gun to remove the paint and turn his van blue. He protects the van by using an extremely toxic substance sprayed on the car handle which kills one of the goons as soon as he touches it. He then quickly maneuvers through the hotel and evades the others easily.

The next day he visits small-time hood engineer Ian Lamont (Jack Black), whom he has hired to design and build a remote controlled firing station for his weapon, demanding Lamont's absolute discretion and that he destroys any evidence the thing was ever made or that they ever met. Underestimating who he's dealing with, Lamont tries to blackmail him for more money. The Jackal agrees to pay the extra fee but asks for a location where he could test his weapon discretely in return. Lamont is more than happy to take him to a secluded wooded location. The Jackal soon realizes the weapon, once mounted on its firing station, is not as precise as he was hoping for, being off by a few millimeters. Lamont argues the weapon is not off and implies The Jackal is. The Jackal then test the automatic sight by locking in on Lamont whom he asks to run around so he can practice following him with the weapon. He then asks Lamont to stretch his arm and hold his pack of cigarettes. He clearly aims for the cigarettes but when the weapon is fired, it shoots off Lamont's arm entirely. The Jackal then switches the weapon to machine gun mode to simultaneously kill Lamont and destroy his car.

The FBI makes progress when they're able to trace one of The Jackal's fake ID back to Montreal. They then get called to the Ottawa area where Lamont's remains were found. Investigating his workshop, they discover the plans for the firing station. With Mulqueen's insights, they deduce the kind of heavy machine gun The Jackal intends to use for the assassination.

The Jackal then moves to a lakeside area where he purchases a sail boat. At night, he sneaks his weapon onto the boat, hiding the cannon inside the hollow tube of the sail. The next day, as he's sailing between Canada and Chicago, he makes a phone call to a man who informs him of what the FBI knows so far and the involvement of Declan Mulqueen. The Jackal informs the man that the operation continues. He then joins a popular regatta to try and sneak unnoticed into Chicago, however, Mulqueen was able to guess his next move and the FBI are there to welcome him, although they have no idea who they are looking for. The Jackal comes face to face with Mulqueen, who's gunless, and tries to kill him but Mulqueen is saved by Koslova who distracts The Jackal long enough for Mulqueen to dive underwater. The Jackal is able to escape with his weapon and his mini van.

After the encounter, Mulqueen tells Preston they may have a mole within their cell since The Jackal had no reaction to seeing Mulqueen, as if he had been expecting him. Preston refuses to believe there is a traitor amongst them and argues with Mulqueen that he is making this quite personal. Mulqueen then reveals he does have a personal motive for hunting The Jackal: the assassin double-crossed Mulqueen and Isabella back in Libya, causing them to walk into a trap where Isabella was shot while she was pregnant with Mulqueen's child, causing a miscarriage.

While The Jackal is making his way from Chicago to Washington, having repainted his mini van red, Preston reveals to the cell that he decided Mulqueen may have been right and has secretly put everyone's phone under surveillance, including the Russian ambassador with Koslova's autorisation. Director Bolitonov of the Russian embassy is then revealed as a mole when a call with The Jackal has been intercepted and recorded. That night, as The Jackal is getting drunk all by himself in his hotel room, he makes a call to Bolitonov but finds out he will have to continue without the informant's tips he's been receiving.

As a precaution after finding out there was a mole within the cell, Koslova and Witherspoon goes back to Isabella's house to evacuate her family in case The Jackal somehow knew about them. They turn out to be right when Mulqueen and Preston finds out Bolitonov had provided The Jackal with a direct access code to FBI records. Accessing the records themselves, they find out that Witherspoon went "by the book" and did put Isabella's name and address in his report. Meanwhile, The Jackal has sneaked into Isabella's house and, not finding Isabella, kills Witherspoon and McMurphy before mortally wounding Koslova. He then leaves a message for Mulqueen that "he can't protect his women," which Valentina repeats to Mulqueen before she dies. Mulqueen then promises Isabella he will kill The Jackal once and for all and asks her for a gun since Preston refuses to give him one.

The Jackal calls the gay businessman he was flirting heavily with earlier and tells him he's in town and looking to hook up. The man gives him his address and the keys to his house. When he joins him later after work, The Jackal is no longer flirtatious and is rather cold which throws him off completely. When the man looks at the news and recognizes The Jackal from a portrait being displayed, The Jackal simply reaches for his gun and shoots him dead without a second thought. He then goes to the children's hospital opening gala where he uses the parking permit he stole earlier to park his mini van at a prime spot and dresses up as a police officer to fit in with the crowd. He also uses his disguise to turn away cops that wants to take a closer look at his mini van.

As the Jackal makes his final preparations, Mulqueen reflects on everything that happened so far. Especially The Jackal's willingness to keep going even after finding out that the FBI knows about two of his IDs, the mini van, the weapon, his target and Declan getting involved. Adding to his thoughts the message he received through Valentina and her words about Therek Murad wanting something Public and brutal, Mulqueen realizes they had the wrong target all along. The Jackal is not going after Director Brown, he's going after the First Lady who is due to give a public speech at the ceremony the Director was meant to attend.

Preston and Mulqueen, along with the army, quickly fly to the hospital. While in flight, Preston takes off his microphone and offers Declan a sniper rifle and clears him to shoot both the weapon or the man should he find either. As Preston runs to the podium to tackle the First Lady out of harm's way, Mulqueen takes sniping position on the rooftop with a sniping partner. He spots The Jackal's most likely exit strategy, a subway station just around the corner, and the mini van. With a precise shot, Declan is able to take out the weapon's camera, causing The Jackal to shoot blind. The Jackal shoots frantically at the stage but the lack of camera causes him to miss entirely while Preston saves the First Lady, getting shot in the leg in the process. Mulqueen then leaves his position to get to the subway station, leaving his sniping partner to neutralize the weapon which he does by blowing up the vehicle.

With his plan disintegrating fast, The Jackal flees into the subway where he gets chased through the subway tunnels by Declan. After a cat-and-mouse chase and a shoot out, The Jackal grabs a teen girl as hostage and forces Declan to drop his gun. As he's about to kill Declan, The Jackal surprisingly gets shot in the throat by an unseen person who is revealed to be Isabella, whom Declan has been updating about his position all along, making everyone believe he was updating Preston. Mulqueen then empties Isabella's gun into The Jackal to make sure he stays dead.

A few days later, Preston and Mulqueen stand as the only witnesses to the Jackal's burial in an unmarked grave. Preston informs Mulqueen that he is going back to Russia to pursue the war against Therek Murad and that Mulqueen's request to be released was denied, but he will likely be moved to a more comfortable minimum security prison. He also informs him that his heroics in saving the First Lady have made Preston a hero in the FBI and quite untouchable, no matter how much he messes up from now on. He then tells Mulqueen that he knows about the Dropbox key Isabella gave him earlier. With the knowledge that his recent actions and his current clout with the office protects him from any real backlash against him, Preston suggests he will go get a coffee at a stand nearby which should leave Mulqueen alone for about 30 minutes which, for an experienced operative like Mulqueen is plenty enough to disappear. The two men thank each other and part ways.