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Fans love 'The Day of the Jackal' but slam one lead castmember for being 'simply not believable'

Eddie Redmayne starrer 'The Day of the Jackal' is a modern reboot of Edward Fox's 1973 film

MUNICH, GERMANY: 'The Day of the Jackal' made its much-awaited debut on Peacock on Thursday, November 14, and the reviews have been mostly positive. With an average audience score of 82% Rotten Tomatoes, the series is bound to make waves among the audience. Eddie Redmayne plays a sharp, ruthless assassin named Jackal, a character originally played by Edward Fox in 1973 film of the same name.

Redmayne, who won the Academy Award for Best Actor for playing Stephen Hawking in 'The Theory of Everything', brings a chilling, terrifying presence that has impressed fans. However, there’s one character who seems to be throwing the audience’s interest off balance, potentially jeopardizing the show’s impact.

The Day of the Jackal's protagonist fails to hit the mark

In the Peacock series, British actress Lashana Lynch plays Bianca, an intelligence officer tasked to track down Jackal. What follows is a cat-and-mouse chase between a top-notch assassin and an ambitious cop. Bianca, despite being on the right side of the law, has failed to impress viewers.

Fans took to Reddit and expressed their annoyance over this character. A user said, "Man i hate this Bianca character already." Another fan joined the thread and said, "Second episode, I hate her."

"Can’t stand the woman," reads a similar comment. Explaining what makes her character difficult to watch, a user explained, "Omfg i can’t stand it.. i HATE these plot heavy “super-do-gooders” like her… sh*t aggravates tf out of me lol.. seen this type of character so many times & i hate it.. im still on ep 1 & im already dreading every time she’s on screen talking."

Another Reddit user said, "Everything about the show is amazing but gosh the main actress is terrible. She takes me out of it. I feel like they tried to replicate Naomi Harris as Moneypenny in 007 who was so believable and brilliant. But I literally can not buy that this girl is MI6’s lead sniper weapons expert. Why couldn’t they have just hired someone good."

Eddie Redmayne garners praises for 'The Day of the Jackal'

Eddie Redmayne ate and left no crumbs in 'The Day of the Jackal'. Despite the skepticism stemming from the fan following of the 1973 classic, Redmayne nails the role of the antagonist, bringing his immense talent to the character. His character isn't one dimensional as Bianca. He is a highly-skilled, smart and cunning assassin (and he's extremely attractive too). He is a family man as well. His wife is unaware of his what he actually does for a living. Redmayne perfectly balances the duality of his role.

A fan on Reddit hailed his performance in a comment that reads, "Eddie Redmayne owned this show. The story was a bit corny and cookie cutter, the rest of the cast were so so. Lucky for them Eddie was in it."

"Eddie Redmayne absolutely killed his role in The Jackal," a fan wrote on X. Another fan tweeted, "Just watched the jackal on sky Eddie Redmayne should be the new James Bond."

Well, Eddie Redmayne is enough reason for you to tune into the new Peacock series.

'The Day of the Jackal' trailer

'The Day of the Jackal' is streaming on Peacock from Thursday, November 14

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