24: Season One
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Movie Reviews of 24: Season One
Movie Review: If you had 24 hours to live, this would be the show to watch
Summary: 5 Stars
This show is revolutionary in its format and in the topics it covers. There has never been a show like this before and there will never be a show like this again. 24 is the tale of Jack Bower dealing with the most insane day of his entire life. It is also the tale of David Palmer, the first black with a "real chance at the White House". Their destinies are intertwined; a past association will forever haunt their future. At first Jack seems like your typical good guy, but as the show progresses you see that he is no straight shooter. He is an accomplished liar and spy. Jack is no conventional hero. Everyone in this show has dirt in their past, secrets that they do not want uncovered. Nothing is quite what it seems. David Palmer looks to be a sure bet for the next president of the United States. His chances are sabotaged by a past cover-up. He is also a target for assassination. Bower is given the job of preventing that assassination, but personal family problems hinder him from doing his job. Jack is a complex, contradictory person. On one hand he is a killer and a spy. He has great instincts and nobody, I mean NOBODY, thinks faster on their feet then him. On the other hand he is a loving father, and like a typical parent has no idea what his kid is up to. So despite the fact that he is Mr. Cool on the job, he is just another fool when it comes to his daughter. His daughter is Kim, and she has inherited her father's guts and brains, as well as his disregard for authority. She is brave but foolish and naive. However, as the show progresses she matures into a young woman, she starts of the day a headstrong girl, but finishes it a seasoned woman. Jack's wife Terri is the opposite of Jack in many ways, but she balances Jack out with her lighter nature. However, in certain fundamental ways Terri and Kim do not really know Jack, they only now what Jack chooses to show them. Jack is a killer, he knows how to torture people, etc. He is a good guy, but he is no knight in shining armor. David Palmer also has his own family issues, his wife is a scheming power mad hag, one of his top political advisors is crooked, etc. Jack is hot on the trail of the assassins but fails to understand the personal nature of the grudge against Palmer, and his connection to it. In a sense there is no "hero" on this show although there are certainly a fair share of villains. However, most of the villains even have sympathetic moments, Mandy's grief for her partner, etc. I like the character Rick a lot, he is a realistic portrayal of a small time crook in over his head, he is no good guy but he is no killer either. Jack's associates at work are also shady, Nina Myers is his trusted assistant but she is also a great liar, George Mason is crooked in the sense that he stole drug money from a suspect, but he is a good guy in other respects. People are always lying to each on this show, deceiving each other, either because they have to, or because they think it is the best thing to do at the moment, etc. Now this show does glorify the CIA, it is most definitely an unrealistic representation of that organization. In real life the CIA is simply EVIL!!! But in this show it is only amoral or shady, doing whatever it has to for the greater good. That being said this is a TV show, so reality can take a back seat while watching it. But everyone should know that in the real world the CIA would probably be engineering the hit on Palmer, not stopping it. This series has more twists and turns than any other show in the history of TV, but surprisingly very few of them are groaners. Most of the surprises and plot twists are pretty good, and some are downright revelations. If I had to pick one hour that was my favorite it would have to be 6 a.m. to 7 a.m. WOW!!! That is the most intense hour of the whole series! The whole thing between Ira and Jack, man that was great, especially the ending for that hour, take about a twist!!! FOX deserves credit for being brave enough to put this show on the air after 9/11. I will never forget the first episode that came on about a month later. On the very first episode a plane full of people were killed by a terrorist with a bomb. Now Fox could have pulled that part or changed it but they did not, and it was the right thing to do. Art is supposed to reflect life and pretending 9/11 did not happen would have been pointless. But when the plane blew up on that first episode, oh man, did it hit close to home, it did not seem farfetched at all!!! Never has a show maintained such a high level of suspense for so long, this show is exhausting and very, very violent for regular TV. The ending is BRUTAL!!!! This show covers a lot of touchy topics, race, rape, dirty politics, dirty government agencies, conspiracies, moral ambiguity, etc. Really nothing is sacred on this show. The real time thing is strictly adhered to and the makers of the show managed to make the endings of each hour a cliffhanger. This a show that is not scared to be controversial. This show puts its audience through the ringer hour after hour after hour, until you cant take it any more but beg for more! 24 is shocking, scary, intense, crazy, upsetting, exciting, you get emotionally invested most in Jack's family, especially Kim. Buy 24, watch, then spend the next 24 hours trying to catch your breath!Movie Review: So good, I'm afraid I'll gush.
