22 December 2024: The three latest written interviews of me are here, here and here.
Showing posts with label Kiefer Sutherland. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Kiefer Sutherland. Show all posts

Saturday, December 21, 2024

Juror #2: Hitchcockian Courtroom


Just saw Juror #2 on Max, directed by Clint Eastwood (in his early 90s), and "rumored" (Wikipedia's word) to be the final movie he'll be directing.  I can tell you that the movie is powerful indeed, a twisty legal thriller, reminiscent of some of Hitchcock's work -- the writer, Jonathan Abrams, deserves some of the credit for that -- and I surely hope that Eastwood is able to direct a few more.   

[And there will be spoilers about the set-up ahead ... ]

The set-up is ingenuously provocative: Justin finds himself on a jury hearing and then deliberating the case of James, on trial for murdering his girlfriend, Kendall.  The two were seen arguing in a nearly violent way in a bar, but Justin knows that James didn't do it, because based on where Kendall's body was found, he's horrified to realize that the deer he thought he struck on the road on a rain-swept night was actually Kendall.   Justin is a fundamentally decent person.  But his wife Allison, who lost their earlier twins, is now very pregnant, not to mention that he wouldn't want to go to prison anyway, so his dilemma is how can he make sure James does not go to prison for a crime he didn't commit, while Justin stays out of prison himself?

That's what I mean about the movie being Hitchcockian.  In movies like Strangers on a Train, Hitchcock excelled in heroes or anti-heroics caught in the grips of world-class ethical dilemmas.  Juror #2 is also lifted by excellent acting.  Nicholas Hoult and Zoey Deutch -- I don't recall seeing Hoult on the screen before, and I've seen Deutch just once, in The Outfit, where she was excellent -- were just perfect as Justin and Allison.   J. K. Simmons and Kiefer Sutherland play characters who are medium important, but memorable.  

I won't tell you what the ending is, except it certainly leaves the door open for a sequel.  If you're a fan of the order part -- aka the courtroom part -- of Law & Order and its spinoffs, you can't go wrong with Juror #2.

***

Here, in case you're interested, is the true story of the time I was foreperson on a jury here in Westchester, NY.

Friday, December 8, 2023

John Lennon: Murder Without a Trial: Short in a Variety of Ways, But Still Worthwile


Today is the 43rd anniversary of John Lennon's assassination.  The older I get, the more clear I am that Lennon's murder, and the assassination of John F. Kennedy, are the two most deforming events of the history that has taken place in my life.  And of the two, Lennon's was the worst, since he was one of the most wondrous singer-songwriters who ever lived, which I think is more rare that even a great President.

Given all of that, how I could I not watch this short documentary that went up two days ago on Apple TV+.   Short -- three episodes, that added up to less than three hours.  I would have much rather spent that time re-watching any part of Peter Jackson's The Beatles: Get Back.  But I felt I had no choice.

Was it worth it?  Well, here are the highlights of what most struck me about this documentary:

1. MKUltra, the CIA operation 1953-1973 that drugged, hypnotized, and otherwise abused subjects without their knowledge to do its bidding, may have played a role in Lennon's assassination.  More specifically, it's implied/suggested that  John Lennon's assassin may have been hypnotized and more by the CIA.  This is the second time MK-Ultra has come up in documentaries I've watched/listened to in the past few weeks.  The excellent Who Killed JFK? podcast with Rob Reiner and Soledad O'Brien is exploring the role that MK-Ultra may have had in that assassination.  And unlike John Lennon: Murder Without a Trial, the JFK podcast goes beyond mere suggestions and offers some evidence.

2.  The assassin of John Lennon said he killed him to get more people to read The Catcher in the Rye.  The documentary tells us the shooter who attempted to kill Ronald Reagan under four months later had a copy of that very novel in his hotel room.  But the documentary gives that no further consideration. Was the novel figuring in the life of one assassin and the life of a would-be assassin just a coincidence?  I'd say, probably not.  So does that novel have some kind of monstrous effect on vulnerable minds, on the psyches of people who are mentally ill?  I'd say, also probably not.  The most the likely explanation for Catcher in the Rye being in the lives of the two shooters is that the second was sickly inspired by the first.  But that's just logical -- the documentary provides no evidence of that.

