Just Going Through The Motions With 24

Does anyone feel as though this season of 24 is all about just going through the motions? You know Jack is taken into the fold at first after being on the outside only to go on a rouge killing spree while blasting America the Beautiful on his iPhone. This is the eighth season of 24 and all of its critics say the same thing about the show, it’s repetitive. The characters and places change but the rest stays the same. The only reason people keep coming back to 24 season after season has nothing to do with which terror organization is attacking the U.S.A. this season, it’s all about Jack. It used to be that people would tune in just to get their inner sadist its fix, there was nothing like watching a fictional terrorist getting his fingernails pulled out a few years after 9/11. That is until the Guantanamo scandal took the wind out of the whole its fun to torture terrorists mentality that seemed to be more than just expectable but justified.

What is 24 to do without torturing terrorists as its mainstay? Kiefer Sutherland is the only reason 24 is still watchable, his ability to continually, pardon the phrase but to keep it real, is uncanny. For some reason watching Sutherland kill a bad guy with an axe or shimmy across a water pipe barefoot, he is entertaining. And as the actor ages, the legend of the character he has created grows. Jack Bauer has become as infamous as Chuck Norris without the kickboxing and laughable collection action movies. The character has Spawn phrases of referring to physical prowess just like Norris such as; ‘are you going to Jack Bauer that door’ or ‘I was about to Jack Bauer that guys ass’, to name a few.

Jack Bauer will remain an interesting character as long as Kiefer Sutherland can still pull off being an action star. And judging by all of the health issues he has been having of late, that might not be a very long time away. So, we should enjoy what Sutherland has left in the action tank, right? Well, this season of 24 might spell the end of its silver screen existence, with its boring side stories especially Katee Sackhoff’s. But that doesn’t mean this is it for the gruff speaking, terrorist torturing action hero. There is serious talk about a 24 movie that will take place in Europe staring Sutherland in all his glory. So, as this (probably) the final season of 24 peters to a close don’t be too upset because this is not the last act of Jack Bauer, its only the beginning.