the audience applauded

It was OK. I don't see why everyone loves it so much. It wasn't very smart or deep or well-directed.

Blistering performances.

It is an exhilarating, distressing, funny and profound film, with one of the more memorable film scores in years,

24: Redemption is a television film based on the series 24. It was written by executive producer Howard Gordon and was directed by Jon Cassar. It takes place sometime between the sixth and seventh seasons, in real time between 3:00 pm and 5:00 pm in Africa during the Inauguration Day of Allison Taylor,the new President of the United States.The main setting is Sangala, a fictional African country, where Jack Bauer,portrayed by Kiefer Sutherland, tries to find peace with himself, and works as a missionary. Bauer is served a subpoena to appear before the United States Senate regarding human rights violations, but refuses to go, and a shadow organization among the United States government aids General Juma and his militia in a coup d'etat.Robert Carlyle plays Carl Benton, an old friend of Jack Bauer, who runs a school for rescued war orphans.Carlyle suggested that there is a very close friendship between Benton and Bauer, since he seems to let Benton come closer to him than others. Towards the end of the film, he sacrifices himself in order to buy time for Bauer and the children to escape. Gil Bellows plays Frank Tramell, a U.S. State Department official who is ordered to subpoena Bauer.Native South African actor Sean Michael plays Charles Solenz, a UN aid worker helping at Benton's school, and later abandons Benton and the children, claiming that the United Nations is "neutral" in the Sangala conflict.Siyabulela Ramba plays Willie, one of the war orphans under the care of Benton, who befriends Bauer. Ramba felt an emotional connection with Sutherland during filming, and believes their friendship shows through on screen. Isaach De Bankolé plays Ule Matobo, the Prime Minister of the nation, who is forced to evacuate the country during the coup. Among the antagonists in Sangala are General Benjamin Juma (Tony Todd), a former dictator and leader of the People's Freedom Army responsible for genocide in Sangala,and Iké Dubaku (Hakeem Kae-Kazim), one of Juma's lieutenants in the coup. In Washington, Cherry Jones plays Allison Taylor, the first woman to be inaugurated President of the United States. Among the antagonists in Washington are Jon Voight, who plays Jonas Hodges, a villain involved in a Blackwater-type organization.The TV movie is a more sober, stripped-down version of 24, and that's refreshing, and that it was the first time a terrorist threat did not take place in Southern California.Also, the depiction of the conflict in fictional African country Sangala is highly realistic and compelling.What would bother die-hard 24 fans is the lack of action,excitement and many elements that are present in typical 24 episode.But nevertheless,it still is one great film to watch.

I watched 3 seasons of this show and just quit because although I liked it, after a while it got old. I only have 5 seasons on DVD so I just postponed watching it until the show is canceled and I can watch them all without having to wait for them to come on DVD.I watched this movie not sure if it was directly connected to the show, and although I think the main story here is only shown in the film, the side story is to do with the show and I was lost. I had no idea how Jack got where he was or who any of these characters were...so you do need to watch the show before you watch this movie.Jack is in Africa staying with an old friend who has a camp for kids. There are armies trying to recruit these kids and make them soldiers to fight against "the man". With no help from the U.S. Jack must try, along with his friend (Robert Carlyle)to get the kids to America safely.The TV show always happens so fast and in the blink of an eye it's over, but this movie was so slow in getting to the point and it was shot in a 2 hour period and on two different continents and I'm not sure why no one happened to notice that with it being two different time zones that it would not be daylight in both.The movie was basically an extended episode and had a director from the show filming it and many of the actors were from the show. Keifer Sutherland is always good and Jack has become the character he will forever be remembered as. Some other actors from the show that I didn't know until this movie were Jon Voight, Poweres Boothe and Colm Feore and was glad to see them on board. The movie also had Tony Todd and I always love seeing him in anything. Robert Carlyle did a great job here and it's nice to see him in the various roles and seeing how well he can pull off each job he takes on.I must say the movie might be a nice bridge for the seasons, but standing alone it's reminiscent of 80's b-movie action. I could not recommend it to anyone except a fan of this show. 2 out of 10 stars.

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 ___________________________

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.