Summary: 5 Stars
As most people who watch television know, every show out there has a dud episode that simply exists as filler. But with 24, the case is different. Yes, there is a silly subplot introduced late in the season that's obviously there just to take up some time (let's just say it involves amnesia), but even at its weakest, 24 is still capable of providing more of an adrenaline rush than three summer blockbuster actioners combined. Yes, that's how thrilling this series is, and when you factor in the great characters, complex script, and Stephen Hopkins' surprisingly adept eye at mixing high-octane thrills and touching drama, then you've got yourself an innovative, masterful thriller that follows through on its real-time concept with verve and supreme confidence.For those unfamiliar with 24, the plot revolves around CTU agent Jack Bauer (Kiefer Sutherland). He's having a little trouble at home around midnight, when he finds that his estranged daughter, Kim (Elisha Cuthbert), has run off for the night. Before he and his wife, Teri (Leslie Hope), can serach for her, he's urgently called to work; it's believed that within the next 24 hours there will be an assassination attempt on Senator David Palmer (Dennis Haysbert), a black presidential candidate who stands a good chance of becoming the next leader of the free world.
Plot-wise, that's all you need to know. The joy of the series comes from the unexpected plot twists and the crescendo in suspense as you wonder how Bauer is going to get himself out of this mess he's in. Yeah, there are some minor plot contrivances here and there, but they're hard to notice, and it's only after some extreme nitpicking you're going to notice a few flaws. The central storyline holds together amazingly well and never bogs down in confusion. The script also adds a lot of little nuances in the plot that'll put a smile on your face (watch what Sutherland does in episode 4 when he's desperate to interview a prisoner).
In concept, 24 probably sounds easy and gimmicky, but in reality, the show must have been ridiculously hard to pull off. Little details such as traffic light can no longer be ignored. Action must immediately pick up from where it last left off and the filmmakers have to juggle several subplots together without forgetting the constraints in time. And somehow, they pull it off. Not for a moment does the series ever lose momentum or drag in pacing. Not for a second did I ever find myself less than completely engrossed by the converging subplots. And I most certainly never contemplated pressing the fast forward button (I watched 24 on DVD).
24 delivers its share of action sequences. There are shootouts, chases, and cat-and-mouse games, which might sound requisite and perfunctory, but all the action here is tightly choreographed and work in service of the story. Thus, the tension is ratcheted up a few notches during some of the gunfights and chases. The final episode is probably the series' most thrilling segment; capping off with a two-fisted gun battle that actually resonates on a dramatic level and then a shootout between two passing cars, a "money shot" scene if I ever saw one.
An aspect of assassination plots that's always bugged me is that the guy whose life is in danger is usually nothing more than a macguffin to drive the plot forward. 24, thankfully, doesn't fall into this trap. As played superbly by Dennis Haysbert, Palmer is a fully developed flesh-and-blood individual who's ultimately compelling and likeable. The turmoil developing in his campaign an inriguing dimension to his character that a lesser film or series would have ignored.
Good as Haysbert is, it's Kiefer Sutherland who steals the show. After years of second-rate roles and glorified supporting performances, Sutherland finally gets back on track, showing why he's one of the most underrated actors around. Simply put, he delivers the best performance of his career, creating the perfect balance between tough action hero and everday family man. Leslie Hope is equally as good as his wife, Teri, carrying a Lion's share of the series' emotional baggage and pulling it off without a hitch. It's a pity she didn't get a nomination or two for her terrific work. The rest of the cast is quite good, though Elisha Cuthbert has gotten some criticism here and there. It's not a bad performance, but admittedly, she's least convincing when she shouts.
