FunkyMunkey106

I'm very rarely compelled to write a review here, but for this show I have to. Why is it so popular? I've just finished watching the first series, and it really doesn't deserve the hype it's received. Actually, scratch that: hype is short for hyperbole, which is defined as "a deliberate exaggeration or overstatement". This perfectly sums up 24.

If the clichéd, formulaic action-movie pap here was actually in a movie, I;m sure people would think "good fun, but nothing special". But for some reason it gets comments like "breaks new ground" and "one of the most original and compelling series ever". Rubbish. Most of the main characters (Teri, Kim, David, Sherry, Keith) were so annoying that I was rooting for the bad guys. There is laughable dialogue ("I'm trying to explain to you what a simple, powerful thing my love for you is" - what?!). There are plot holes galore. But, most infuriatingly, it takes itself SO seriously - is there a laugh in this entire thing? For mindless entertainment, it's OK. But it's far from the brilliant TV show that people make out.

I've watched this film a dozen or so times, but recently saw it again for the first time in a long while.

Having seen many action films in the intervening years, it struck me how much better this film is than almost all of them. It is intelligent, with good performances and excellent pacing, and you feel a real emotional connection with the main characters, even (oddly enough) the Terminator.

The action is hugely exciting, even when you know the outcome, but the special effects are of particular note. The quality and restricted quantity stands as a prime example of they should be used, and they still look great 15 years after the films original release. Well, except for Arnie's arm-in-a-sock goof.

IF haven't seen this film: where have you been? Rent it today!

How do I hate thee? Let me count the ways.

I hate the bright costumes and sets,

And the way there is a SPOTLIGHT on Mr. Freeze in his first scene,

I hate the awful flashbacks of Alfred with Bruce Wayne as a child,

I hate the terrible, hammy acting,

I hate the "nostalgic" sound effects from the original TV series

And the whiney saxophone that accompanies Poison Ivy

I hate the fact that I wasted 45 minutes of my life on this movie

Because it was too painful to watch through

And that I'm wasting another 10 minutes writing this

Just please, PLEASE do not see this movie.