3. If you're interested in alternate history -- which I very much am -- Lennon's record producer, Jack Douglas, provides an exquisitely heartbreaking example.  He tells us that he'd usually go back with John and Yoko from the recording studio to the Dakota, I guess to talk over what they'd done that night, or were planning to do the next night, or whatever.  On that night, the night that Lennon was murdered, Douglas did not go back to the Dakota. He's sure that if he'd seen the assassin lurking, Douglas would have done something, "tackle" that "nutcase," anything, to prevent the beyond obscenity that occurred.  A day hasn't gone by since then that Douglas hasn't raked himself over the coals for not being in the limo that night with John and Yoko.

4. Yoko Ono correctly points out that John likely wouldn't have been killed by an assailant with just a knife, and says point blank that John's death was due to a lack of gun control in the United States.  The insane, mounting number of shootings in the United States with every passing year couldn't make Yoko's message any more timely.  Just yesterday, three people were shot to death at a university in Las Vegas.  These shootings which seem to be happening now almost weekly or more often are the fault not only of the person who pulled the trigger but every US Senator and Representative who has steadfastly stopped sensible gun control, over and over again.

Indeed, though Kiefer Sutherland's voice as narrator was very effective as it always is, and  the lawyers and the police and the other people who played a role in the aftermath of John Lennon's assassination were interesting and sometimes crucial to see and hear from, the five or so minutes that Yoko was on the screen is what most made John Lennon: Murder Without a Trial worth watching.  Most of that comes near the end.  Will that make it worthwhile viewing for you?   I guess that depends, more than anything, on how much tolerance you have for another dose of horror and grim understanding that cuts through your soul.

====

Here's an alternate history story about The Beatles that might make you feel a little better.


Friday, December 15, 2017

The Discovery: Worth Finding

The Discovery (2017, Netflix)  is a strange, edgy, powerfully soft-spoken movie about a scientific attempt to find, map, and understand the afterlife.  As such, it bears some resemblance to Kiefer Sutherland's 1990 Flatliners (coincidentally remade in 2017, but I haven't yet seen it).  The Discovery sports Robert Redford in a quite central role, with Jason Segel, Rooney Mara (House of Cards), Jesse Plemons (Friday Night Lights), and Riley Keough (first season of The Girlfriend Experience) in leading and strong supporting roles.

As for the plot, it's somewhat murky - as I guess befits afterlife stories - and manages to combine the ambience of grade-B 1950s science fiction/horror, replete with a hokey laboratory, more than reminiscent of the Frankenstein-monster set-up, and the more modern retelling of early events and dialogue in the movie, near the end, in a way which makes the beginning make more sense, though it wasn't all that opaque in the first place.

Redford is the scientist who thinks/claims he has discovered evidence of an afterlife. His son (played by Segel) resists this because it's somehow tied up with the death of his mother.   He in turns falls for Mara's character, who has a complex story of her own.  I won't tell you more, lest I give too much away.  In other words, I'd like to see this movie have an afterlife.

All in all, I'd say the best part about it is the at-once jarring, compelling, and subtly controlled way in which the movie was shot, including a long speechless scene with Rooney on camera, thinking about something, sitting next to Segel on the beach, about to tell him a crucial piece of this story.  That kind of pacing is realistic and hard-to-find in science fiction. Kudos to film maker Charlie McDowell.

 

It started in the hot summer of 1960, when Marilyn Monroe walked off the set of The Misfits and began to hear a haunting song in her head, "Goodbye Norma Jean" ...

