(3 votes, average: 3.67 out of 5)
Loading …Rent Movie.com movie reviews presents 24 movie review a 2005 series Actors appearing: Kiefer Sutherland, Dennis Haysbert, James Badge Dale, William Devane, Alberta Watson Federal Agent Jack Bauer can’t afford to always play by the rules. As a member of the L.A. Counter Terrorist Unit, Jack must stop bombs, viruses, assassination attempts, and usually save someone he cares about at the same time. Every season of this series has 24 episodes, each unfolding in real time following a consecutive hour in one very bad day. Season 1: 24, as surely everyone knows by now, is a thriller that takes places over 24 hours, midnight to midnight, in 24 one-hour episodes. Everything takes place in real time, which means no flashbacks, no flash-forwards, no handy time-dissolves. Every strand of the plot has to be dovetailed and interlocked so things happen just when they should, in the right amount of time. Federal agent Jack Bauer (Kiefer Sutherland) runs around L.A. trying to stall an assassination attempt on an African American presidential candidate and rescue his wife and daughter from the clutches of the Balkan baddies. Twists, turns, revelations, and cliffhangers are tossed at us with satisfying regularity. It’s not perfect: we get some hokey plot devices (instant amnesia, anybody?); the final twist makes no sense whatsoever; and as for Dennis Hopper’s “Serbian” accent…. Even so, this is undeniably mold-breaking TV. Like Murder One and The Sopranos, 24 is one of those series that future TV thrillers will be measured against. –Philip Kemp Season 2: Jack Bauer is having another one of his “very bad days” in the second season of the groundbreaking real-time thriller 24. Once again the hours are ticking by with more guaranteed cliffhangers than a convention of mountain climbers. Holed up in a Los Angeles condo and estranged from his daughter, Jack is no longer on the government payroll; unfortunately for him, this small fact doesn’t seem to matter to President David Palmer and the NSA, who call him back in to the CTU and give him 24 hours to infiltrate a terrorist organization that is planning to detonate a dirty bomb in the city of angels. All Jack wants is to get his daughter out of the city, unfortunately Kim’s new employer, the abusive father of the child she is nannying, has other ideas. Season 3: There’s not one cougar to be found in 24’s dynamic third season, and that’s good news for everyone. After Jack Bauer’s daughter Kim survived hokey hazards in season 2, she’s now a full-time staffer at CTU, the L.A.-based intelligence beehive that’s abuzz once again–three years after the events of “Day Two”–when a vengeful terrorist threatens to release a lethal virus that could wipe out much of the country’s population. Jack attempts to broker a deal for the virus involving drug kingpin Ramon Salazar, whose operation Jack successfully infiltrated at high personal cost: to maintain his cover, he got hooked on heroin. That potentially deadly triangle–drug lords, addiction, and bioterrorism on a massive scale–sets the 24-hour clock ticking in a tight, action-packed plot involving a potential traitor in CTU’s midst; the return of TV’s greatest villainesses in Nina Meyers and former First Lady Sherry Palmer; a troubled romance between Kim and Jack’s new partner Chase; and a scandalized reelection campaign by president David Palmer, who monitors CTU as they struggle to (literally) save the day. Season 4: The fourth season kicks off with a deadly terrorist strike resulting in the kidnapping of his new boss, the U.S. Secretary of Defense James Heller. Although a fired, ex-employee of the Counter Terrorist Unit (CTU), it is no surprise who is going to shift into full gear to bring the terrorists to justice. However, it doesn’t take the super-agent long to discover the kidnapping of his boss is part of a much larger plan, master-minded by Habib Marvan the middle eastern terrorist cell leader the US government has been trying to track down for years. Considered by many to be the best season of the first four, 24 - Season 4 is a definite departure from the first three seasons; it’s still amped up beyond anything else on TV, but compared to the previous seasons, 24 has gotten a lot smarter, and in turn, better. –Rob Bracco Season 5: Eighteen months after faking his own death, Jack Bauer is forced to return to Los Angeles when it becomes apparent that the only four people who know he is still alive are being systemically targeted for assassination. The assassinations coincide with the signing of an anti-terrorism treaty between Russia and the U.S., leading Jack to suspect a link between the assassinations, the treaty, and a group of Russian terrorists. But as events slowly unfold it becomes apparent that the day’s horrific events were originally set in motion by someone within our country’s own administration – an individual with the power and resources to thwart Jack’s every move.
Comment by Cloud “…”
# January 2, 2007,
24 Review
The reason I say that is oddly enough, I’m actually a fan of Veronica Mars and Desperate Housewives, 2 shows primarily driven by women. Any guy mentioning they’re a fan and you either get a “that’s cool man” with a snickering later or you meet the progressive type that doesn’t care and knows a good show when they see it. 24 in many ways is a show made by guys, largely starring guys and for guys, with some females getting in on it too. While it still suffers from the occasional implausibility(more on that later) it’s still quite a compelling show.
