24: Live Another Day

Movie: Jack Bauer (Kiefer Sutherland) has dropped off the face of the earth. Although he is wanted internationally, the former CTU agent has been like a phantom for four years. As soon as he is sighted somewhere, he has also disappeared again. But now Bauer turns up in London, during a state visit by US President Heller (William Devane) of all people. The fact that Bauer suddenly makes mistakes and allows himself to be taken into custody just like that doesn't sit well with disgraced CIA agent Kate Morgan (Yvonne Strahovski). And in fact, Bauer's arrest proves to be a skillful move in the rescue operation of his one-time CTU colleague Chloe O`Brien (Mary Lynn Rajskub). With her help, Bauer hopes to prevent an assassination attempt on President Heller. Because a device has fallen into the wrong hands, with which the control of heavily armed US drones can be taken. And it is with just such a drone that Heller is to be killed. But that's just the icy tip of a far-flung web of terrorism, conspiracy and treachery. And even a Jack Bauer sees himself there at some point at the end of his possibilities - and he is forced to make a drastic decision...

With 24: Live Another Day, Kiefer Sutherland returns four years after the end of the cult series 24 to the role that made him an international superstar from 2001 to 2010. After all attempts to bring Jack Bauer to the big screen had failed, the comeback in the form of a mini-series was announced in 2014. Jack Bauer's story was to be told here to the end (of course with a small loophole for a possible continuation), whereby the creators wanted to pull out all the stops once again. Filming took place mainly on location in London, where the tension that once made 24 so successful can unfold after just a few minutes in the first episode. With Yvonne Strahovski (Chuck) as agent Kate Morgan, Bauer has been given a strong comrade-in-arms who would definitely have the potential to carry the series (or a spin-off) forward on her own. In addition, the decision to cut this comeback season to 12 episodes should prevent the story from getting too bogged down in subplots, which would then unnecessarily thwart the actual suspense.

Thus, the first episodes are again far better than the somewhat disappointing last regular seasons of the series. Admittedly, the scriptwriters do not do without the usual plot elements and clichés this time. But the very dense tension, first-class staged action and the very interesting character of Margot Al-Harazi, played by Michelle Game of Thrones Fairley, iron out such weaknesses quite easily. For fans it is therefore quickly clear: Jack Bauer is back - and as good as ever!

Unfortunately, this quality can not be maintained until the end. The final episodes fall back into the very pattern that robbed the series of so much of its former strength in its final years. In a strained, contrived twist, an old adversary of Bauer's suddenly appears, taking what had been an exciting story in a completely new direction, only to offer Bauer the opportunity for the most dramatic send-off possible. This is a pity in so far as this short season is actually strong enough not to have needed such a stunt.

But even if so unintentionally the perhaps final farewell of Jack Bauer is made a little easier, 24: Live Another Day is very exciting, grippingly staged and in some moments spectacularly implemented TV action with good actors, which is absolutely worth watching, especially for fans of the first hour!

Picture + Sound: Technically, there is no reason to complain about the conversion of the new episodes for the Blu-ray. The picture is absolutely clean, the sharpness of detail is at a high level and the colors come across very powerfully. For a TV series, this is truly excellent. The sound is in a pleasantly dynamic DTS-HD 5.1 mix, which repeatedly offers really good, powerful surround effects, but at the same time also transports the dialogue well understandable from the speakers. For this there is a very clear: Very good!

Extras: Compared to previous season boxes, the bonus material of this revival is rather modest. Things kick off with the short film Solitary(approx. 7:26 min.), which shows what has become of one of the most popular characters in the 24 universe. On its own, the short doesn't make much sense, but if the series were to one day continue without Jack Bauer, this would be the perfect introduction to it. For a brief look at the making of 24: Live Another Day, check out the featurette Worlds Collide (approx. 6:43 min.). It's followed by more mini-documentaries on the London shoot (approx. 3:22 min.) and the eco-friendly shoot (approx. 5:16 min.). Finally, the set has some dropped and extended scenes from the individual episodes (approx. 13:19 mins) on board. Something lean, but for fans well worth watching!

Conclusion:24: Live Another Day recalls especially in the first episodes impressively why the real-time thriller has advanced to the absolute Klut series. The return of Jack Bauer offers pure tension and explosive entertainment. But also the weaknesses, from which especially the last seasons have suffered, come out more and more clearly, especially towards the end. Thus, the fans of the series this comeback is not spoiled, but to the outstanding quality of the first seasons, the alleged swan song of Jack Bauer can no longer tie. The Blu-ray presents the 12 episodes in very good picture and sound quality. The bonus material is somewhat meager, but for fans well worth watching. Overall, there is a clear: Absolutely recommendable!

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp