24: Redemption

If Rodney Dangerfield were alive, hardened and seasoned as a government agent, he would be Jack Bauer. Jack don't get no respect. Without spoiling the sixth season for those who have yet to watch it, our world-class hero Jack, always the odd one out, is now in a fictional African country, helping his old friend, played by the wonderful Robert Carlyle, with missionary work, trying to heal his staggering emotional wounds with peace. He has been served a subpoena to appear before the U.S. Senate concerning torture charges, but declines to go. A U.S. State Department official hints that the Embassy will cut funding for the school if Carlyle goes on protecting Jack, so Jack decides to leave. If that's not enough, he winds up stuck in the middle of a bloody military coup.

Redemption is entertaining and well-acted, and it certainly primes us for the seventh season. Nonetheless I can see why it has been a very long process preparing the theatrical 24 film. Redemption maintains the real-time structural element, which the theatrical film reportedly will not have, but either way, 24 is a series that has transcended the conceivable scope of the feature motion picture. The character archs, gigantic sequence of unravelings and long-term investment in the characters is inherently designed for hours and hours of television. Redemption, on the other hand, is only an hour and forty minutes, which even still is twenty minutes longer than the version that was broadcast on TV not including commercials.

Also, I am unsure of whether or not the creators wanted to have the opportunity to do a lone Jack Bauer piece, but using this TV film as objectivity, one can easily tell that one of the vital elements in the show's scaffolding is its colorful, deeply observed and brilliantly histrionic characters.

However, I am looking forward to Cherry Jones being president and hopefully being rid of Powers Boothe's weak and uncompromising president. And I hope Jon Voight doesn't play essentially the same character as he did in Enemy of the State.

A full length episode of 24, but does it work? Well, I can't help it, but this seems to be kind of rushed. The script and story aren't as good as it should be. I felt kind of bored watching this.

Jack seems to be a bit "overpowered" and he seems to have a gift to dodge bullets. Okay I know this happens in a lot, but they kind of over do it here.

I like the way that it is real time. Unlike in the series, it seems like it is possible to do all the things they do in the given time period. It doesn't feel the 24ish though, one of the most vital part of 24 CTU is not involved in the movie at all.

With that said, it is not that bad. It seems like quite a nice start of the 7th season, and it is nice to get into more details about what has happened between the two seasons. They didn't max out the potential of the movie, the script and story was in my opinion a bit dull.

But if you like the series and plan to follow the 7th season, be sure to check this one out.

It is going to be difficult to maintain the exceptional standards "24" has set over the years, however this feature length episode doesn't quite deliver as hoped. Re-worked formulas shows lack of creative imagination, something previous Seasons have (mostly) avoided. The script isn't as sharp as normal, possibly targeted at a less astute audience, and the characters lack subtlety. Too many bullets miraculously missing Jack and a sense of deja-vu. Whilst Robert Carlyle puts in a very credible performance, less believable is the UN Aid worker who is so crassly portrayed. Hopefully Season 7 will see improvement.

I must confess that I've never really watched the 24 television series too date, but that didn't in the least inhibit my enjoyment of '24 Redemption'. In recent years, a great many espionage-thriller films have been touted as being 'realistic' and gritty...the Bourne trilogy, Mission Impossible 3 and Casino Royale the most prominent among these. But '24 Redemption' goes beyond mere pseudo-realistic presentation by bringing us virtually as close to the real world as a documentary. The military coup that engulfs the fictitious African nation of Zangala is no campy world domination scheme...its the kind of situation you could very well find yourself staring at in the evening news.

But the realistic element reaches its zenith in the depiction of the protagonist Jack Bauer. Again, I'm not as familiar with Sutherland's character as I'd like to be, so I don't know how he's been portrayed in the past. But Jack Bauer as seen in this film, comes across not so much as a badass super-agent/action hero (ala Jason Bourne or Ethan Hunt) but rather as a very human character...a soldier weary of war, running away from the ghosts of his past and yet finding himself confronted by even more violence. He is both emotionally and physically a vulnerable individual. Quiet unlike the steely countenance of Bourne of the outward flamboyance of James Bond, Bauer's reactions to the situations he faces in this film are deeply rooted in his emotions. True, he is every bit the professional soldier too...but ultimately, a human being.

'24 Redemption' may not be the most entertaining thriller out there...but if you want to watch a movie about the kind of action hero who CAN exist in real life, defusing the kind of situation which CAN arise in the real world; if only for the novelty if nothing else...then this is the ideal film!

"24: Redemption" was the result of the 2007 writers strike, designed to be a prequel to season 7. As such, it has half its attention on setup (new president, conspiracy, etc) and that's actually its weaker half.

It's much better when it's focused on Jack Bauer, laying low in Africa and suddenly tasked with saving a school full of children from conscription into a dictator's army. This, as he's sought to testify before a Senate subcommittee.

Without the confines of the clock (it's told from 3-5pm, but that's rather loose) there's actually more room for him to breathe as a character, as a person. Kiefer's scenes with compatriot Robert Carlyle are among the best and the price he pays to accomplish the mission (get those kids to the US Embassy) is profoundly sad. The argument still stands that he can't escape the life, but his sacrifice is real.

7/10