Review by Tom Johnson
(tomjohnson@thecinemasource.com)

Just in time for the third season, “24: Season Two” is now available on DVD. As one who hadn’t seen an episode of the show until I sat down and watched the first season on DVD, I was looking forward to catching up with Jack Bauer(Kiefer Sutherland) and crew. When all was said and done, I got sucked in just as hard as I did last time.

The plot this season revolves around a nuclear threat against LA from an Islamic terrorist group called Second Wave. Counter-Terrorist-Unit is in a tight spot, and retired agent Bauer is just the man to save the day. In the meantime, Jack’s now estranged daughter Kim(the beautiful but hollow Elisha Cuthbert) is facing down the psychotic father of the child she’s watching. How does this relate to the overall plot? It doesn’t. Like last year, Kim’s story is the one true weak link in 24’s masterfully woven plot structure. At least this time, her misadventures get slightly less focus.

Like most second seasons, “24: 2” is less user-friendly than its predecessor. Unlike the previous year, which got off to a rocketing start, the show here takes a while to get off the ground, but once it does, it’s more thrilling than its predecessor ever was. This time around, however, the show offers different kinds of thrills. While the twists and turns here are overly predictable, the tension and drama that unfolds from them is enough to glue you to the screen. By the fifth disc, the season kicks into high gear, and the action is even more addictive than usual.

Kiefer Sutherland is back in fine form, keeping the second wave of antics from ever becoming redundant. Same goes to Dennis Haysbert, who infuses now-President Palmer with the same honorable yet unpretentious vibes he did last time. Once again, however, the real show-stealer is Penny Johnson Jerald as the former Mrs. Palmer, here taking her manipulative character to new, despicable lows and new, surprising highs. There are a couple of other great villains too, but in typical “24” fashion, mentioning them would ruin a whole lot. Actually, saying much of anything about the plot past the first disc would ruin a lot. As I stated before, however, it’s not the actual twists, but instead the execution from the twists that drives this season. Only once the inevitable “surprise” villains finally surface does the ball get rolling.

When all is said and done, “24: Season Two” isn’t perfect. The mere sight of Kim facing off with a wild cougar at one