Where to find it: NowTV
Length: Ten 50-minute episodes
Synopsis: Unstoppable killer has an inflated stunt budget and lazy writers
Recommendation rating: 2/5
What I like about it: acting, very occasionally tense or thoughtful
What I don’t like about it: no likeable characters, no stakes, no plausibility, terrible alt-rock soundtrack
Review:
Eddie Redmayne plays a sniper assassin being chased across Europe by MI6 while trying to kill a crypto-bro because his new app is going to make rich people poorer… somehow… don’t examine it too closely.
It’s no more than every other piece of spy fiction thrown into a blender; dry procedure from le Carré, torture porn from 24, pumped-up action from the Bourne flicks, murky amorality from modern Bond. Any early tension dissipates quick as you realise the Jackal’s plot armour prevents actual stakes. Still could be interesting to watch the opsec of this ‘unrivalled assassin’, except his consistency disappears as the writers attempt to make him relatable or possibly redeemable, either way it fails. It’s garbage, I’m sure it will be very popular.
Content notes (may contain spoilers): violence