It gets a point for being the only story in the 24 universe that doesn't have a traitorous piece of shit in it.
Maybe this make more sense and is worthwhile once you have the context of season 7. But I watched this as the prequel to season 7, and as of right now, this seemed like a waste of time with slightly higher production value than the regular show. The only things of note are meeting the new President, and learning that there's a conspiracy somehow related to the government. (Not what the conspiracy is, just that there is a conspiracy.) These are things that could've been done in the actual show, though.
EDIT: After having finished season 7, I can now say: nah, this definitely isn't necessary. The only things of note are seeing the new president, the president's son, Jon Voight, and the African general and colonel. Other than those things, there's basically nothing that factors into the actual season. And you don't need to see or know about any of things beforehand, because it all gets explained well enough during the season itself.
Did Wayne Palmer just fucking die, then? Because here we are at the transition to a new president, and it's Noah Daniels doing it, not Wayne. Last we saw Wayne was when he collapsed during the press briefing.
Oh, also, the product placement was ridiculously blatant and bad. Funny to note that it was all crammed in the first half, because I guess they assumed people would stop watching before the end.
This is kinda like a two-episode prelude a few months before Day Seven. Perhaps not entirely necessary to watch and understand Day Seven, but the bit of background is definitely helpful.
That, and any excuse to watch Jack save some people and fight off an evil strike team is good enough for me.
Shout by DeletedBlockedParent2014-03-24T13:41:34Z
A must for fans of the series. A big plus for the theme of the film. And Robert Carlyle.