Eddie Redmayne, Lashana Lynch add gravitas to ‘Day of the Jackal’

Who is the Jackal? Is he a multi-millionaire with a lavish estate who travels the world? Is he a janitor who literally cleans up the mess? Or is he just a mercenary who also happens to be the world’s best sniper? Up to the star Eddie Redmayne and the new series “Day of the Jackal” is about, it’s a bit of that and a lot more.

Day of the Jackal is based on a simple game of cat and mouse. Redmayne’s Jackal makes a living by taking out high-ranking members of society for an incredibly lucrative fee. He leaves nothing to chance – no one knows who he is, leaves no traces of his existence and follows a strict routine. Redmayne can change on a dime, being a reassuring friend in one case and an instrument of death in another. His “Jackal” borrows many familiar faces from the world of spy films – the cold calculation of the assassin Alain Delon in “Samurai” and the ever-changing face of Tom Cruise in “Mission: Impossible”.

After the Jackal assassinates a high-ranking political figure, MI6 agent Bianca (Lashana Lynch) is tasked with tracking him down and stopping him once and for all. Bianca will do whatever it takes to track Jackal down, even leaving a trail of bodies in her wake.

Lynch is excellent here as she struggles between what she believes is right and the blood on her hands to achieve it. Even though Bianca believes herself to be righteous, how different is her job from the Jackal’s? The series proves that none of them are truly fair.

This is not Frederick Forsyth’s first novel Day of the Jackal was adapted. It was made into a feature film in the early 70s and is considered one of the best British films of the 20th century. The target of this adaptation was Charles de Gaulle, the president of France in the late 60s. It just wouldn’t work for the current adaptation — this time the target is a fictional philanthropist whose new computer software, River, promises to provide public transparency into how billionaires spend their money. And for those in power, it simply will not work.

Any story about an assassin should make the challenges interesting, and Day of the Jackal does not disappoint. Even though the Jackal is only hired for a handful of jobs throughout the series, each episode has its fair share of thrills, from carefully calculated kills to deadly chases. The Jackal is written as an antagonist, but more often than not I found myself rooting for his success, as these assassination attempts make up the most compelling material.

If Day of the Jackal had focused solely on Eddie Redmayne and Lashana Lynch, it would have been a more compelling, but also much shorter series. In this world of miniseries adaptations, stories can often be thin. The biggest filler for “The Day of the Jackal” is “Nuria” by Ursula Corbero. She’s supposed to be the underlying force that humanizes Redmayne’s character, but more accurately represents the one time Jackal seriously miscalculated. For a killer, a permanent relationship can only be seen as a fantasy.

Nuria is at odds with many of the other characters in The Day of the Jackal in that most of the characters are quite intriguing. Many of them appear briefly to enter Jackal’s world, and it’s a surprise to see who survives or dies. Other recurring characters like Timothy Winthorpe (Charles Dance) easily command attention as he conveys the same charisma of his more memorable characters. The same goes for another Game of Thrones alum, Richard Dormer, whose Norman is an arms dealer who makes 3D-printed weapons for the Jackal. Finally, the Jackal’s contact Zina Jansone (Eleanor Matsuura) makes a big impression as her limited screen time acts as a bridge between the Jackal and his employers.

Even if The Day of the Jackal feels a little too drawn out in places, it’s still a thrill ride. Credit to Redmayne and writer Ronan Bennett, who not only created a compelling anti-hero, but supporting characters whose fate matters. The mass of bodies the Jackal leaves behind carries a certain weight and makes The Day of the Jackal one of the biggest surprises of the season.

A 10-episode miniseries was shown for viewing. Airing weekly on Peacock from November 14.