24

Plot synopsis:
Dr. Sethuraman (Suriya) is a reputed scientist and watchmaker who lives with his wife Priya (Nithya Menen) and newborn son Mani in a mansion with a laboratory. In January 1990, he invents a watch using which a person can travel back and forth in time for a maximum of 24 hours. His evil twin brother Athreya (Suriya) tries to take the watch and kills Priya in the process. Sethuraman escapes with Mani and boards a train. Before Athreya arrives, he hands Mani to a passenger named Sathyabama (Saranya Ponvannan) and pleads her to save his son. Athreya kills Sethuraman and is seriously injured in an attempt to escape. Sathyabama's father (Girish Karnad) is against her decision to save Mani, and she leaves with him for Chennai to honour the promise given to Sethuraman.
26 years later, Mani (Suriya) becomes a watchmaker who considers Sathyabama as his biological mother. A paralysed Athreya wakes up from coma and decides to find the watch; he hopes to go back to 1990 and save himself from the accident. In a series of incidents, Mani finds Sethuraman's watch and explores its powers. Using them, he manages to impress Sathya (Samantha Ruth Prabhu), his client who hails from Sathyabama's native place Gopalasamudram. Athreya's close aide Mithran (Ajay) issues an advertisement offering five crores to the one who finds Sethuraman's watch. Including Mani, many prepare the duplicate of the watch and submit them. But Athreya spots Mani's design accurate and kills him, thereby gaining possession of the watch.
Athreya is shocked to know that the watch can only help him travel back and forth only for 24 hours and decides to revive Mani. Mithran places the watch on Mani's right hand and leaves. Mani wakes up next morning and is shocked as he wore the watch on his left hand. He travels back to last night and secretly follows Mithran. Athreya predicts this and manages to fool Mani with Mithran's help that he is Sethuraman who survived from Athreya as a paraplegic. Mani learns from Sathyabama that Sethuraman left him in the train and faced Athreya in another compartment.
Mani leaves with Sathyabama for Gopalasamudram and unites her with her estranged family. He also comes to know that Sathya is Sathyabama's niece, and the duo fall in love. Athreya arrives with Mithran and convinces everyone including Mani that he is Sethuraman and that Athreya is dead. Sathya learns about Athreya's identity later and tries to reveal it to Mani. But, Athreya manages to fall from a staircase and Mani, unaware of the reality, travels back in time and saves him. Sathya forgets about Athreya's identity and assumes that he is Sethuraman.
Mani learns from Mithran that his father is going to die soon and wishes to see Priya for one last time by traveling back in time to 1990. Mani modifies the watch and tests it, which reveals the truth about Athreya's identity. He tricks Athreya to tell about the date and time of Priya's death and gives him a fake watch. Mani uses the original watch to travel back in time to 1990 and Athreya accompanies him by touching the real watch in use.
In January 1990, Sethuraman and Priya spot the modified watch on their baby's hand. Initially joyous, Sethuraman senses danger; he feels that Mani returned to a toddler's age as they may not be alive when he was able to speak. Athreya, now young and healthy, attacks Sethuraman to find the watch. Sethuraman and Priya escape with Mani, and Athreya accidentally kills Mithran. Priya and Mani hide in a room, as Athreya faces Sethuraman in the garden. Sethuraman freezes the time and lays Athreya before a bullet, thus killing him. He then flees with Priya and Mani and boards the same train. They meet Sathyabama and agree to teach science to children in a school constructed by her father in Gopalasamudram.

Tags: mystery, revenge, suspenseful, murder, violence

Review:
If you start to watch a episode with all the suspense and REALLY GREAT action, you'll keep sit on the couch till it's end!
If you expect a drama, or worst, a similar show to any of those recent movies such as "body of lies", you can turn your head to the other side, 24 only offers what best the TV got, the pleasure of be inside the screen..It's a perfect 10 in 10 for 24 and Jack Bauer!.
The reason this show is so ground breaking is the fact that it has used split screen cameras, and a real time format to create the element of a quality made show.The show follows the worst days of likable, down-to-earth hero Jack Bauer (Kiefer Sutherland) and each episode chronicles every hour of the day, and is shot in real-time.
What makes this show so unique are the character relationships, the shows writing and the attention to detail.Whether the shows themes are about kidnappings, bomb threats, personal vendettas, assassinations, or terrorist attacks the themes are handled in such a compelling way that the viewer is hooked at every jump and turn.The viewers really learn to care about Jack as we learn more about his life and his past.
You will also see most of the camera focused on Jacks point of view and this is to make the show from a humans point of view and it helps to bring the viewer more involved in the show.The story may change; new characters may arrive and leave but one thing always stays the same; the underlying story of the show is about one mans fight to do what is right.
This is the most creative, intelligent, well-written, unpredictable, and suspenseful program that I have ever seen, and this is coming from a man who watches a lot of television.Throughout its four seasons, 24 provides a cliff hanger at the end of most episodes to keep you attached and has provided some of the most unpredictable twists that I have ever seen, including the ultimate shocker at the end of the first season (which I won't go into because somebody may read this before watching the first season).
Kiefer Sutherland leads a cast of exceptionally impressive and compelling actors/actresses that make the show great week after week.I would strongly recommend that if you do not already watch 24, start now because you're really missing out..
Network: Fox; Genre: Action, Drama; Content Rating: TV-14 (language, brutal violence, some gore and occasionally strong sexual content); Available: DVD, Syndication; Perspective: Modern Classic (star range: 1 - 5); Season Reviewed: 5+ seasons Sometime in the next 24 hours, a devastating terrorist attack is set to take place on American soil.
Each self-contained season of 24 episodes encompasses a full action-packed day filled with moles, political power-plays, knock-out twists and tragic sacrifices.Debuting in the middle of the Reality craze, "24" demands a lot of the viewer and, so, is a finger in the eye to the network's conventional idea of audience viewing habits.
It even manages an unheard of feat, making the stress that our big-name Hollywood lead might actually not make it to the next season as real as it comes.A slick assemblage of gritty visuals and Sean Callery's wonderfully versatile original score create an atmosphere of tension and the emotional wallop of a movie.
Subtle character bits are woven efficiently into the action and the audience is trusted to pick it up in the snap-shot of their lives we are seeing."24" reaps all the benefits of the serial series' long form narrative format  which lets them wring every last drop of intensity out of the action - and also makes it a satisfying watch each week.
The show-runners structure the episodes like the levels of a video game, giving us mini-challenges and climaxes inside the larger story so that each week we don't feel like we wasted our time (hello "Lost").And the glue that brings it all together is Kiefer Sutherland.
Chloe O Brain was jack good side a voice of reason who could help him stay sane you need someone like that in jack line off work.hope the new cast keep the core off the show real, but put there spin on it and if Jack Bauer made an appearance that would be the icing on the cake for me..
The series is just amazing, and every season keeps on getting better, lot of surprises and overall the best show I have seen on TV, and the acting of Gregory Itzin, the one who played Logan, was incredible.
Each episode leaves you wanting more.Simply perfect for those people who like watching movies and spending the time deciding who is in the conspiracy and who is not.A must watch..
so as far as his show goes, its not only bad, its not only poorly acted, poorly written and poorly shot, its also a shining example of just how simple minded people are, if you're reading this thinking to yourself how good this show actually is, then take a gun, shove it up your own ass and pull the trigger, cause morons like you should just go away and let the rest of us live in our normal, non terror filled world, because to let you in on a little secret, the taliban was created by the U.S government and chances are you will never be killed by a terrorist.
I've been watching Kiefer Sutherland for a long time(ever since he enthrall audiences in such hits as "Stand By Me",and others)and he gets better in everything he does and so much more.
Way better than those other shows that specializes on reality and sitcoms,but here it more suspenseful and more action here than any show I've seen in a long time.
In fact, the only cliché that the writers of "24" missed was "Then I woke up and found it was all just a bad dream." I watched the entire first series in the (vain) hope that, somehow, this program that had been so lauded would turn out better than it started.
OK seriously i don't understand how a show THAT predictable with people with no acting skills and bored printed on their foreheads managed to last this long.I feel like i've lost HOURS of my life watching this and i was actually in the mood to watch something with drama/conspiracy yada yada..