24 ends on a surprisingly powerful note, a dramatic punch of a final scene that transcends this series from great entertainment to the realm of cinematic masterpiece (okay, no complaining, I realize this is still TV). Just ask yourself if any of the other networks would have had the guts to end it the way they did. Kudos to the series creators and Fox for delivering such a memorable conclusion. The main story arcs are resolved, but everyone has a price to pay. 24 is, without a doubt, the best show on television today and I absolutely cannot wait for season two.
Movie Review: Yes there are FLAWS- but it's still AWESOME!
Summary: 5 Stars
This section is for people who have NOT seen it yet:
I just finished Season 1 of 24 and I can't believe I waited this long to watch it! Then again, I'm glad because I dont think I could endure having to watch it week to week - I just couldn't handle the wait and commercial interruptions! Really the best way to do it is on DVD because all the cliffhangers will make you keep watching - even if you know you have more important things to do or are up way too late on a school night.
I know there have been a lot of reviews pointing out the flaws and I would have to agree that some plot points are so ridiculous that they will bother you, but do not believe for a second that they ruin the show or make it not worth watching. Overall, the show is just fantastic - a pure rush of pulse-pounding adrenaline. Kind of reminds me of the Amazing Race in a way - by the time you get to the end of an episode you just HAVE to watch the next one to see what happens. This is not a show to fall asleep to - it's a show that will keep you up all night.
WARNING - SPOILERS!!!
That said, I cannot resist adding my $.02 on the things that bothered me. This section is for people who have seen it already:
1) It has been said before here and I will say it again - having the entire fate of a terrorist plot rest with 2 drugged out teenagers and a hippie van. To think that they blew up a plane, got an assassin to have picture perfect facial reconstructive surgery, and infiltrated a gov't agency like CTU, yet left it up to Beavis and Butthead to handle the kidnapping is totally ridiculous.
2) The pathetic women on this show. Ok let's see, in a 24 hour period we had women as the victims of 3 kidnappings, a rape, amnesia, being suffocated, a female cop shot and killed when she went for the janitor instead of the gunman, and a wrist-slicing suicide (later found out to be murder). You had the female on the plane get the ID card by whoring it up in the plane bathroom, then her lesbian lover gets shot because she wanted more money, a hysterical campaign employee who when working with the govt under heavy surveillance decides to kill a vital suspect because he LIES to her and says he LOVES her, a conniving first lady, a bright campaign staffer who is too weak to say no to her and decides to flush her career down the toilet to proposition the senator, (oh and that reminds me the senator's daughter was raped too!!) jack's wife teri is unable to find her way down from mulholland drive even though she's been up there like 3 times in one day, her overall inability with directions and inability to find a road, a car, a payphone, or knowing which way to go and which way she should obviously NOT go, oh and how about parking a car on the side of a cliff while we're at it? This finally brings us to Nina, who before we find out is the evil heartless Yelena we think is just a ho who sleeps with everyone she works with. WHAT UP?! Can anyone think of a woman on this show who had ANY redeeming qualities?? Yet EVERY single "good guy" male character is noble, virtuous, honest and always does the right thing. Excuse me while I go barf.
3) This brings me to the most ridiculous of all and I can't believe it was not touched on more here. David Palmer. Love the actor, but COME ON. This is a POLITICIAN, running for PRESIDENT, who is HONEST. Do I even need to elaborate on this? Even if it will cost him his campaign, he will always do the right thing and tell the truth. I found the whole first story with him about the murder/accident cover up to be boring and a waste of time. Dude. Your daughter was *raped*. What do you care if it was an accident or murder or what? YOU should've been the one kicking his butt, and you should be happy to cover it up. But you'd rather send your son to JAIL than just let it go because some scumbag who raped your daughter died afterwards? PUH-LEASE. That is even more ridiculous than Dennis Hopper's accent. Which brings me to...