Monday, February 6, 2017

24 Legacy 1.1: Dammit! I Liked It

24 Legacy debuted tonight, and I've got to say, though I missed Jack, this new 24 has all the power and pacing and riveting story-by-the-minute of its predecessor.   Which is to say: Dammit! I liked it a whole lot.

Among the salient elements of the plot, my favorite was CTU being taken over by Rebecca (played by Miranda Otto), former CTU head.   She has to work - of course, frantically - underneath the nose of the current director. This is a classic 24 gambit, and great to see again.  Also of interest at CTU headquarters is Edgar Stiles' cousin Mariana (the late Edgar died nobly at CTU for his country, from poison gas, if memory serves).  There are other interesting characters at CTU, and, as always, the most important thing about them is one or more of them is is a double agent.   I hope it's not Mariana.

The new Jack - Eric Carter (played by Corey Hawkins) - is certainly not a double agent.  What he is sharp and driven and highly capable, like Jack.  But, unlike Jack, Corey has a strong wife, much better than the late Audrey.   And Eric has a more significant back story as brother to a gang leader. Good material here for future developments.

The heart of the story is some sort of major attack on America, with a Chechnyan high school student who, in a nice minor twist, has her chemistry teacher wrapped around her little finger and more, and an Isis (or whatever) terrorist group on the hunt in Washington for a list of everyone set to carry out the attack.

And if that's enough, and also in classic 24 tradition, Rebecca is married to a Senator (played by Jimmy Smits) who's running for President.  One of the best things about classic 24 was how it wove great Presidential life-and-death drama into the CTU action.  At times, 24 at its height was House of Cards before its time.

Now, if 24 Legacy were on ABC not Fox, we could actually get Jack Bauer right into the series - or Kiefer Sutherland, at at any rate, who's playing a President in ABC's Designated Survivor, another fine series which has a lot of 24 derring-do, too.

I'll keep watching both, for sure, and will be back here with a review 1.2, or the next hour of the ticking clock with the multiple screens, tomorrow.

Thursday, December 15, 2016

Designated Survivor 1.10: Who Was Hit?

A great winter finale for Designated Survivor tonight - with a cliffhanger that exceeded even some of those we saw on 24.

Before that ending, we also got a nice twist: we already knew that the VP to be (or not to be) was not part of the conspiracy running the show, but was being run himself - that is, he's more a tool than a player in this treason.  But tonight we find out that his wife is his proximate player - nice, unexpected touch, literally the woman behind the man.

The episode was fast-moving, also revealing that Aaron may be a bad guy - though, for all we know, there could be another twist in this, too.

But the ending was a pressure-cooker powerhouse.  The assassin is slightly thrown off by Hannah's shot, just as he's about to shoot Kirkman, so whom does his shot hit?   And what is the result of the bullet?

Well, first, since we're in television land, and network television at that, we know it can't be that Kirkman is killed.   Kiefer Sutherland is too important an actor and Kirkman too important a character for that to happen (the first point is more crucial than the second).  So Kirkman may be wounded - which would be an interesting touch, if that allowed the VP to serve as President even for a short time.

Or, the VP could have been hit - either wounded or killed.  Or the President's wife, or the VP's wife, or even the guy who was swearing them in, though that would be so uninteresting that we can rule that out.

We do see a stretcher in the coming attractions - but for all we know, that could be Hannah, shot by one of the President's Secret Service.  I wouldn't put much money on that, though.  At this point, the most likely victim is someone on the stage - which, come to think of it, also could be Aaron.

I'll be thinking about this ... until March?  Yeah, we'll have to wait that long to see what happens. Hey, we'll have a lot to follow in real life American governance and world affairs.