Although i like Kiefer Sutherland i think he's offered NOTHING as Jack Bauer.It's like a McGuyver fanboy meets Ken Ken.Im sure his old fans keep the rates going or something.There are some amazing guest stars on the show who make it easier to watch but overall it has been a disappointment to me.I really expected better from that kind of budget TV series.The script is POOR and predictable and the sense of agony is lost..
I've recently finished re-watching the first season of Millennium, as it came out on DVD, and I'm still shaking in disbelief over a show that is just that triumphantly ingenious and carries so much weight and depth, at least throughout its first season, that I cannot express how indebted I feel to Chris Carter and all the others that made that series possible.I was reminded of that, once again, now having started watching 24, by an episode written by Chip Johannessen, someone I remember from Millennium, now writing for 24.So what about it?
I just finished watching the first season on DVD and while the production and acting are first rate, the storyline is total fantasy, and by fantasy I mean unbelievable.I could list numerous examples but this would constitute a spoiler for anyone who has not seen it.Probably the most interesting part of the first season is the changing relationship between Senator Palmer and his wife...now THAT is believable.Everyone says "24" is as addictive as crack...I could take it or leave it..
Eventually I find myself thinking that this is the worst type of fiction television, where a viewer has to watch every single episode of a series for the show at all to make any sense.
I love the well written television series that deal with a story on its own each week and get to know the characters that way.
It is an interesting concept about real time stories being put into action, but I think that it would be much better, both story wise and credibly wise, that the stories was 12 hours or something like that.
The only drawback is that every episode, the tension is maintained mainly by the next plot twist, making it almost impossible to see more than once, or maybe twice at most.The story's plot is great - a CIA (?) Counter-Terrorist Unit's chief (Kiefer Sutherland) has his family kidnapped and is forced to assassinate a popular presidential candidate.
But by far the worst feature of this series is the character of Jack Bauer himself, a strange mixture of hero and antihero who seems to be designed to cater to the post 9/11 US moron audience where the ends always justify the means and no actions have real repercussions.
Much like the rest of the viewers who watched the amazing first season, the only reason I was drawn in was because of the whole real-time aspect of the show.
Until now the writers have managed to support the idea that the each season's story has been pre planned to some degree, a paper thin illusion that to my mind has been completely torn apart in the third season, finally proving that like so many other shows, the story has been made up as they went along.One of the show's other greatest flaws is the sheer overabundance of filler material, once again stemming from the real time format.
The most obvious use of subplots and even characters being used solely to bulk out the running time is evidenced (at least in the first two seasons) by Jack's family, more specifically, Kim. First of all, let me say that I have absolutely no problem with Kim in the acting department.
The action started too soon for one thing (shows like the X-Files have intriguing story lines, but take time to play out, this one threw in too much action and plot too soon).
I know there is a lot to like, and perhaps the show got better as time passed (though at its pace, how it could be interesting for 24 episodes or even 24hrs (if 2hr movies were thrown in], is unclear to me), but from the first six episodes, its lackluster ratings were in my opinion justified.Update: I stand by my criticism and find the appeal this show continues to have understandable but still troubling.
Useless sub-plots divert attention and make viewers feel cheated.The producers will have to trade off between the greed of 24 episodes/season and the long-running of the series..
A father would never have put his child in such a situation...especially since that man-child is so important in the country of origin.Meanwhile....why is the mother.........talllliiinnnggg..........like....this.I don't know if the writing is done to formula by committee (lets plug in some absurd problem) but not a single character or situation is believable...in fact, this program is irritating and not just boring after the first three episodes.
Anyway, now that I have time to watch long TV series I thought I'd give 24 another go.What a bad decision that turned out to be.Technically there's not much wrong with the programme, the acting's OK, the style is OK - apart from the shaky camera stuff that I personally hate - and the idea of showing events in "real time" was novel for the time.Where this show falls down, and falls spectacularly, is in the plotting.
Coincidences happen every 5 minutes, people do things that people would never do, the attempt to kill the Senator is ridiculously overly complicated, information isn't shared when it would resolve situations, nobody eats or drinks or visits the loo, and nobody is exhausted after being awake for 30+ hours.I could go into details about the many, many plot holes and stupid situations in the show, but there are other reviews on this site that provide all the examples you could want to read.And, of course, this being an American show, you don't actually get to watch an hour of TV every hour, you get to watch 40 minutes of TV.
