The Day of the Jackal TV review – Eddie Redmayne is a steely assassin in gripping cat-and-mouse yarn

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Every good assassin knows how to maintain an emotional distance from their work. But only an exceptional person can leave a physical distance of 3.8 km between him and his victim. It takes seven seconds for the bullet fired by the deadeye sniper into the window of a tall building on the horizon to hit the target. Just a few more minutes before the police reach the room on the 17th floor of the tower block, long abandoned by the gunman.

This is how it begins The day of the Jackala new 10-part Sky series based on Fred Zinnemann’s 1973 classic – itself an adaptation of Frederick Forsyth’s novel. Written by Great boy creator Ronan Bennett, it’s less a copycat remake than a slick contemporary take on the murder plot premise – one that’s perhaps better seen as a standalone film than an attempt at a near-perfect political thriller to rework.

At its core, the story is still a gripping game of cat and mouse as the steadfast, fleet-footed killer known as the Jackal evades the law enforcement officers hot on his trail. While the original film revolved around a semi-factual right-wing conspiracy to take out Charles de Gaulle after the Algerian War, the series is set in a fictional present that makes no explicit references to real-life figures or political contexts. It feels timeless and a bit generic at the same time.

The details of who hired the killer to care for whom and why cannot be revealed here. In reality, it hardly matters – at least not to the fastidious Jackal who seems motivated neither by money nor influence, ideology nor self-interest, but only by good work.

He is played by Eddie Redmayne, whose boyishness initially seems at odds with the work of professional murder, until you witness the emotionless coldness with which his Jackal kills. As a man of an out-of-place age with an affable but unassuming manner, he can become anyone when the need arises.

Still, the series seems intent on debunking the mystery surrounding the enigmatic mercenary with scenes depicting him at home with an increasingly suspicious wife (Úrsula Corberó). It’s hard to say whether these are set up to explore an unexpected humanity or to intensify its callousness. They act more like clumsy digressions.

There are similar issues in the parallel storyline that focuses on MI6 agent Bianca (Lashana Lynch), who is both an opponent of the Jackal and a ruthless and ruthless counterpart. The show clearly wants to define her better than “knows guns, pain in the ass” (as one supervisor puts it), but the domestic scenes where she feels guilty about missing a daughter’s parents’ evening or having to rush to leave dinner makes only makes the character stuck in clichés.

That said, when the show adjusts its scope from half-baked domestic drama to a full-throttle procedural thriller, it rarely misses its mark. The series won’t be as long as the movie, but there’s enough tension and action to make it an entertaining watch.

★★★☆☆

Episodes 1-5 on NOW from November 7 and on Peacock in the US from November 14. New episodes are released every week