See also Designated Survivor: Jack Bauer Back in the White House ... Designated Survivor 1.2: Unflinching and Excellent ...  Designated Survivor 1.4: "Michigan's on the Verge of Anarchy" ... Designated Survivor 1.5: The Plot Thickens ... Designated Survivor 1.6: The Governors ... Designated Survivor 1.7: Reassuring Fiction ... Designated Survivor 1.8: Kitchen Sink ... Designated Survivor 1.9: Hacked!


  terrorist squirrels and bombs in NYC

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Thursday, December 1, 2016

Designated Survivor 1.8: Kitchen Sink

Good to see Designated Survivor back in action with episode 1.8 last night, with Kirkman have everything and the kitchen sink thrown against him in his effort to rebuild the political structure of our country after the devastating State of the Union attack.

Top of the list is a germ warfare attack - biological terrorism - designed to stop the election of a new House of Representatives.  Talk about elections being rigged!  As in everything it does, Designated Survivor takes this scenario one big step over the top, in true riveting 24 fashion.

Meanwhile, Kirkman's paternity of his son comes to a head, and I was glad to see this story wrapped up.  It was a soap-opera move, not really necessary in the high stakes of everything else, in which the nation itself is at risk.

The continuing story here is who was responsible for the Capitol bombing?   We learned last night that it's not the likely next VP, who is now seen being run by the villains, rather than being one of them.  All signs point to the group being domestic, but with Designator Survivor's ear clearly attuned to what's actually going on in our world, in real news, there still may be a foreign power yet to be revealed that's behind this ... such as the Russians.

Jack Bauer in 24 of course had plenty of dealings with hostile foreign powers, including the Chinese and the Russians.  If the Russians play a bigger role in Designator Survivor - we've already seen them as a problem for Kirkman a few episodes ago - will Putin's name be specifically mentioned?   Probably not - but here's a vote to bring John Noble back as Anatoly Markov in some Russian spy role, if Kiefer Sutherland has to tangle with him in Designated Survivor.

See also Designated Survivor: Jack Bauer Back in the White House ... Designated Survivor 1.2: Unflinching and Excellent ...  Designated Survivor 1.4: "Michigan's on the Verge of Anarchy" ... Designated Survivor 1.5: The Plot Thickens ... Designated Survivor 1.6: The Governors ... Designated Survivor 1.7: Reassuring Fiction


  terrorist squirrels and bombs in NYC

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Friday, November 18, 2016

Designated Survivor 1.7: Reassuring Fiction

I know I'm sounding like a broken record already, but Designated Survivor is almost relaxing and definitely a pleasure to watch in comparison to what's really going on with our presidency right now.

The components of episode 1.7 were not even that special or unusual - the paternity of Kirkman's son, the double-agent sports hero, the kidnapping of the FBI guy's son to exert crucial power over him - we've seen all of that before.   But it was strangely reassuring to see all of that against the Kirkman presidency.

And that's because Kirkman, notwithstanding the catastrophic way he came to power, is the kind of person we'd love to have in the White House.  He's thoughtful, sensitive, and aware at every moment of his immense responsibilities.   We don't really know what President-elect Trump is like on the inside, but certainly what he projects doesn't hold a candle to Kirkman.

It doesn't hurt, either, that Kiefer Sutherland is really putting in a fine performance in this role.   He evinces just the right mix of anger, compassion, even brief confusion just when it's needed.   The result is that we feel the country is in good hands.

And that's impressive, given the challenges that Kirkman and America face in this narrative.  The man on track to becoming Vice President and a heartbeat away from the Presidency is part of an evil, murderous operation indeed.  And that's what sets Designated Survivor off from House of Cards, where the evil comes from the President himself.

I'm really enjoying this mix of 24 and House of Cards which has a style and flavor all it own.

See also Designated Survivor: Jack Bauer Back in the White House ... Designated Survivor 1.2: Unflinching and Excellent ...  Designated Survivor 1.4: "Michigan's on the Verge of Anarchy" ... Designated Survivor 1.5: The Plot Thickens ... Designated Survivor 1.6: The Governors


  terrorist squirrels and bombs in NYC

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Thursday, October 13, 2016

Designated Survivor 1.4: "Michigan's on the Verge of Anarchy"

That's what President Kirkman says in Designated Survivor 1.4 - "Michigan's on the verge of anarchy" - and with that woman at the Pence rally yesterday calling for revolution if Trump doesn't win, does this powerful drama have relevance to what's actually going on in our country today, or what?

