Review: ‘24: Legacy’ clocks in as solidly as the original
It’s no secret that TV has a habit of recycling past hits. (“Fuller House”?! Really?!)
Now, among the nearly 500 scripted series overwhelming the viewer, TV reboots aren’t going away. (More “Fuller House”?! Ah, c’mon!)
A natural response to this TV echo chamber is to treat each rehashed series as another sign of creative bankruptcy. (Item: “Fuller House.”) But not always. Fox is clocking in with “24: Legacy,” which premieres at 9:30 p.m., or whenever the Super Bowl ends, Sunday, followed by a second hour in the series’ regular slot at 7 p.m. Monday. Surprise! “24: Legacy” is a blast! Judging from the first three episodes, it’s at least as good as the series that inspired it.
The original “24,” which premiered in the fall of 2001 with Kiefer Sutherland as its star, tracked counter-terrorist agent Jack Bauer through eight seasons of 24 hour-long episodes that spanned a full day in real-time storytelling as he saved the day while sloughing off physical abuse that would’ve put Superman in intensive care.
Now it’s Sgt. Eric Carter who’s having a horrible, no good, very bad day. Or actually, half- day: This “24” spans a dozen episodes stretching 12 continuous hours.
Played by Corey Hawkins (“Straight Outta Compton”), Carter is the new indefatigable hero. He’s joined by Rebecca Ingram (played by Miranda Otto), a brilliant intelligence officer who has just stepped down from her post as national director of the Counter-Terrorism Unit to devote her full en- ergies to the presidential campaign of her husband, Sen. John Donovan (the always solid Jimmy Smits), whose longtime campaign director may or may not threaten his candidacy — and the nation.
The trouble started six months ago in Yemen, where Carter led a squad of U.S. Army Rangers to kill terror leader Sheik Bin-Khalid. Bin-Khalid’s followers struck back with a fatwah against Carter, his squad and their families, which forced them all into witness protection.
In the premiere (covering noon-1 p.m.), Carter learns his team’s new whereabouts have all been compromised. Payback against them and multiple attacks against the U.S. are in the works. Bottom line: Between now and the stroke of midnight, Carter’s got his work cut out for him.
The sturdy format of “24” proves here to be surprisingly resilient. In the highly capable hands of Hawkins-as-Carter and his fellow cast, “24: Legacy” is a fresh burst of adrenaline, a breathless whiz-bang romp that guarantees you’ll be on high alert until the clock strikes 12.