Review - 24: Redemption
Kiefer Sutherland as Jack Bauer Fights African Rebels, Saves Orphans
Nov 17, 2008
In the two-hour special, 24: REDEMPTION, beleaguered super spy Jack Bauer (Kiefer Sutherland), is out of Los Angeles and working in the fictional African country of Sangala. Bauer teams up with his old mentor and special-forces colleague, Carl Benton (the amazing Robert Carlyle, The Full Monty) to help him run an orphanage. In the opening sequences, hugs and smiles abound from the normally morose Bauer. He seems to have found peace with the kids.
Child Soldiers
But 24 viewers know life can never be simple or gentle for Bauer. He’s chosen to hide away in a dangerous, unstable place. Warlords are abducting boys, drugging them, brainwashing them, and turning them into child soldiers so they can facilitate a coup. (Sounds a lot like A Long Way Gone, Ishmael Beah’s heartbreaking memoir and Blood Diamond with Leonardo DiCaprio.) To complicate things, U.S. State Department officer Frank Tramell (Canadian Gil Bellows, Ally McBeal) serves Bauer with a subpoena and orders him to return to the U.S. to face charges of torture. Naturally Bauer refuses, bids farewell to his friend, Benton, and prepares to leave.
When a local warlord and his henchman kill one orphan and critically injure another (in a horrific shoot-out that made me cover my eyes) Bauer’s instincts kick in. He and Benton get the rest of the boys to safety with rebels tracking them.
Meanwhile American nationals are clearing out the embassy and the last helicopter is leaving within the hour. (The chaotic scenes are reminiscent of U.S. troops leaving Vietnam.) Bauer tears a strip off an inept, weak, and cowardly UN officer – “Why don’t you go hide in the shelter with the rest of the children?” The UN official does but gets his comeuppance later.
South African Splendor
Shot over seven weeks in South Africa, specifically in and around Cape Town, 24: REDEMPTION features beautiful shots of the countryside and mountains and is a welcome change from the grey halls of the Counter Terrorism Unit. “Shooting 24: REDEMPTION in South Africa was the highlight of my six years on the show,” said 24 executive producer, Canadian Jon Cassar. “It was nothing short of exhilarating.”
Of course 24 wouldn’t be exhilarating for viewers without gunfights, explosions, emotional death scenes, torture, and mayhem and Cassar delivers all of that.
First Female U.S. President
The prequel jumps from Africa to the U.S. as President-Elect Allison Taylor (Cherry Jones) is about to be sworn in. Taylor has no idea that businessman Jonas Hodges (Jon Voight, Mission Impossible) is bankrolling the impending Sangala civil war. How the coup benefits him isn't made clear. A third convoluted plotline includes Taylor’s hunky son (Eric Lively) and his drug-addicted college buddy. There's more than enough in these two hours to set-up the new season of 24.
Did the last original episode really air way back in May 2007? And do we really have to wait until next year to see 24 again? God, it sure felt good to have Jack back.
24: REDEMPTION airs on Global in Canada (FOX in U.S.) on November 23 at 8 p.m. ET. The series returns to the primetime TV schedule in January 2009.
 |
 |