But it's a drama, not reality, so Kirkman and the fictional America in which he's Presidents face far worse problems, including a second resurrection, on the part of his trigger-happy General.

Kirkman, expertly played by Kiefer Sutherland, defuses both situations. He fires the general, and lures the errant, fascist Michigan Governor to Washington, where Kirkman arrests him.  Very satisfying.

The whole series is excellent, my favorite of so far of the new television season.   It has the fast pace, surprises, and fast change of characters of 24.   Indeed, I realized tonight that Designated Survivor takes place after an episode of 24 which never existed, in which Jack Bauer somehow just can't stop the terrorist catastrophe.   Designated Survivor has all the political intrigue and innuendo of 24, but taking place after the U. S. government is all but destroyed.  And yeah, who better than the man who played Jack to play the new President.

In our reality, 24 was set to debut when 9/11 intervened.   It was delayed, and its ending was retooled to make it more in jagged accord with our post 9/11 reality.  Jack's wife didn't survive that last episode of that kick-in-the-stomach first season of 24.

There was always a sense that all bets were off with 24, and the same raw narrative energy courses through Designed Survivor.  It won't be on next Wednesday, because of the third Presidential debate, but who knows if that will take place, and I'm looking forward to Designated Survivor returning in any case.

See also Designated Survivor: Jack Bauer Back in the White House ... Designated Survivor 1.2: Unflinching and Excellent


  terrorist squirrels and bombs in NYC

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Thursday, September 22, 2016

Designated Survivor: Jack Bauer Back in the White House

Designator Survivor debuted on ABC tonight - just a few days after terrorist bombs in New Jersey and New York City fortunately took no lives, and the very night that riots in Charlotte, North Carolina put one man in the hospital in critical condition, in the wake of another black man shot under, at best, unclear circumstances in Charlotte, and another black man was shot by a cop, point blank, and killed, when he had his hands up in Tulsa.

As horrendous as that, our reality, is, what we see in Designated Survivor is worse: the Capitol building is demolished during a State of the Union address, and the President, VP, and his entire cabinet except the Secretary of Housing are killed.  And also the Supreme Court, most of the Joint Chiefs, and likely most Senators and Representatives.

This set-up for the designated survivor requires someone who can rise to the task.   Who better than Kiefer Sutherland, aka Jack Bauer, to step up - or allow himself to be put up, might be a more apt description. Sutherland's newly minted President Kirkman correctly doesn't have much of the swagger of Jack, but he has Jack's strength, and Sutherland has already made him a memorable character.

Natascha McElhone as the President's wife is also good, playing essentially the same character as she did in Californication (not a President's wife, but the same persona), and it works for Designated Survivor.  Kal Penn as a speech writer and the other supporting roles are also apt and well-played.

But the key here is the story.  Kirkman has to navigate the potentially disastrous currents of world diplomacy, while the FBI and Federal investigators try to figure out who blew up the Capitol.  I'm guessing, based on what we saw tonight, that it's a domestic group.

It's an especially strong scenario, made more acute not only by the terrorist attacks this weekend, but by the fact that we're of course in the final weeks of our very real and harrowing contest for the succession to the Presidency - i.e., the election of 2016.   If the attacks this weekend had taken any lives, the debut of Designated Survivor would no doubt have been postponed.   But our real campaign for President would have continued, as it should.   That's the difference  between entertainment (the debut tonight) and real life.

Good for ABC for providing a little more drama to all of this - fortunately, in this case, fictional, which we can sit on the edge of our seats and enjoy.


  terrorist squirrels and bombs in NYC

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Monday, July 14, 2014

24 Season 9 Finale: For Whom the Silent Clock Tolls

Well, in the powerful, heartbreaking, excellent Season 9 finale of 24 just on Fox tonight, we finally get a real silent clock.  And though President Heller collapsed in last week's coming attractions, the silent was not for him but for Audrey.

