Terrible acting, screenplay and direction.

Slow pace in the most part of the movie.

At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

There are moments in this movie where the great movie it could've been peek out... They're fleeting, here, but they're worth savoring, and they happen often enough to make it worth your while.

His is a fascinating and interssant film about the terrorist who went under the nickname The Jackal. The film is based on the years has been active as a terrorist, with all the cruelty committed by him and his network. The movie therefore takes the 20 years he was a feared man in the West. The film has good depictions, and portrays the violence and terror they performed. Unlike, for example, Steven Spielberg's film Munich, this film does not aim to come under the skin of The Jackal. What was his inner motivation to accomplish these terrible actions? We do not get any answer as to why he took these choices and the underlying causes of a terroist life. But yet the movie is good as it gives an insight into a world we do not know on the inside. The brutality of the film gives insight into what blind fanatism does, and how individuals do not make any sense in reaching their political goals.

"Carlos" is a French-German co-production from 2010 (so already over five years old) and it was written and directed by French filmmaker Olivier Assayas. With that background, it is certainly quite a surprising fact that it won a Golden Globe and this also shows how well-done this little mini-series turned out to be. There are all kinds of languages (English, German, French, Spanish...) in here, so unless you are a multi-talent, make sure you get subtitles. This one consists of three episodes of roughly 100-110 minutes each, so if you want to watch it in one sitting, it is quite a challenge. Luckily for me, our local cinema recently decides to re-air it on the occasion of a special film day and this was an opportunity to see these 5.5 hours that I am glad I managed to take. It is pretty impressive how a film with this duration had so very few moments only where I felt that it dragged a bit perhaps. And the heart and soul of it is of course lead actor Edgar Ramírez who plays the title character and is included in almost every scene from start to finish. And when he is not included, then he is still in the center of it all as it is other people talking about his work or organisation.This is the tale of one of the most notorious criminals from the 1970s and 1980s, the years of extreme left-wing terrorism and these are also the ideals he believed in. There are many controversial scenes in the film that are worth discussing in terms of Carlos' character, for example how he decides to cancel the airplane abortion and accept the money offered to him. I still would not say this makes him an opportunist as the other option would have been certain death and of course he wants to live, but really only to further help his cause of what he believes in. The cast also includes several German(-language) actors who should be pretty known to film buffs from my country such as Nora von Waldstätten, Katharina Schüttler or Christoph Bach, who was outstanding in my opinion and probably gave the best supporting performance of the film.Of course, in order to appreciate the work here you will have at least a mild interest in the political developments of the 1970s and 1980s and what the global political climate was like. One of the most interesting aspects of the film was in my opinion how it was not Carlos developing away from terrorism towards the last quarter of the film, but how times have changed so much that he or his deeds just weren't in demand anymore. I do believe nonetheless that the last episode of this mini-series, which is mostly about the main character's decline, was maybe the weakest of the film, but just because the first two were so strong. I still don't believe it was bad at all. I also found it interesting how his comrades screw up on so many levels and occasions when he is not in charge, which also added to the airplane kidnapping sequence being the best about the entire film as it is extremely tense from start to finish and will have you at the edge of your seat for sure. This is where Carlos (the film and the character) peaked in terms of their power and influence. But also scenes like the one in Libya when they just stand there and nobody cares were interesting from a political perspective. These show that in the grand scheme of things, not even Carlos has the power to make it to Iraq. And that one minister constantly sucking up to Carlos was pretty hilarious because you realize how much of a scumbag he is. Anyway, these are obviously just very few scenes (I also have to mention the scene with the French police officers at the apartment and the ending with another French guy, which were both brilliant) and impressions from an extremely long film/mini-series. If you can find a connection with the subject, then this will be an even more rewarding watch I guess. It was quite fun to see it on the big screen for sure. The central character here truly deserves his own movie and even if it says so (they had to do it) that it is a work of fiction, there is a whole lot of truth and real life events in here from start to finish that exactly show us what Carlos' life was like. He is in his late 60s these days and still in jail, probably until his death. Go see it now, Assayas and Ramírez did an amazing job here.

CARLOS THE JACKAL is a French TV miniseries biopic that gets into the heart and soul of the man who was Carlos the Jackal. Carlos was a Venezuelan left-wing revolutionary who embarked on an extensive terror campaign across the world in the 1970s: a campaign designed to free Palestine through bombings, assassinations, and the taking of hostages. The miniseries follows him from his humble beginnings to his final days behind hunted down by old foes.Be warned: this is a VERY lengthy miniseries and even watching it in three parts takes some dedication. It's very much in the feel of the likes of THE BAADER-MEINHOF COMPLEX and MESRINE, with the emphasis on realism throughout, with terrorist attacks carried out in a matter-of-fact way. The writers enjoy exploring the minutiae of the situation, from the various campaigns themselves to Carlos's mindset and way of life. It's an incredibly political film that works as an engaging historical document, putting into clarity the complexities of Western-Arab relations during the 1970s and beyond.Inevitably the story belongs to Edgar Ramirez (THE BOURNE ULTIMATUM), who makes the film his own as the larger-than-life titular character. But the supporting cast are equally authentic, and there are lots of fine set-pieces. Be warned, though, things do slow down in the last third, where Carlos's fate is played out in almost excruciating slow motion. It takes some sitting thorough, but the experience as a whole is a rewarding one.

A partly fictionalized biopic of the Venezuelan born, Marxist ideologue, political terrorist, Ilich Ramírez Sánchez, who took the alias Carlos, aka Carlos the Jackal. He is a democrat and a socialist of the Marxist philosophy (devolution of the class and power to the proletariat), who soldered against imperialist, the capitalist west. He joined forces with the Arab revolutionary cause, the PLO, who took up the revolutionary cause during the soviet era. The movie is 3 part or in 3 volumes each of about 2 hours which in whole covers 2 decades of this active revolutionary days, for the cause. The French-German style of directing and the artistic depiction of the decade is of the most excellent appeal. Édgar Ramírez who played Carlos is the main highlight for without his strong acting presence the movie/mini series would be have been just average. A must watch.