As nice as it was to watch Jack Bauer making amends for his past sins by helping poor children in Africa during last night’s TV movie 24: Redemption, come on: You have to admit that you watched the screen with half your mind thinking all the time, "Okay, okay, do I really have to pay attention to the 24 version of random acts of kindness? Where is this taking us? Is any of this going to apply to the new season? Is the new season going to be better than last season’s sputtering spew? ‘24: Redemption‘? Gimme back my un-redeemed, action-packed 24, dammit!"
And so it was easy to gaze upon all the Africa stuff as though it was just a particularly mean-minded episode of Survivor, with Jack as Jeff Probst with a big freaking rifle. The real pleasure resided back in the United States, where some very energetic new-season plot-points were being set up:
• We’ve got a new president, played by Cherry Jones, whom we’re all supposed to immediately be in awe of because Cherry Jones is a Highly Respected New York Stage Actress, but whom we actually liked last night because she looked as though her character was capable of kicking outgoing President Powers Boothe in the cajones if it would remove him from the White House sooner.
• The president-elect has a son who’s buddies with a guy who has adrug problem and info on high-level crimes: excellent for the kind ofseedy melodrama that always brings out the best in 24!
• Jon Voight looks like the new season’s Big Bad. Boy, is Voight big! Boy, is his acting notbad! He’s got that rumbly, slit-eyed malevolence that makes him looklike a puffed-up cobra with a white-haired wig. Plus, if Voight hangsaround, we can all speculate endlessly on whether hishey-I’m-a-Hollywood-conservative-for-McCain status—the kind of"defiance" that’s really show-biz code for, "I have to come up withsome reason why no one’s giving me major movie roles, so it must be mypolitics"—has anything to do with his presence on a series that untilthis season was co-run by another prominent H’wood conservative, JoelSurnow.
• All the really intriguing tidbits were dropped in at theend, in the extended preview of the season starting in January: Jackbeing brought in front of a D.C. hearings panel for human-rightsviolations; a shot of Chloe saying, "I’m a stay-at-home mom"; and overthe words, "One of the men behind this threat is someone you know," aglimpse of Tony Almeda, the Man Who Will Not Die.
My hopes are officially raised for a top-notch new season. How about yours? While you’re thinking about your answer, watch Jack kicking some butt below.
Comments (1-30) of 128 Add your comment
I loved it!!! Action packed, heart felt ( i can’t believe im talking 24 here) and the change of scenery to Afirda was magnificent. I can’t wait for season 7. I hope the children will have some sort of role in it. they were just too cute!
I wasn’t crazy about a “redeeming” Jack Bauer either, but DAMN was it good to see him back on tv!
Loved it!!! Glad that it is back. Now I know that I might get alot of flack for this, but I wish like hell that kid Willie would have died. He was hard headed and got Benton killed because he was sentimentalilty. A scarf!! Really!!! Then when he was going to run for him and then when he let Thomas to follow Jack when he was going head to head with the child soldier. I was thinking that whole time that kid soldier should have shot Willie, I would have jumped for joy.
Otherwise, great movie. Will hold me over to January.
I can’t say that I loved 24 Redemption (I kept flashing to Mrs Lovejoy from the Simpsons and her “won’t somebody think of the children!!” cry) but it was GREAT to see Jack Bauer kick butt again. And the preview for the new season really grabbed me, I have high hopes for this one.
Am I a bad person for having wanted Jack to strangle Willie with that stupid scarf ?
Jack Bauer is back… need we really say anything else?
the sacrfice scene was off the chain!!! I forget the actors name but he was in top form. Jack is always the man who has to carry out the mission wheater he wants to or not. welcome back Jack!!!
So you proved Jon Voight’s point: he can’t just do great work without some left wing outfit slapping him for his conservative views. Losers.
Totally hyped for the new season. Tony Almeida, will he be bad the whole season ? I don’t get how he could become a major bad guy, he was Jack’s one and only real friend………….but it still looks juicy.
Does anyone know where I can find the preview of Season 7 that they showed last night. I missed it …. stupid DVR.
“Whetted,” not “whet.”
OH MY WORD. That previw was awesome! I’m soooooooooooo excited for Season 7!!
That little boy was obsessing over Jack was quite annoying. And he thought his silk scarf was the greatest thing in the world. Then he cried because his teacher ‘lied’ to him. Agh, he aggrivated me.
