Love him or hate him, it???s good to have Jack Bauer back on our screens. Played with sneer and menace by Kiefer Sutherland, the ruthless ex-Counter Terrorism Unit agent is the kind of guy you???re glad is on your side, and this time, 24: Redemption finds him facing up to demons of his own.

Set between the sixth and seventh seasons of 24, Redemption transports Jack Bauer to Africa, and it doesn???t take long for trouble to flare up. His mission this time, only inevitably it gets more complex than this, is to get a group of orphans to the Embassy safely, even if it means putting his own freedom on the line.

While 24: Redemption leaves some of the familiar cast of the show at home, it does have some impressive names joining Sutherland on this particular adventure. Robert Carlyle???s mysterious character for one is a fine addition, and getting Jon Voight into a villainous role is entirely to be encouraged.

Most impressive of all though, 24: Redemption shows real signs of the franchise getting back on its feet, after the juddering, muddled sixth season, that left many wondering if the show had enjoyed its best days. Now? There???s a real thirst for season seven, and a hope that the extended break the show has enjoyed has been put to good use. Because nobody, nobody does this kind of edge-of-the-seat TV thriller better than the 24 team. --Jon Foster

So, this is supposed to get the 24 series back on track?

It was a little slow, so much so that I fell asleep (and I had been waiting for it to be shown for ages). Caught up the next showing, but not incredibly impressed.

Predictable and cheesy. Cartoon-like bad guys, and a much too saintly Jack - St Jack! Maybe that will stick?

This is something to have on whilst you do the ironing. I hope the actual Series 7 is better! I hate ironing!

Think "Hotel Rwanda". Think "Shooting Dogs". Think "Blood Diamond". Recent years have seen a slew of intelligent, well-crafted movies address real-life incidents and issues from Africa, and the West's involvement and complicity in them.

Then there's "24", the brash, unapologetically in-your-face US-series that has given the world our post-millennial hero par jour, the indomitable Jack Bauer. "24" is, at it's best, thunderously enjoyable, constantly surprising and touchingly human. So the potential for combining this dynamic with the meaningful story line of Jack surviving a coup in fictional African country Sengala, protecting children whilst the West stands by, was surely there: this could have been good.

The problem is, "24: Redemption" does live up to this promise. In fact, it plays out as a crude, and pretty flagrant pastiche of the best bits from other films based on real-life occurances. For instance, the opening scene when child soldiers are programmed to kill an unarmed man, is an EXACT replica of a scene in "Blood Diamond". Similarly, Robbie Caryle's line that "This is Sengala" is a rip-off from "Blood Diamond"'s poignant refrain "This is Africa" (as an explanation for the awful things the characters in that movie see and experience). Instead of the UN's famous inaction during the Rwandan genocide, depicted so well by "Hotel Rwanda" and particularly in the excellent "Shooting Dogs", you get a lone UN character in "Redemption" weasling his way out of standing up for the children Jack is forced to protect. The list goes on and on, and what one is left with is that "Redemption" isn't really a "24" movie, and it isn't really saying anything that hasn't been said before and in a better way. It feels like a thinly veiled, big-budget fan tribute to the above named movies, purporting to have a moral conscience about these real and important issues, as if including them automatically gives the end-product a spray on seriousness. The fact is, it's not enough to talk about child soldiers and UN inaction, you need to actually tell the story well.

"Redemption", in short, is a tired, cliched little addition to the "24" canon. It's not pacey enough to be a good "long episode", it's not original enough to be a worthwhile social comment. It's a rip off of better movies, and it's a missed opportunity. To be honest, it's even a little insulting, given that we're talking about a real continent where these issues remain part of many people's daily reality, that the makers of "Redemption" chose to copy other movies rather than give the source material itself the proper treatment it deserved. Very disappointing on all fronts.

Im a massive 24 fan, i even have to wear my CTU t-shirt when watching it to pretend im watching Jack's back in a situation. Mid way through this pants encounter i ripped the thing to pieces. What a pile of cheese. what happened the tough guy jack used to be? - working with kids and shedding more tears than neccessary? Nice story but hardly the A kicking Jack we've all come to love. I hate the new president already and she was only in it 5 minutes. Seems like the violence and controversy haters of the public (that have plagued the 24 series from the start), that believe everyone to be nice and captured terrorists to spill the beans after a tickle with a feather, have finally gotten to the writers. Please make sure Series 7 is hardcore, not like this girly attempt.

I watched this on Sky One the other night and was not impressed. It was based over a two hour timeline, with Jack in Africa getting away from the world and helping his friend run a childrens home. I'm not going to give the rest of the plot away, but its so predictable and cheesy that I almost gave up on it. The saving grace was the new president and some of the politics going on. Don't waste your money and watch the re-run on Sky.

Its been a while since 24 was last on our screens, but finally its back and i'm happy to report its more explosive and action packed as ever. I'm gonna keep this short but sweet, all 24 fans should see this. Its great to finally see Jack out of LA but to see him in Africa is stunning, having Africa as the backdrop makes all the action even more breathetaking. The acting is superb as always and Cherry Jones aka the new female president is wonderful. Theres really a stunning cast here including Robert Carlyle and Jon Voight so they really havent messed around this year on 24, and it shows just how 24s critical acclaim has spread into the celeberity world. The special features with this DVD make the whole thing worth buying, theres a commentary track, a making of Redemption but perhaps what most people will be buying this for is to check out the extended version of Redemption (over 15 minutes put back in to the movie) plus the first 17 minutes of Season 7 episode 1 (which is fantastic) not to mention the season 7 trailer and a montage of scenes from the first 14 episodes of season 7. So all fans should have this sitting produly beside their other DVDs of 24. Can i also just say that SKY1 absolutely ruined this movie with all the breaks every 10 minutes, so to do Redemption justice you really have to watch it the way it was meant to be seen. ON DVD.

Well done yet again Mr Sutherland, My Cassar and the whole team behind
24.

Ps. You should also buy the Redemption soundtrack, Sean Callery does an amazing job in this movie so its worth looking into that.