Kill Jackie Review: Catherine Zeta-Jones Delivers Killer Series

When you hear that a show is being made by Tom Butterworth (Gangs of London) and Conor Keane and is also directed by Damon Thomas (Killing Eve), you should know that you’re going to be in for a ride. There’s no lying here. When I saw the name Kill Jackie and the synopsis that mentioned a group of assassins hunting the main character down, I couldn’t help but feel like it was just a total Kill Bill rip-off.

Kill Jackie is far from a rip-off of any show or film of the revenge nature. Within the first two episodes, they make it known that they’re here to create a show that can make its own name. With Catherine Zeta-Jones at the helm, there wasn’t a doubt that we were getting a show that would be anything less than good. As a wealthy art dealer and seller of art to people whom she believes are worthy, Jackie finds herself living a lavish life, bouncing back and forth between Bilbao, Spain and London, England. She quickly finds herself the target of a lethal squad of assassins known as the Seven Demons. Instead of staying on the run, she decides to use her connections and brains to hunt down each killer one by one.

Jackie Price is an interesting character to watch. She’s very particular with how she handles business. When setting up a deal, she gets her clients in a room, watches from the other side where she can’t be seen and gets them to write a bid down. If you do so much as wipe your nose with your hand when there are serviettes nearby for you to use, then she’ll happily choose a bid that’s two million dollars lower.

She loves making money, but she seemingly also has a high standard for manners. The second it all hits the fan, and her neighbour is found dead, she starts to suspect that she was the target. Leo, a detective who is tied with Jackie, tells her that maybe she wants it to be about her because she’s bored. The latter half of this episode supports this by how Jackie ultimately reacts to the attacks on her life. These attacks begin small. Although I say small, it involves gunmen prepared to shoot her at her apartment. This continues to escalate until it begins involving the people around her, and innocent lives begin to get taken.

In your usual revenge story, such as Kill Bill or even the more recent and popular John Wick franchise, you find these characters being forcefully pulled back into their line of work to hunt down the people from their past who hurt them. Hell, even the John Wick spin-off follows that same premise. It’s a generic storyline that, if not done well, can easily be stale and a complete bore.

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Kill Jackie does the complete opposite of that within its first episode. Jackie is an intelligent woman. She’s quickly finding out the people she can’t trust and the people she needs to keep close to her. From the first two episodes, she’s not going on a complete rampage hunting everyone down. She’s calculated and well-connected, and unlike these other characters from different films, she’s welcoming these attacks on her.

Zeta-Jones is phenomenal as Jackie, and it’s hard to imagine anyone else in this role. She has that energy that could common an entire room, an army if she really wanted to. Jackie has a past that’s come back to put her out of the equation for good, and this show allows for there to be some mystery behind why she originally left her old criminal lifestyle. The nuance between Jackie’s light-hearted moments, her sneaky flirting, and being an absolute badass is handled extremely well through Zeta-Jones’ performance.

The supporting cast surrounding her is also excellent. You have Daniel Ing, who plays her tax lawyer, Sam. He ends up finding himself dragged into everything when he becomes a target by association. Sam is a character who feels like he shouldn’t be in a show of this nature and is way above his pay grade. Ing portrays that efficiently, delivering a hilarious performance of the character that entertains you with every scene he finds himself in.

We then have Jackie’s right-hand girl, Charlie (Hattie Hook). The confirmation of a performance and a character sticking with you is when you immediately search the actor’s IMDB to see what other projects they’ve been in or have coming up. Charlie, without a doubt, is the heart of the show. Despite only watching two episodes so far, Hook’s performance makes it feel like I’ve been with both her and Charlie for longer.

Kill Jackie is a show that will keep you on your toes, trying to figure out what’s going on. There’s misdirection after misdirection, and that is what helps create that kinetic pacing for the show. Although I’ve only seen the first two episodes, it easily has the best two episodes of any series I’ve watched this year.

The shocking ending for the second episode will stay stuck in your head for someone who finds it difficult to cry when watching films and shows. Kill Jackie is officially on the list of shows that have made me tear up. Prime Video has got itself a killer new series if it continues on this track.

*This review is from episodes 1 and 2

Streaming from October 2nd on Prime Video / Catherine Zeta-Jones, Daniel Ing, Hattie Hook, Sidse Babett Knudsen, Sebastian Armesto, Ron Perlman, Raff Law / Showrunner: Tom Butterworth / Prime Video