I am – Hercules!!

No annoyed Chloe O’Brian, no angry Soul-Patch Tony, no lesbitastic Naked Mandy. From past seasons of “24” fans will recognize only Jack Bauer (Kiefer Sutherland) and, in the U.S. capital, presidential advisor Tom Lennox (Peter MacNichol) and lame-duck president Noah Daniels (Powers Boothe).

The Sunday TV-movie “24: Redemption” takes place almost four years after season six, temporarily relocating Bauer to the fictional war-torn African nation of Sangala as the former counter-terrorism agent finds himself caught up for two real-time hours in the plight of refugee schoolchildren.

Those who require nothing more than to see the famous blooping digital clock and Sutherland back in sweaty Bauer mode will be satisfied, and the movie may even be a slight improvement over most of the widely panned sixth season, but “Redemption” lacks a lot of the keen suspense, twisty plotting and impossible moral choices I associate with the show’s first five esteemed seasons.

A lot of the movie feels like old business, watered down in a new locale. Bauer remains heroic and self-sacrificing. He’s trying to avoid agents of the U.S. government. He spends some time undergoing torture.

Less time is spent in D.C., where we meet some of the players (including a shady businessman played by Jon Voight) who presumably play bigger roles once season seven launches in about a month and a half. The first episodes of the coming season were shot long before tonight’s adventure was written and – leaving aside some fleeting shots of Carly Pope in her underwear – I suspect that the scenes set in the nation’s capital on Inauguration Day make for a pretty disposable season-seven prologue.

Of some note is Boothe’s Daniels, who served as Wayne Palmer’s vice president in season six and manifests here easily the least sympathetic Democratic president we’ve seen on “24.” Conversely, the character played by Cherry Jones is, at least so far, the 24verse’s least sinister Republican president. Though I suppose this could change in an instant.

If watching helpless smallfry duck bullets sounds like a better time than watching nakedness-prone lesbian assassins scheming to kill a presidential candidate, then “Redemption” is the “24” for you. On the whole, though, the movie diminishes my expectations for season seven, which launches Jan. 11.

Entertainment Weekly says:

… a very TV-movie-ish TV movie … As Redemption picks up, we find Jack working with his old special-ops pal (Trainspotting's Robert Carlyle) at a boys' school in the fictional war-torn African country of Sangala. There he bonds with ridiculously earnest kids and is the owner of a beautiful scarf so strangely cherished, it should have been tagged Plot Point for Later Use. …

USA Today says:

… how you view Redemption may depend on whether you see it as a stand-alone TV movie or as an introductory episode to next year's seventh season. As a film, it ranks as one of the year's best, admittedly against thin competition. As a 24 episode, however, it's just a tad less enticing. Oh, there's much that is very good here, starting with the sheer joy of having Jack back. But there's also a bit too much that we've seen before, led by that glum, reluctant, repentant savior routine that threatens to bleed all the fun out of the series. …

Newsday says:

… Sunday's two hours? It feels like television. Not bad. Not great. It's talky and placidly paced for "24." You'll find yourself wondering: When does the fun begin? Hopefully in January. …

The New York Times says:

… “Redemption” is a more sober, stripped-down version of “24,” and that’s refreshing. … The villainous mastermind, Jonas Hodges (Jon Voight), is cartoonish, but the depiction of the conflict is highly realistic and compelling. … “Redemption” is at its best when it focuses on action, not the after-action reports, and its best is awfully good. …

The Los Angeles Times says:

… There's nothing like a group of round-faced young boys running for their lives through field and forest to instantly ratchet up a story's emotional level. The seventh season may take place back in the States, but the prequel firmly establishes not only what is at stake here -- the desperate lives of innocent men, women and children -- but also the moral responsibility the United States continues to have in the world. …

The Chicago Tribune says:

… Sigh. Don’t hope for sharp characterization in this “24” movie, or an especially believable Washington, D.C., storyline. (Would the American president really take much notice of a rumored African coup, especially in a country that has no wealth or strategic value?) Still, if you’re in the mood for a B-grade action movie in which Jack Bauer both blows up bad guys and hugs cute kids, “Redemption” may be just the ticket.

The San Francisco Chronicle says:

… kind of "24" lite. Two hours takes some of the adrenaline away (although the thumping clock and multiple-camera perspectives remain). And it doesn't take much thinking to figure out that Jack will survive whatever hardships he faces in Africa, since he's got 24 episodes ahead of him. …

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette says:

… pretty typical "24" fodder … Jack bonds with one child -- "24" at its most contrived heart-tugging -- and mocks a namby-pamby U.N. worker ("Why don't you go hide in the shelter with the other children!"). And because it's "24" and he's Jack "Misery Follows Me" Bauer, he suffers and sacrifices and endures loss. As for the title? Honestly, there's little if any redemption to be found. …

The Boston Globe says:

… rates 2 on a scale of 1-10. … It's little more than a long commercial. … after watching Sunday's flat effort to regain relevance after the tedious debacle that was season 6, I suspect that the shelf life of "24" and Jack Bauer have expired. …

Newsweek says:

… Turning Jack into a pure hero figure from a dark, flawed one is a shrewd choice that–let's hope–will last through season 7, which begins in January. …

Variety says:

… delivers two entertaining real-time hours …

The Hollywood Reporter says:

… a reminder that “24” still is the place to go for emotional thrills and heartpounding peril. …

8 p.m. Sunday. Fox.

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