Can’t wait for Season 7. Sadly it doesn’t look the same though. I’ll miss CTU! It really will be odd without them.
so, what day of the trial/hearing do you think they’ll cover? i’m pretty wary of this concept in real time, because let’s face it, not much happens in one day of court proceedings, especially in a trial that would most likely take two to three years (if it ever went to court)…
SUPERB!!! I never realizeed how much I missed the Adventures of Jack Bauer. Looking forward to Season 7. And for the record, if Tony A. can come back from the dead, so can Nina Myers, HEH!!! Of course the real life tragedy is as I type this comment for EW, somewhere in Hostile Africa several little boys are being kidnapped and turned into killing machines. I applaud the Fox Network & “24″ for bringing this horrific nightmare to light. Why doesn’t President G. Bush send U.S. Troops over there to help those children, hmmmm.
Rachel–There is an extended version of the Season 7 Preview available on the DVD release of last night’s “Redemption.” It’s in stores tomorrow, and I think the preview is seventeen minutes long.
Harry–
The actor who made the sacrifice is Robert Carlyle, who has been in a bunch of movies but is probably most remembered for his breakout role in Trainspotting w/ Ewan McGregor
thomas was my favorite!!!!!!!
wow. i cannot believe i am reading comments that people wished the kids would die. what kind of people are you?
I didn’t realize how much I missed the lethal man purse until I saw him strap it on! I couldn’t sleep from the exitement. I love Jack!!!!
This time you will die and stay dead – did Jack really say that in the previews?!?
I can’t wait for season 7!!
i was ready to strangle Willie with the scraf- I was hoping for more Robert Carlyle
If you woke up this morning it’s only because Jack Bauer let you live!!!
I wish they didn’t reveal Tony as a bad guy already…It would have made things more interesting if it was truly a surprise twist. Instead, it will be presented as a surprise but we’ll all see it coming
Did yall see the two camermen in the scene where they run into the woods while being chased by the guys in the helicopter. Pretty terrible editing on Fox’s behalf. This show is garbage anyway.
Even though the 2 hour movie was a tad predictable, I enjoyed 24 – Redemption immensely. The African scenery added a textured nuance not usually seen in the LA based series. While I knew that Jack would be forced to protect the kids, get tortured, go to the embassy and turn himself in, it was fun seeing him in action. It was also fun seeing Robert Carlyle’s patented emotionally pained look when he stepped on the mine and realized he was done. Especially interesting for me was the political turnover back on Washington and trying to figure out how Jack would fit into all of it. The preview clip helped a bit. Despite the predictability of the movie, 24 – Redemption was better than half the crap on tv right now (yeah – I am talking about you, Knight Rider).
Sadly for me and my wife the “movie” was kind of disappointing. It is great to have Jack back, but it felt more like watching Blood Diamond than 24. Keifer’s performance was excellent, his expressions of sadness bore through us like a drill. However the plot was predictable and not very 24 like. Preview for the actual season looked awesome especially since it didn’t’ include any shots of Janeane Garofalo.
Your otherwise well-crafted and thorough review fell a few notches with your unfair dig at Jon Voight’s politics. That Voight (a great actor when he wants to be) is a conservative in an overwhelmingly liberal town doesn’t deserve celebration, certainly, but shouldn’t be made fun of, either. I HIGHLY doubt that his politics are a safeguard for perceived professional failures, and to slyly suggest that ANY actor voting/stumping for McCain did so for the same reason is actually pretty offensive and close-minded. So what if Joel Surnow is conservative? Whether you agree with him or not, it’s refreshing to occasionally see both sides of the political coin represented in entertainment.
Okay, rant over. Last night’s was not the best ‘24′ ever but like you, I was jazzed by the final promo for Season 7. Can’t wait ’til January.
Who would’ve thought 24 could get any worse than season 6.
I can’t believe they had to throw in an extra 2 hrs to get you ready for how bad it’s likely to be.
Redemption was a little slow and a little predictable but the preivew was awesome. I wasn’t surprised to see Tony b/c the news that he’s one of the baddies this season has been around for a while now. What I’m wondering about though is Colm Feore as the new president’s hubby. If you’ve seen S.K.’s Storm of the Century, you know he was Andre Lenoge and was filthily evil. I have a hard time seeing him as anything else and found myself wondering if he was going to figure into everything later on. (Like some conspiracy with him, the son, Tony, and Voight or something.) *shrug* Just a thought.
Love, love, loved it! Can not wait until January. The wait for the new season has been way too long. Jack is my one true hero. God, I love this man.