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

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. Link Below for those intreasted.

24: Redemption

In the last year, Jack Bauer (Kiefer Sutherland) has seen the world. No, he's not on vacation; he's running from a subpoena calling him to testify before Congress about his use of torture over the years.

Most recently, he's landed in the African country of Sengala where he's helping a friend named Carl Benton (Robert Carlyle) with his school for orphaned boys. When the subpoena catches up with him, Jack plans to move on. But before he can, the rebels make a play for the boys, planning to force them into becoming soldiers in their bid to over throw the government.

Meanwhile, back in the States, the first female President, Allison Taylor (Cherry Jones) is about to be sworn in. While she clashes with outgoing President Daniels (Powers Boothe) over the situation in Sengala, her son is approached by a friend wanting help with a sticky situation at his job as a stock broker.

What does that have to do with Jack's situation? And can Jack get the boys to safety?

This TV movie was created to bridge the gap between the disappointing sixth season and the delayed (due to the writer's strike) seventh season. It does a good job of setting things in motion, but as such it feels incomplete to me. Normally, the first episode of every season is slow as we catch up with our characters. Here, that takes up too much of the time. The happenings back in Washington DC were interesting, but they didn't seem to do anything but set up storylines for season seven. And, in a show known for its twists, this movie was fairly predictable. There was only one real twist.

Now, being a 24 fan, I won't say I was completely disappointed. The action here seemed better than what we got last season. Jack also seems to be more on an even keel, which might help. And I was certainly entertained the entire time.

And for those wondering, outside of a brief prologue, the events do occur in real time.

The threads set in motion here could be interesting once next season premiers. And fans of the TV show will certainly enjoy it. I know I did. But this isn't the best the franchise has to offer.

I just watched this on sky1 and i was disapointed with this prequel, but lets not forget that this is just a prequel to day 7 to set up the new characters.

It was great seeing tom lennox in again but i think that was the last we see of him, i was a bit sad as they was no characters i knew in like for example, bill or chloe, i only know jack bauer of course lol.

The explosions was brilliant and had me on the edge of my seat but like i said it was not that great. I wonder if carl survived? (you will know when you watch it)

It was great seeing jack bauer in action again, also i must admit that the new female president Allison Taylor did not impress me a lot but maybe she will have great storylines in day 7.

I am still buying redemption on dvd on 1st of december (region 2) as i want to see the extended version and day 7 Special Features.

Overall i am more looking forward to day 7 in january 2009. i am counting the days!!

If you missed 24 a lot like me then you will enjoy this prequel but it was a bit slow and it had no storylines to it.