Set between seasons six and seven of the TV series this film sees former counter terrorist agent Jack Bauer in a fictional African country where he helps at a local school. He is still wanted by the US authorities but refuses to return home. His peaceful life is turned upside down again when local warlord General Benjamin Juma starts a coup and his underlings kidnap local children to force them to fight in his army. The country's president requests help from America but the timing could hardly be worse; it is only two hours till the new US president is sworn in and the incumbent has ordered the evacuation of the US embassy. One of the boys from the school is killed and another injured as Juma's men try to press-gang them in a nearby village. The injured boy is picked up by Jack's friend Carl Benton who warns Jack that the rebels are on the way to the school. Jack gets the children to safety but is captured and tortured; luckily when Benton gets back they overcome their attackers and head towards the capital hoping to get there before the last helicopter leaves.
This TV movie has a solid story that contains plenty of excitement and many elements that fans of the series are sure to enjoy. Of course given that the story is set over a much shorter time period than a whole series it does feel a little rushed at times and many plot threads remain unresolved; presumably as a set up for series seven; this is especially true of what we see happening back in the US. The African setting does make a nice change and even though it is set in a fictional country the idea of rebels forcing children to fight is all too depressingly realistic. The action is well handled and the final evacuation where desperate locals pressed against the gates of the US embassy while US personnel and their dependants board Hueys to fly them to safety was clearly inspired by the evacuation of Saigon during Operation Frequent Wind in 1975. Overall this is a solid '24' story; it isn't essential that one watches the series first but some knowledge would be useful and the number of unresolved issues would make it frustrating to anybody watching this as a stand-alone film.
This TV movie has a solid story that contains plenty of excitement and many elements that fans of the series are sure to enjoy. Of course given that the story is set over a much shorter time period than a whole series it does feel a little rushed at times and many plot threads remain unresolved; presumably as a set up for series seven; this is especially true of what we see happening back in the US. The African setting does make a nice change and even though it is set in a fictional country the idea of rebels forcing children to fight is all too depressingly realistic. The action is well handled and the final evacuation where desperate locals pressed against the gates of the US embassy while US personnel and their dependants board Hueys to fly them to safety was clearly inspired by the evacuation of Saigon during Operation Frequent Wind in 1975. Overall this is a solid '24' story; it isn't essential that one watches the series first but some knowledge would be useful and the number of unresolved issues would make it frustrating to anybody watching this as a stand-alone film.