You had to know I’d be all over this one. Sadly many readers on my blog and elsewhere have forgotten my passion for all things Jack Bauer because season 6 of 24 sucked so badly that I actually gave up on what was once my very favorite show, but time (and Jack Bauer’s tears) heals all wounds. So I’m willing to give it another shot.
And I’m glad I did.
So you may remember that there was a little thing called the writer’s strike last year, which basically scuttled the existing plans for season 7 and left the producers with a crapload of footage of Jack Bauer Killing People In Africa with no point to them. Well there’s no point in wasting good footage, so they crafted a sneaky TV movie out of it, interlacing a somber story in Africa with nefarious goings-on in Washington DC during the inauguration of the first female president. Pff, that’s about as likely as a black president! What a crazy show.
Anyway, the show was broadcast this past Sunday, and the DVD is already out. You have to admire that kind of moxie on the part of the producers. First, the technical end: It’s a two-disc set, with the first disc being the 90 minute broadcast version and the second disc being the extended 104 minute version plus the special features. Obviously I went with the extended version. Although I didn’t watch the broadcast version on TV, as I knew the studio was sending me the disc and I didn’t want to ruin it with commercials, you can pretty much tell that the extended version drags a bit more with the extra footage.
The plot sees Jack in exile, traveling from continent to continent to duck a subpoena from a government weasel (played with excellent bureaucratic slime by Gil Bellows) and ending up doing missionary work in Africa. Unfortunately for him, his peaceful existence is disrupted by an attempted coup from angry rebels armed with weapons provided by shadowy Washington figures. The show takes a rare dip into the quasi-realistic as Jack’s schoolkids are rounded up by the slimeball "army" as soldiers, mirroring real events in Africa that are documented in the DVD’s special features. And when two of the kids are shot trying to escape, you just know that Jack is going to take things personally.
That’s what I really loved about this movie — Jack is emotionally invested for a change, instead of doing it as a job like James Bond or something. Yeah, they’ve made lame attempts to leverage family members against him since killing off his wife in season one, but this is the first time in a while where I’ve felt like he’d really have a reason to kill people pro bono. And what killing he does! A vicious knife to the heart (and slit throat just to make sure) seems like it’ll be the clear winner, but then he escapes torture by KILLING A MAN WITH HIS KNEE. That’s right — if you leave ANY limb untied, Jack can find a way to end your life with it. The chemistry with co-star Robert Carlyle, as another in the endless line of Jack’s former special ops buddies (do they have a reunion every year or something?) is also great, as you really buy him in the 24 universe until, well, you know. He’s Jack’s best friend in the country, what could possibly go wrong for him?
Slightly less interesting is the political intrigue happening back in the States, although really I’m over all the government moles and tense hard drive downloads in place of good writing, and I think I would have enjoyed a whole season in Africa just for the visual change of pace alone. And President Taylor gives what might be the worst inaugural speech I’ve ever heard, to go along with her hairstyle that is apparently modeled on Darth Vader’s helmet. However, all that silliness is setting up the seventh season and not just wasting my time while keeping Jack from murdering terrorists, so I can forgive it. But then it’s easy to forgive Jack Bauer when he’s stabbing terrorists in the face.
24, you have my attention again. Don’t let me down this time. (Rating: ****1/2)
Audio & Video
Unfortunately the DVD’s picture is a little softer than the bits of the high def broadcast that I caught on Sunday, which is to be expected. The yellow filter of the African scenes gives everything a bit of a haze, which is easily contrasted with the sharp and clean Washington scenes. However, I found it an effective way to convey the heat and ugliness of the region as compared to the cold and sterile world waiting back in the US. Audio is Dolby 5.1, and as usual it suffers from overly loud action sequences and overly quiet dialogue. Pretty standard action movie fare on that front. There was definitely some good surround usage from the guns and a land mine late in the movie, but overall it’s nothing to give your home theater a major workout. (Ratings: ***1/2 for video, *** for the audio)
Bonus Features
Here’s where the disc purchase justifies itself for me. You get the original broadcast version on the first disc, but then you get an extended cut on the second disc, featuring commentary from producer Jon Cassar and KIEFER SUTHERLAND, BABY. It’s a really good, laid-back track from them, as they talk about the challenges of shooting in Africa and talk about the selection of weapons used by Jack in the movie among other stuff.
Next up you get a pair of featurettes running about 20 minutes each: One is the making of the movie, and the other is a somber and depressing look at the reality of children being kidnapped and turned into unwilling soldiers in Africa. But the real reason to drop the $15 on this thing is that you not only get the season 7 trailer that aired on Sunday, but the first 17 minutes of the season! And of course by now you know the bombshell that gets dropped right away, but in case you’re spoiler-free I won’t ruin it. And if you want to relive the pain for yourself, they give you a 5 minute recap of season six as well, which still makes no sense. A good selection of stuff to justify buying something you just watched two nights before. (Rating: ****)
The Pulse:
Jack’s back and he’s pissed! What more do you need? A good return to form for the 24 crew, which is hopefully a sign of good things to come from the new season as well. Strongly recommended.
