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Jack is Back in the Lead in to Season 7

It feels like it's been a long time since we've seen Jack Bauer yelling and saving the world.  Fox aired the two hour movie (with actual run time of 1 hour 27 minutes when you take out the commercials) on November 23 and released the DVD on the 25th.  Being a fan of the show, I watched the televised version.  Since Twentieth Century Fox sent me a copy of the DVD, it was a given that I'd review it.

So what has Jack been doing since Season 6?  He's been around the world and is in Africa when it gets pulled into a fight against a warlord that kidnaps children and forces them to become part of his army.  In the beginning he's subpoenaed to return the U.S. for a Senate hearing for torturing a suspect for information.  This is the beginning of the lead-in to Season 7. 

What does the DVD have that the televised version didn't?  The first disc has the same televised version.  The second disc has more of the goodies.  It starts off with a nice two and half minute trailer for Season 7 (don't watch if you haven't watched Redemption yet).  The new season begins January 13, 2009.  There was also a couple other trailers before getting to the main menu.

The Extended Version has a run time of 1 hour and 42 minutes.  The scenes aren't crucial but do add to the overall movie. 

The Making Of... feature (21:57) is pretty cool in seeing how they made this 24 'movie' on location in Africa.  So glad they didn't try filming in California or somewhere other than Africa.

There is also a feature called Blood Never Dry: Child Soldiers In Africa (15:03).  This is the sad reality of the state of things in certain areas.

If you don't exactly remember what happened in Season 6, there's a Season 6 In Four Minutes feature.  It acutally runs four minutes and fifty seconds but you get a nice re-cap of what happened.

The really cool thing is the Season 7 Sneak Peak. You get to watch the first seventeen minutes of the first episode of Season 7.  Things start off with a bang.  The 'big bad guy' might be a little cliche but I think is way cool.  He's seen in the trailer for Season 7 but I won't mention who it is here.  Basically Jack is in the Senate Hearing (being run by Red Foreman from That 70s Show, Kurtwood Smith).  The FBI soon come needing Jack's help because he's the only one that can save the day.  I'm actually looking forward to the next season.

How does the DVD rate?  I'll admit, after seeing the episode on TV, I probably wouldn't have bought this DVD.  The extended cut is cool and the sneak at the next season is awesome.  If you're a fan of the show you'd probably want to pick this up.  Especially if you missed the televised version.  If you own the DVD sets then this is a must to complete your collection.  Despite the fact that part of the charm of the show is that it occurs in real time and the commercials play into that, watching it without interruptions is nice.  The feature did have a good deal of action but I did find myself getting a little distracting while watching.  Don't get me wrong, it was a good 'movie' but I think the different setting didn't sit well with me.  It's strange because I thought it would've been nice to see Jack somewhere other than LA or DC. 

As for a rating, it depends on if you've seen the televised version or not.  If you have seen it, I'd say this DVD rates a 3.5 out of 5.  If you missed when it aired, I'd give this a solid 4 out of 5.  You should definitely see this before January 13.