Before we get to that, let me first say what an outstanding performance William Devane gave throughout this whole 9th Season of 24, but never more so than tonight.  His "I'll forget" speech, given to the British PM about Audrey and everything as he makes his way to board Air Force One back to the U.S., was one of the best ever delivered on 24, and Shakespearean in its harrowing, haunting beauty.

Jack's relationship with Chloe was also brilliantly played out tonight - and Kiefer Sutherland's acting was as outstanding as ever in this role, too.   It makes perfect sense that Jack would turn himself over to the Russians to free Chloe.  And this certainly leaves open lots of room for another season, which I hope we'll see, someday - next year or soon after would be my preference.

Kate was a strong character throughout but tonight was not her best hour. Not because Audrey got fatally wounded right next to her - this was not Kate's fault - but because she didn't do anything to help Jack in the aftermath.   Why didn't she look into what was going on, if Jack didn't tell her, and have the CIA mount some sort of supporting attack on the Russians, so Jack as well as Chloe could be free?

A part of Jack wanted to die - hence the gun he put to his head before deciding to vent his rage on Chang and his men, and the sword on Chang's neck - and a part of Jack no doubt also wanted to be taken prisoner by the Russians.   But he still asked Chloe to look in on his family, and someone in Kate's position should have been looking out a little more for Jack at the end.

This season vividly showed that 24 still has the juice it had for its first eight seasons, and maybe even more.   The jumping ahead 12 hours for the last segment worked just fine, meaning the 12 hours for the season worked as well as the 24, maybe even better.  24 is second to none in adrenalin and plots that are both complex and fast moving, and I say bring on some more.  This season hasn't slaked my interest in this narrative in the slightest, it only stoked it.

See also 24 Season 9 Hours 1 and 2: The Sheer Intelligent Adrenalin Is Bac... 24 Season 9.3: Shades of Disloyalties ... 24 Season 9.4: Brass Tacks and Strong Women ... 24 Season 9.5: Jack and Audrey .. 24 Season 9.6: Expendable In-Laws ... 24 Season 9.7: Silent Clock in President Heller's Future ... 24 Season 9.8: Clearing the Deck ... 24 Season 9.9: The Reason for No Silent Clock, Misleading Coming Attractions, and the New Villain ...24 Season 9.10: Every Card on the Table ... 24 Season 9.11: Partial Redemption

And see also Season 8 reviews: Hours 1 and 2 ... Hours 3 and 4 ... Hour 5 ...Hour 6 ... Hour 7 ... Hour 8 ... Hour 9 ... Hour 10 ... Hour 11 ... Hour 12... Hour 13 ... Hour 14 ... Hours 15-16 ... Hour 17 ... Hour 18 ... Hour 19... Hour 20 ... Hour 21 ... Hour 22 ... 24 Forever!

And see also Season 7 reviewsHours 1 and 2 ... Hours 3 and 4 ... Hour 5... Hour 6 ... Hour 7 ... Hour 8 ... Hour 9 ... Hour 10 ... Hours 11-12 ...Hour 13 ... Hour 14 ... Hour 15 ... Hour 16 ... Hour 17 ... Hour 18 ... Hour 19 ... Hour 20 ... Hour 21 ... Hour 22  ... Hours 23-24  

And see also Season 6 reviews: Hours 1 and 2 ... Hours 3 and 4 ... Hour 5 ... Hour 6 ... Hour 7 ... Hours 8 and 9 ... Hour 10 ... Hour 11 ... Hour 12 ... Hour 13 ... Hour 14 ... Hour 15 ... Hour 16 ... Hour 17 ... Hour 18... Hour 19 ... Hour 20 ... Hour 21 ... Hour 22 ... Hours 23-24


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Monday, May 5, 2014

24 Season 9, Hours 1 and 2: The Sheer Intelligent Adrenaline Is Back

Jack is back on 24 and the first two hours look as good or better than ever.