The show now in its final year has more plot holes, unbelievably unbelievable moments than anything made in this era,and yet it is a fantastical roller-coaster of action and twists and betrayal with the uniqueness of its format heightening its appeal.And of course it has the best hard hitting character who above all, shows no remorse.
The concept is marvellous and marvellously exploited, Kiefer Sutherland is one of the best actor I've ever seen, I love the style (a series with a general plot all over a season) and the rhythm, it's not my favorite show of all times (The Wire took care of that) but it's by far the most entertaining/gripping.
yeah, Jack kills a lot of people but is interpreted with talent and is human, in the end (it would be nice the writers try to go more that way for episodes in coming).
In fact, characters in this series behave amazingly stupid (i.e. Jamie when interrogated by Nina and Tony), and Jack's wife after calling the CTU about Alan.It seems like that Robert Cochran took a soap-opera style family story and just mixed it up with technical terms (like "formatting files") and electronic equipment even the NSA would be proud of.
There are some people who are of the opinion the subsequent seasons were pointless and are rehashing the same idea, and maybe that's true that the idea is being down over and over again, but I don't care, because the writing continues to be great, the twists are still unpredictable, there is continuing character development and you simply can't stop watching.
This review is based on seasons 1-3 and so far the plots have serious problems and characters do things that reasonable people wouldn't do.
Whenever I see her pop up on screen, on any movie, I feel terrified that she is going to be grabbed again and a new 24 nightmare will start over!Well, 9 seasons of this shythe and a terrible series ending with no closure: Jack surrendering to Russians 39th time, as happened 8 seasons before.
He is dream of every 13 year old juvenile who wants to be world saving hero and maximized ignorant ultra patriots...Unbelievably stupid plot twists and holes , badly written dialogue , sci-fi technologies , instant beaming between from one distant location to another which is impossible in most ideal conditions with conventional means in real life ( there goes real time aspect which this show supposed be all about ) and characters without natural needs complete the picture.
Maybe one day we will also learn special mutant powers of Jack Bauer...Only three stars for real time idea and drama aspect of first two seasons.
Jack Bauer is tortured for 2 years and as soon as he is released, and is fighting evil in what we are led to believe is about 40 minutes time.Even the emotional response and reaction of people after a major terrorist attack is absolutely ridiculous.
The first 4 seasons are still quite good and original and might entertain you if you're the first comer to the world of Jack Bauer.6/10.
This was one of my very first tv shows i start watching when i start watching tv shows and i have to see ive never seen a tv shwo with a format so catching and compelling "the one-hour-real-life-episode" format got me everytime i found myself at the very edge of my seat looking at the clock ticking nervious about what was going to happen next and Kiefer Sutherland IS Jack Bauer thats the reason why Legacy failed and with it i think that cause some sort of "Missing-Ace-Effect" that happens when the prime character, the face, of a tv show gets erased from the formula and the show fails and this alreadsy happened a couple of times i mean The Good Wife when Josh Charles's character gets killed and the same will happen with House Of Cards this year trust me (WARNING: Im not saying Spacey should stay but its inevitable the downhill without him) anyway bacjk to 24 i agree maybe that after FIVE seasons the show can get a bit downhill about plots and all but this shiow is good and thaks Jack for making me watch more tv because you were my FIRST tv show and i loved you there Kiefer is Jack and Jack is 24!!
But it's fun to know that Kim Bauer (Elisha Cuthbert) will be getting directly involved with CTU's plot plans so she won't keep annoying people as Jack's airhead daughter who by making all the wrong choices has caused too much trouble to everyone else...
So basically, you know it will end good (they've got to have another season), but you have to wait many episodes.
Some of the characters took an episode, some to a few episodes, some a whole season to develop, hell, some, like Jack and Chloe, took the entire series and still were developing and changing up until the very last episode.
With its Real Time format, 24 episodes per season, the clock never stops ticking until that final hour When first watching Season 1 of this incredible series, i was drawn into a world where anything can happen within one day, Presidential Assassinations, nuclear bombs going off, and Government conspiracies on top.
Then one Friday my Dad said there is a new TV show thats getting good ratings want to check it out, being 11 and having nothing else to do I said: "Sure." I am now hooked on this show I have watched every season and have always been impressed by its tension, characterization, dialog and of course action.