10-Part Spy Thriller’s Rule-Breaking Formula Reveals Exactly Why Reacher’s Successful
A ten-episode spy thriller adopts the same unique storytelling trick as Prime Video's Reacher, explaining why Reacher has been such a massive hit. Prime Video's take on Lee Child's Jack Reacher books is easily one of the most critically and commercially successful additions to the crime thriller genre. The franchise's popularity will likely grow even further in the near future with Reacher season 4 and the upcoming Neagley spin-off show. However, while viewers wait for the release of Reacher's upcoming installments, another incredible crime thriller demands attention. On paper, the crime thriller in question, Peacock's The Day of the Jackal, is significantly different from Reacher and most other modern additions to the genre. Like Reacher, it is based on a classic crime thriller novel but inclines more towards featuring a morally ambiguous protagonist. Despite being significantly different from Reacher on the surface, though, The Day of the Jackal adopts a very similar storytelling formula. Like Reacher, it cleverly defies many existing conventions and rules of the crime thriller genre, which allows it to easily etch its own unique identity among the countless espionage and action-driven shows dominating modern streaming.
Reacher & Day Of The Jackal Adopt The Same Clever Storytelling Trick
Eddie Redmayne aims his gun at someone in The Day of the Jackal season 1
Neither Reacher nor The Day of the Jackal spent too much time on exploring how their characters "feel." Their emotional states and vulnerabilities are almost always kept hidden, and their respective shows focus more on the high stakes of their missions and how they plan to overpower their enemies. Jack Reacher is more morally righteous than the titular Jackal from The Day of the Jackal. However, like Jackal, Jack Reacher also operates with an almost machine-like efficiency and often detaches himself from emotional distractions. In both shows, there is always an air of mystery surrounding the main characters, and, yet, their stories are incredibly enthralling. Considering how most crime thrillers heavily focus on their protagonists' motives and vulnerabilities, Reacher and The Day of Jackal should not work so well.
However, despute defying the norms of the genre and breaking its established rules, both shows keep viewers hooked by heavily emphasizing on their titular characters' discipline and intricate modus operandi. The Day of the Jackal features long sequences that walk through everything from how the main character forges a custom rifle to how he even studies the wind's speed and direction to get his target right. Similarly, Prime Video's Reacher spends considerable time showcasing how Jack Reacher carefully studies his surroundings and mentally maps out every possible outcome before making a move. The two characters' razor-sharp determination to achieve the desired outcome alone is compelling enough to completely immerse viewers in their worlds. Unsurprisingly, the Jack Reacher books' original author, Lee Child, even drew inspiration from Frederick Forsyth's The Day of the Jackal. "He changed the rules for all of us who came after," he recalled (via The Guardian).
Day Of The Jackal Deserves As Much Attention As Reacher
Eddie Redmayne as The Jackal pointing a sniper in an episode of The Day of The Jackal
The Day of the Jackal performed well enough on Peacock to be renewed for another season. There have also been some fascinating behind-the-scenes developments surrounding the show's season 2 in recent times. However, compared to some of the more mainstream crime thriller shows, like Reacher and Bosch, The Day of the Jackal remains fairly obscure.
Remakes and reboots of classic movies rarely perform well. However, Peacock's The Day of the Jackal is a rare reboot of a highly acclaimed 1973 movie that manages to perfectly modernize its source material's story without failing to capture its essence. In its 10-episode runtime, The Day of the Jackal keeps one glued to their screens with its compelling portrayal of the central assassin's meticulously calculated kills and his intense game of cat-and-mouse with an MI6 agent. The show is further elevated by Eddie Redmayne and Lashana Lynch's performances. Hopefully, in the near future, The Day of the Jackal, too, will garner as much mainstream attention as Reacher.
