MovieChat Forums > The Jackal (1997) Discussion > I could be wrong....(spoilers)

I could be wrong....(spoilers)

posted 13 years ago by popularsi
12 replies | jump to latest

The scene where the Jackal is testing the prototype cannon in the remote location and Ian Lamont (Jack Black) is talking non-stop to the Jackal. My question is: When the Jackal tells Ian Lamont to "run", should Ian Lamont have left the scene or run in the opposite direction? Why would you run into an open field with a machine gun pointed at you and you know this guy is serious. I know the Jackal wanted Ian Lamont dead because he's "blabber mouth" so it seemed inevitable. It just seemed a "gut instinct" for Ian Lamont that he was in serious danger when the Jackal's tone changed.

Jackal: Well Lamont, Let's speed-test it now. So... run!
Ian Lamont: What do you mean?
Jackal: I mean run. Now!

[–] alioth4 13 years ago

Agreed. You could definitely see the sudden chill of fear come over Ian in that scene. He had tried the gambit of "blackmailing" the Jackal for more money and I think realized then and there that that gambit was about to fail spectacularly, that this guy he was dealing with held all the aces (and a damned big gun) and he had... nada. Judging by that look, he was probably soiling his pants, too--paralyzed by fear, not able to really think what to do next, is probably the explanation for not fleeing in the most intelligent manner.

When Ian said he wanted more money than the original deal and implied blackmail, I knew then and there he wasn't going to be left alive. Probably wouldn't have been either way though.

[–] popularsi 13 years ago

Ian was dealing with a very dangerous person, the audience knew this, he didn't.

Ian was a "blabber mouth" and a loose-end, the Jackal had to dispose of him. No witnesses, out in the middle of the country, perfect time to strike.

[–] washcloud 12 years ago

Why would you run into an open field with a machine gun pointed at you and you know this guy is serious.

You probably never had a machine gun pointed at you. If you ever will, and the guy behind it asks you to do stuff, my guess is you're not gonna object to his demands. Right...?

[–] 12 years ago

[deleted]

[–] popularsi 12 years ago

Ian Lamont could have dived/ran away in the opposite direction before the Jackal opened fire and attempt to disappear into the forest trees behind the mounted gun.

[–] washcloud 12 years ago

...you're not taking into account that he was scared *beep* already (...or at least that was what the script had coming for this character), so the only thing that he could think of was "play along", hoping that the Jackal would never actually start firing at him...

[–] popularsi 12 years ago

You're right.

(...or at least that was what the script had coming for this character)

Of course I can't change the outcome or sequence of events in movies. The IMDB board is to discuss "What-ifs" and hypothesise different decisions movie characters could have made, for fun.

[–] washcloud 12 years ago

Indeed I am - pity though you're just being condescending now :p

[–] popularsi 12 years ago

It's not my intention to be condescending. I was looking at other options. Anyway, I remember a scene in Terminator 1 when Arnold (bad terminator) went to a bar/restaurant looking for Sarah Connor, and he went to fire at Reese (human protector for Sarah) and Reese dived across the bar and used the bar as a shield to escape gunfire from the terminator. I know Reese was a resistance fighter and had experience in war-zones, unlike Ian Lamont.

I know this scene differs from the scene in the Jackal, but I hope you can see what I'm trying to say. Maybe we should stop discussing this because it's going nowhere fast.....

[–] washcloud 12 years ago

Heh OK then.

(...after all this is just what the author had in mind for Lamont. It wasn't a real-life incident)

[–] poserpro 12 years ago

The guy Jack Black played had been doomed since he was too greedy, asking for 100 thousand and talking too much, Jackal on the other hand didn't kill the passport forger woman.

[–] MCoverKT 12 years ago

Passport lady was very professional, even though it was for nefarious purposes, and he seemed to have worked with her before with good results.

It seemed to be his first time working with Jack Black's character, who was obviously very unprofessional from the start.

On the subject of running, though, even if he did somehow think to have the foresight to run away from the big gun, (just my opinion ) the Jackal seems like the type of guy to have a hand gun, or throwing knife or something to quickly dispatch escaping loose ends in remote forest/field areas.