In Moscow, after FBI deputy director Carter Preston (Sidney Poitier) and scarred Russian intelligence officer Valentina Koslova (Diane Venora) bring down a key figure in the Russian Mafia, they are threatened by the criminals powerful brother who swears vengeance on the FBI and immediately hires a professional assassin, the Jackal (Bruce Willis) to kill a leading American political figure. A master of disguises, the Jackal believes in total perfectionism and demands $70 million for the job. The FBI suspects the Jackal is aiming for the FBI director, so they consult with former Basque terrorist Isabella (Mathilda May), in Virginia, and Isabellas former lover, IRA operative Declan Mulqueen (Richard Gere), serving a prison sentence. Promised leniency, Mulqueen agrees to help. Meanwhile, the Jackal prepares false passports, secures a customized computer system to run his Gatling gun, and heads toward his target in Washington, D.C.

The Chuck Pfarrar screenplay is adapted from Kenneth Ross screenplay of the 1973 fact-based Fred Zinnemann film, The Day of the Jackal, so the credits carry no mention of Frederick Forsyths novel, adapted for the 1973 film. When The Jackal began production under the title The Day of the Jackal, the title suggested it was a remake of the earlier film. In the 1973 film, the Jackal (Edward Fox) traveled Europe to assassinate French President Charles de Gaulle. The totally different story of the 1997 movie led Zinnemann to announce that Universal had hijacked the title of his 1973 film. He enlisted Forsyths support and fired off a letter to Daily Variety: The title has been hijacked under the full protection of the copyright law of the land, destroying not only our film, but erasing its memory and the record of a small contribution to our heritage. Zinnemann, who collected royalties on the earlier film, claimed the original was threatened with extinction because of the abuse of our title.

Zinnemanns letter also included comments from Forsyth in a similar vein: I am sure you will agree that the film version has served Universal extremely well over the years and, indeed, has become something of a classic...Plotting elements have absolutely nothing to do with the original story...You appear to have accepted an original screenplay and to be tacking onto it an internationally known title. Locations for the 1997 film included Chicago, D.C. (Georgetown), Virginia (Fredericksburg, Ladysmith, Richmond), North Carolina (Wilmington), South Carolina (Charleston), Montreal, Helsinki, and Moscow. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide