Customer Reviews
Disappointing - By: Brian Sheeran, 28 Nov 2008 
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 & cheesy. Cartoon-like bad guys, & 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!
24 does Blood Diamond-lite - By: Mr. T. COLEMAN, 28 Nov 2008 
Think "Hotel Rwanda". Think "Shooting Dogs". Think "Blood Diamond". Recent years have seen a slew of intelligent, well-crafted movies address real-life incidents & issues from Africa, & the West's involvement & complicityin 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 & touchingly human. So the potential for combining this dynamic with the meaningful story line of Jack surviving a coupin 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, & 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 scenein "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 charactersin that movie see & experience). Instead of the UN's famous inaction during the Rwandan genocide, depicted so well by "Hotel Rwanda" & particularlyin the excellent "Shooting Dogs", you get a lone UN characterin "Redemption" weasling his way out of standing up for the children Jack is forced to protect. The list goes on & on, & what one is left with is that "Redemption" isn't really a "24" movie, & it isn't really saying anything that hasn't been said before &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 & 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 & 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, & 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.
Poor - please go back to the 2nd-5th series hard jack - By: Mr. Bt Walther, 28 Nov 2008 
Im a massive 24 fan, i even have to wear my CTU t-shirt when watching it to pretend im watching Jack's backin 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 & 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 & she was onlyin it 5 minutes. Seems like the violence & controversy haters of the public (that have plagued the 24 series from the start), that believe everyone to be nice & 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.
Predictable and poor - By: Peter R. Heinze, 26 Nov 2008 I watched this on Sky One the other night & was not impressed. It was based over a two hour timeline, with Jackin Africa getting away from the world & helping his friend run a childrens home. I'm not going to give the rest of the plot away, but its so predictable & cheesy that I almost gave up on it. The saving grace was the new president & some of the politics going on. Don't waste your money & watch the re-run on Sky.
24 is back.....in Style - By: Lee, 10 Oct 2008 
Its been a while since 24 was last on our screens, but finally its back & i'm happy to report its more explosive & 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 himin Africa is stunning, having Africa as the backdrop makes all the action even more breathetaking. The acting is superb as always & Cherry Jones aka the new female president is wonderful. Theres really a stunning cast here including Robert Carlyle & Jon Voight so they really havent messed around this year on 24, & 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 backin to the movie) plus the first 17 minutes of Season 7 episode 1 (which is fantastic) not to mention the season 7 trailer & 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 & the whole team behind
24.
Ps. You should also buy the Redemption soundtrack, Sean Callery does an amazing jobin this movie so its worth looking into that.
