Reel Rundown: ‘The Day of the Jackal’ takes fictional plot based on real threats and stretches the truth further

In 1971, the English journalist-turned-novelist Frederick Forsyth saw the publication of his first novel, “The Day of the Jackal.” Despite struggling to get the book accepted and then having to endure what was a limited initial launch in Britain, Forsyth watched his action-thriller go international, become a New York Times best-seller and garner millions in sales.

The story behind the novel, which features a fictional plot based on real threats to the life of then-French President Charles de Gaulle, would go on to inspire at least three film adaptations, two American and one Indian.

And now the same basic plot, though with substantial liberties, has been adapted into a 10-part miniseries streaming on Peacock. Created and written by producer Ronan Bennett and featuring a cast led by the Oscar-winning actor Eddie Redmayne, Peacock’s “The Day of the Jackal” shows all the qualities – and detriments – that miniseries-making can generate.

Let’s first run down the qualities, among them a range of impressive filming locations, most set in Croatia and Hungary. Add to that a skilled cast led by three principal actors. Redmayne, who won his Best Actor Oscar for the 2014 film “The Theory of Everything,” plays the title character. A former British special-operations soldier, he works now as a highly paid international assassin.

Yet he lives a double life. Married to the Spanish beauty Nuria (Úrsula Corberó) and the father of a toddler, the Jackal splits time between his assignments and the Spanish villa he shares with his family – none of whom know about his alternate existence.

Yet when he assassinates a German politician, managing to shoot the man from an unbelievable distance, he draws the attention of an MI6 firearms expert, Bianca Pullman (Lashana Lynch). And so begins the cat-and-mouse game between killer and British agent that follows the basic template of Forsyth’s novel.

If that were all the miniseries had to offer, there would be hardly enough material to warrant 10 full near-hour-long episodes. But showrunner/screenwriter Bennett and his crew of directors (Brian Kirk, Anthony Philipson, Paul Wilmshurst and Anu Menon) concoct a storyline that leans heavily on governmental and corporate-greed conspiracies to give the project depth and a darker-than-expected tone.

Balance all that, then, against the negatives that Bennett offers us. The most obvious is the farfetched plotting. Even given the standard suspension-of-disbelief requirements of action-fiction, the idea of a sniper, using a 3D-printed weapon, to make a 3,500-meter-plus killshot is patently ridiculous.

Furthermore, the job that the Jackal then takes that puts him in danger involves a billionaire – a blend of Steve Jobs and Elon Musk who goes by the initials UDC (Khalid Abdalia). Seems UDC has developed a technology called River, the purpose of which is to make transparent the world’s economy, thus unmasking the sinister financial moves that the elites use to mask their illegal activities.

A group of such elites, led by one mysterious figure (Charles Dance), has hired the Jackal to kill UDC before he has the chance to announce River’s launch. And one way the miniseries keeps its plot moving is to have us believe that UDC’s ego is so big that he won’t unveil the technology until he can do so in the public spotlight.

Oh, and the group that wants him dead? Well, they may be working with an unnamed government source.

Complicating matters is the fact that not a single character – other than maybe Nuria – is without flaws. Though he has more of a conscience than the character in Forsyth’s novel, the Jackal here commits a number of ruthless murders. And the agent pursuing him, Pullman, gives more attention to her job than her marriage and yet then is the cause of several deaths of her own team.

Finally, it’s hard to figure out why Bennett et al decided to spread the miniseries out over 10 episodes when a pared-down version of, say, four episodes might have been more effective. Of course, to do that, Peacock – in shades of NBC’s traditional network TV format – would have to cut down on the number of advertisements for, among other sponsors, Discover credit cards.

Maybe that’s why the network has approved a second season. Talk about the elites who rule the world.