4) Dennis Hopper's Hippie/Mexican/German/Wanna Be Serbo-Croation accent. Let me just suggest right now that the only way to get through those last few episodes is with a lot of whiskey. Could someone please tell me the point of bringing in Dennis Hopper for the role to begin with? Why couldnt they just find *anyone* who could pull off the accent? Sheer torture. In fact, he should have used his accent as torture/leverage with Jack and he probably would've gotten everything he wanted.
Movie Review: One of the most inventive, incredible series on television
Summary: 5 Stars
RELENTLESS! If there is one word that can describe what watching "24" is like, it's relentless. There are few TV shows on the air today or that have aired throughout history that have the ambition to try what "24" tried and the skill to pull it off so seamlessly. For those who have been living under a rock for the past two years, Season 1 of "24" tells the real time story of the events surrounding an assassination attempt on a presidential candidate. The caveat is that this is no ordinary candidate. David Palmer (Dennis Haysbert) is the first African-American candidate with a legitimate chance to win the White House. His potential presidency is of paramount importance to the country. His assassination would prove disastrous. To compromise Palmer's security, the terrorists have managed to infiltrate Los Angeles Counter-Terrorism Unit (CTU) on the day of the California primary. The security breach allows the terrorists access the man whose responsibility is to weed out the terrorist threats and keep Palmer alive, Jack Bauer (Kiefer Sutherland). The terrorists kidnap his family and keep Jack jumping through hoops in a dual-pronged effort to save his family and protect Palmer. All of this occurs over the course of one 24-hour period. It's the longest day of Jack Bauer's life. The concept of "24" seemed very difficult to buy into at first. As a result, I did not watch any of Season 1 when it was broadcast and have not watched any of Season 2 so far. Yet, glowing reviews and recommendations led me to get this DVD collection and watch it from start to finish. It is an incredibly well-produced and well-acted show. Most big-budget movies are not as well-crafted as "24". The concept of telling the story in real time presents many difficulties and is rarely attempted as a thematic device (see 1995's Johnny Depp movie "Nick of Time" for a big screen example of this device). It does add to the suspense and drama, however, because every event must happen in a realistic time period. For example, you couldn't very well have a character hop in a vehicle one side of Los Angeles and be completely on the other side by the time a commercial break is over. So, even the smallest of details, like a long red light, play a major role in impacting all developments in this ongoing story. The production team for "24" doesn't miss a trick, though. The real time element is kept as honest as possible and not one single episode feels as though it's filler that is just using time to get from one point of the plot to the other.
Excellent storytelling and tight plotting aside, "24" would not be able to work if it were not for the outstanding performances of a highly skilled cast. Kiefer Sutherland is the most well-known of all the actors and he brings his own special brand of harried desperation to the role of Jack Bauer. Sutherland is the perfect actor for this role because he brings the perfect blend of sympathy and uncertainty to his role. The audience truly feels for Bauer as he deals with the events of this day, but they also feel on edge because they don't know how far over the line he is willing to go to achieve his objective (he shoots one of his superiors in the leg with a tranquilizer in the first episode just to get some withheld information from him. Haysbert brings a true sense of presidential bearing to his role as Senator Palmer. He's a good man that the audience can easily believe is presidential material. (Heck if David Palmer were a real candidate, I'd vote for him). Leslie Hope (Teri Bauer) and Elisha Cuthbert(Kim Bauer) demonstrate the appropriate level of terror one would espect them to feel as the captured wife and daughter of Jack Bauer, respective. Sarah Clarke is also quite good as Jack's second in command at CTU, Nina Meyers. Even smaller players like Tony Almeida (played by Carlos Bernard) and George Mason (played by skilled character actor Xander Berkeley) provided added weight to the already strong story.
It's important in this review not to reveal any of the twists and turns that take place throughout the 24 hours. If you haven't seen the show yet (as I hadn't before seeing it on DVD), the story developments will blow you away. "24" is truly a masterful piece of work and I cannot wait until Season 2 is available so I can watch that from start to finish, too
Movie Review: changed my perspective on what media can be
Summary: 5 Stars
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.