Bruce Willis wears a Casio SFX-10

The Jackal feels very 1997 to me: airport terminals, fake passports, Russian mob money, FBI urgency, and Bruce Willis doing the icy-stare version of a contract killer. Willis plays the title assassin, hired for $70 million, and Michael Caton-Jones builds the film as a loose American cousin to The Day of the Jackal. It is not subtle. But subtle is not really the point.

So what does a man with no fixed identity wear?

CasioFan Magazine identified the watch on Willis's wrist as a Casio SFX-10, which is exactly the sort of small, ordinary detail that makes this one interesting. A Rolex would have dragged attention toward Bruce Willis. A big tactical watch would have tried too hard. The Casio sits in the middle: practical, a little anonymous, and very much of the late 1990s.

I know that is a lot to put on a Casio, but the movie is already putting a lot on everything. The Jackal changes names, changes looks, and keeps moving, while the watch just does what a Casio does. It belongs to the disguise because it barely asks to be noticed.

And somehow, that is why people noticed it.