In the first hour, Jack allows himself to be captured by the CIA's London branch - he's a wanted "terrorist" - in order to save Chloe, who's in custody herself as an Edward Snowden-type hacker of Defense Department files. The CIA branch features three notable people: Kate (played by Yvonne Strahovski of Dexter fame), Steve (played by Benjamin Bratt of Law and Order and Private Practice), and Gbenga Akinnagbe of The Wire and more).  The star power is definitely there, and Kate looks to be the most intelligent - as Jack notes in the second hour.   In the first two episodes, Kate is Jack's most effective opponent, nearly getting the better of him a couple of times. My guess is she will be a powerful ally in the world-moving battle ahead.

That battle will center around an attempt to take out U.S. President Heller (played by William Devane) with an American drone while he's in London to seal a deal with the U.S. and the U.K.   Heller of course played a crucial role as U.S. Defense Secretary in previous seasons of 24.  On Day (Season) 9, Heller is not only President but apparently suffering from very early stages of Alzheimer's.  His daughter Audrey (played by Kim Raver, last seen in Revolution) was loved by Jack in previous seasons, and she loved him, but she lapsed into a catatonic state after being captured and worked over by the bad guys.  She's in much better shape now - looks better than she ever did -  and is married to Heller's Chief of Staff, Mark, played by Tate Donovan (who's been in a handful of series in the past few years, the best of which was Damages).   Mark appears to only want to help Heller, but something about him - maybe his zeal to show that Heller's mentality is not what it used to be - raises some suspicion about his ultimate motives, at least to me.

The pace is sharp and pounding as ever, and the plot may be even better than some of the past seasons, in which a series of attacks, sometimes by different forces, rolled out over the 24 hours.   This time it seems, for now, that we'll be treated to one major plot, with a tentacled web of intersecting stories.  The digital savvy in the story is best we've seen so far in 24, as befits the debut of this season in 2014.

Kiefer Sutherland as Jack, and Mary Lynn Rajskub as Chloe, are as strong as ever.  Jack looks a little older, but that actually ads a bit depth to his character. Relaunching an iconic series with a season that takes account of a four-year hiatus is no easy thing, but 24 looks to be off to a sharp start.  There's a fine mix of old and new here, respect for the past and the cutting-edge present.  And there's just nothing like this series for sheer intelligent adrenaline pumping through the veins.

See also Season 8 reviews: Hours 1 and 2 ... Hours 3 and 4 ... Hour 5 ...Hour 6 ... Hour 7 ... Hour 8 ... Hour 9 ... Hour 10 ... Hour 11 ... Hour 12... Hour 13 ... Hour 14 ... Hours 15-16 ... Hour 17 ... Hour 18 ... Hour 19... Hour 20 ... Hour 21 ... Hour 22 ... 24 Forever!

And see also Season 7 reviewsHours 1 and 2 ... Hours 3 and 4 ... Hour 5... Hour 6 ... Hour 7 ... Hour 8 ... Hour 9 ... Hour 10 ... Hours 11-12 ...Hour 13 ... Hour 14 ... Hour 15 ... Hour 16 ... Hour 17 ... Hour 18 ... Hour 19 ... Hour 20 ... Hour 21 ... Hour 22  ... Hours 23-24  

And see also Season 6 reviews: Hours 1 and 2 ... Hours 3 and 4 ... Hour 5 ... Hour 6 ... Hour 7 ... Hours 8 and 9 ... Hour 10 ... Hour 11 ... Hour 12 ... Hour 13 ... Hour 14 ... Hour 15 ... Hour 16 ... Hour 17 ... Hour 18... Hour 19 ... Hour 20 ... Hour 21 ... Hour 22 ... Hours 23-24


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