Jack Bauer works at CTU, Counter Terrorist Unit. One night he’s called in because there’s going to be an assassination attempt on David Palmer’s life, the only African-American senator who has a real shot at the US Presidency. Through many many twists and turns, Bauer tries to uncover who’s behind the attempt and stopping them, all in the space of 24 hours.
By now you know the concept: 24 episodes in a season, each one taking up one hour of an entire day(well, 40 minutes since there’s no commercials). Ordinarily, this wouldn’t work but somehow the writers manage to keep things enthralling without having things seem implausible although there are exceptions. First forget about the fact ALL this stuff takes place in the span of 24 hours. Characters don’t really seem affected as far as sleep or washrooms are concerned, then there’s some story turns that seem like “oh come on…” and while I won’t spoil it, a sudden case of….something just comes out of the blue.
One thing I love about shows like Smallville, The X-Files or the Simpsons is that I can watch any episode in any order and still be entertained for that time. However, shows like 24, Alias or Lost practically require you to watch from the beginning. While all the episodes are captivating, it’s rare for you to pick out a certain episode and re-watch it; it’s like starting a book on chapter 7. While it’s not a terrible blow to the show, repeated viewings usually warrant you to watch everything, rather than pick and choose.
For every blunder a network has done like cancelling Freaks and Geeks, Wonderfalls, Joan of Arcadia or Firefly, now and then they get it right so kudos to Fox. Becoming a huge cult show with a loyal(sometimes too loyal maybe) fanbase, it’s obvious that 24 was meant to be a big show. Forgot all the impossible sounding aspects of the show and you’ll find yourself hooked quite fast.
Comment by Stephen Dewey
# January 2, 2007,
24 Review
This is nothing less than the best television show I have ever watched. It is also better than any movie I have ever watched, except for LOTR, which it ties in terms of awesomeness. It has changed my perspective on what visual media can be. If I could give it 6 or 7 stars, I would.
I bought the first season on DVD and immediately became hooked. I think it is even better owning it on DVD than watching it on television, because you don’t lose the tension in breaks for commercials, and you can watch it all straight. Honestly, the tension never lets up at the end of one of the hours, and in a way you can think of the “episodes” as just artificial divisions in time to make the show fit on television.
When I watched the first season, I watched an average of 5 shows at a time. It got to the point where I couldn’t even go to bed despite being very tired because I had to keep watching (so I was about as tired as the characters in the show, who didn’t sleep the night prior!). This is from somebody who otherwise watches at most 50 hours of television PER YEAR.
(Though I do watch a decent amount of movies.)
When I say it changed my perspective on what a television show can be, I mean that by dedicating an entire season to a single day and going through it sequentially, you really feel a connection with the actors that you wouldn’t otherwise feel. You’re going through everything exactly as they see it, and because they never feel the need to wrap things up at the end of any given hour, the show avoids the cliches and predictable plot twists that most television shows and movies feel the need to rely on in order to get their message across. Watching 24 makes you realize how “forced” movies in particular are, which have to include introduction, tension build, climax and resolution usually in under 2 hours. Not only does 24 not do this, but they also don’t seem to have much interest in developing the plot “by the book,” which is refreshing.
Also, 24 includes a lot of compelling storylines beyond the basic “Jack Bauer vs. terrorists” storyline that you might expect. It has some EXTREMELY interesting perspectives on politics that are not to be missed. Actually, I find the storyline of Senator Palmer’s campaign to be every bit as interesting as the storyline of Jack Bauer’s escapades.
It is also worth mentioning that the story does not completely revolve around Jack Bauer as the protagonist. It is probably more accurate to think of 24 (or at least the first season, which is all I have watched, though I have season 2 on the way) as consisting of as many as 6 protagonists, and many other heavily supporting characters (who are added and subtracted on a regular basis). Jack is the only one who you know doesn’t die or otherwise go away, because he is on the cover of future seasons, but everybody else’s story is completely up in the air, and there are no guarantees (I’m trying to say this without spoiling the plot). Moreover, because there are so many characters, the show moves very quickly as it keeps switching between each of their stories. Oftentimes the stories are completely separate and then will converge in unexpected ways.
24 also has a way of twisting back on itself. Plot changes will happen later on that will make you rethink something that happened earlier, and realize that you were just as fooled by what was presented as many of the characters were, DESPITE the fact that the evidence was all there for you to see.
By the end of this season, you will find yourself just wanting to hug Jack Bauer and tell him that everything is going to be ok. I don’t think I’ve ever felt that much empathy for a fictional character before.
Definitely get this season, you owe it to yourself to get it.
PS: One techincal problem with this box set is that in a couple of very brief instances, the cameramen are actually impictured at the sides of the screen. I guess this was cut off in the made for TV version but they forgot it was still in the widescreen. I don’t know if I’m the only one who noticed this. However, this happens for a total of less than 10 seconds over the entire season and really isn’t a big deal at all.