24: Redemption (2008)

Very Cool!!!

Tells a fascinating and unsettling true story, and does so well, without pretending to have all the answers.

Great example of an old-fashioned, pure-at-heart escapist event movie that doesn't pretend to be anything that it's not and has boat loads of fun being its own ludicrous self.

Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

Spoiler free review / opinion.First off, I am a huge fan of the 24 series. There were good seasons and not-as-brilliant ones *cough*season6*cough*. But at least every season got me caught up in the middle, and I always craved for just one more episode.This movie should prove me otherwise. The first half of the movie I was trying to get to know the "real" storyline. I was waiting for serious threats, terrorists, bombs, data espionage... well, something. Then it hit me, this movie is really just about moving a bunch of kids around. It was so blatantly mindless boring that even the action sequences did not get my mind of tomorrows grocery list.In the series there was always an imminent danger to something. A nuclear bomb, poison gas or some nasty viral stuff that put a large portion of the citizens in jeopardy. Granted, it can also be fun and extremely exiting if only one person is at risk, as it was on the first season. But you could feel with Balmer and you actually were worried for him.This movie is just about a bunch of kids, so it's not the "mass effect". And since the kids did not really bond with me, that is, I never had the feeling of "knowing them" I never really cared. I was hoping the other plots in the movie would cause some excitement, but it failed at that too.My recommendation: If you are interested as hell in Jack Bauer hauling a bunch of kids around AND if you are a hardcore fan, watch this! Everyone else: Watch the athletes foot of your best pal grow! Much more exciting. AND you care about the person, at least.

The opening sequence caught my attention and it was a completely different production style for "24", which makes this different from all the other seasons.Jack Bauer has had many hectic days in his lifetime. Still Kiefer Sutherland manages to make you walk each scene with him.!**(SPOILERS)**! I loved the reveal in the beginning, when the boy stole his knife. In this short time I managed to care about Jack's friend and the children, which was why I loved this installment. Though I believed at first that his friend acted carelessly when he stepped on that land mine and it became obvious that they only placed him there to get rid of the army of men after Jack, but still, I felt Jack's loss. His expression when he realized that the blast he heard meant the end of his friend's life was beautifully played.I actually love these kinds of story lines. I loved the color differentiation from Africa to the US. When in Africa there was the orange color and in the US-blue, which separated each location.I loved this installment. The only thing I had a problem with was the short time used to warm up to some characters that died in the end and the boy that Jack refused to kill who kept repeating that one-liner from the opening scene; it was just too corny for me. Other than that I actually picture an interesting day. At some points I actually forget that all of these action sequences occur in one day. I am definitely looking forward for the next episode. This was actually a big risk for "24", taking on a different production style, set in South Africa, because at the end of the day it all comes down to whether or not the viewers would be able to adapt to this kind of plot line and I would say the writers pulled it off, I certainly enjoyed it.___________________________ Four out of Five stars ___________________________

It has been some time since we last saw Jack Bauer. The writer's strike saw him run out of tough things to say and a generally negative response to a weak season 6 has seen him leave America and travel the world. We join him in a non-existent African country where he is spending time with former brother in arms Carl, protecting children at the orphanage he has set up. It is not all helping and healing though as his past pursues him in the form of a subpoena from the US Government to face questioning on charges of prisoner abuse (damn these liberals). However, just as Jack packs up to leave the country and move on again, a coup begins and rebels come to snatch up the children to be soldiers. Meanwhile in the existing country of USA , the first female President is being sworn in while, in the background, figures are covertly supporting the coup for their own reasons.Everyone has been saying how long a wait it has been since day 6 finished, using words like "impatiently" etc but for me (as a viewer since hour 1) I felt that the break was a good thing. Day 6 was such a lacklustre season and played like an exaggerated pastiche of itself that the break does feel like an opportunity to send the makers away to sit in the corner and think about what they have done - and don't come back till you're sorry! With this bridging special I did worry that we would continue the trend of Jack being the hub of everything in the world, perhaps with the coup either being about him or with him preventing the entire thing - after all, the Bauer family are seemingly to blame for all evil deeds in the world. Fortunately the special harks back to the approach of season 1 and 2 which has dark deeds at a higher level and Jack thrown into them for reasons out of his hands, rather than being the creator and driver of all things.This takes the form of a simpler plot where Jack is looking after the fleeing children in their short run to safety. It starts slow though, with a good thirty minutes of establishing material and scene setting before any urgency kicks in. After this we have the usual 24 material of action sequences, heroic/sacrificial deaths, neo-conservative subtexts (although that suggests they are subtle, which they are not), political going-ons and shadowy men doing hits on behalf of powerful men. All these are in place and, with the stripped down plot and Bauer influence, it does feel a lot more like the 24 I like. This is not to say it is perfect of course, because 24 never was - even when really good there was always plenty to make fun of it for. Here we have less that produced laughter but we still get handed a terribly clumsy attack on the UN in the form of a weirdly "European" character who is cowardly - clinging to "talking" like a weak-wristed liberal. Not only was this poor writing but it is a bit rich when you consider the real life conflicts in Africa and the level of US intervention in them, however even ignoring that it was a typically conservative piece of politics from 24 that must be a bit like a wet dream to Fox viewers!Talking of real-life for a moment, I did find the setting and scenario of this special to be a little off-putting. The pace and "24-isms" of the film helped me keep my head in the world of fiction but there is no doubt that the world of child soldiers and African coups is a little too real to be purely entertainment and not have an edge of sorrow to it. The film mostly ignores the latter but it does manage to produce the former despite this, again by focusing on what the series does and just doing it. The cast are reasonable enough, all fitting into the classic clichés of the show. Sutherland is gruff and tough as ever and has a bit of chemistry with Carlyle, who doesn't have a lot to work with here other than hanging out with Sutherland for a bit. Bellows, Jones, Gunton, Feore and Voight all represent new faces in the usual characters. They do offer some hope though if Day 7 can keep the political mystery that this film had.24: Redemption isn't a significant change to the series and those that do not like the series will not like this. However for those who found Day 6 to be a massive disappointment then it does represent a sort of redemption as it appears to be taking a slight step back towards what hooked us originally. This means the usual weaknesses as much as the strengths but it is still a quite entertaining film for 24 fans.

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.