Burn Notice: The Fall of Sam Axe (2011)

Why so much hype?

Powerful

One of my all time favorites.

This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

First, if you haven't seen this yet and want to, read no further--go watch instead, because you deserve to see TFOSA unimpaired by my dour outlook on it. Maybe it's unfair to take this vehicle MORE seriously than it takes itself, but I found it an overlong exercise in missed opportunities, implausible plotting, jarring inauthenticity in the military aspects, and performances that were sometimes a little too superficial (usually the show strikes a good balance between light banter and lethal circumstances, but here not so much). Strong performances by seasoned pros are what keep BN from skating into complete unbelievability (with my thanks and much credit to Sharon Gless, Coby Bell, and Gabrielle Anwar for that). Here, the two standout performances for me were Chandra West and Ilza Rosario, particularly the latter, whose publicity stills on IMDb hint at an entirely different career trajectory than the 'young Joan of Arc' persona she portrays convincingly in TFOSA (and kudos to the production team for casting her). If the rest of the company's performances had been up to the level of these two, and if the writing had been a little less careless about authenticity and believability, this might have been something. As it is, you need a big dose of "suspension of disbelief" to get through it.

Between season 4 and 5 of Burn Notice, this prequel movie of sorts was produced that focuses on Sam who, when we join him, is undergoing an informal military "interview" over his actions during a mission in Columbia. This flashback structure takes us away from the normal settings in the main but (hopefully) still allows for the easy mix of style, comedy and action that makes Burn Notice a "safe pair of hands" when it comes to prime time. From the start it does feel like we are in a "lesser" product though because the camera work and sets seem to lack the style, colour and flair of the TV show proper. It feels and looks like either less money was available for it or the makers were playing it in a slightly different way.The result is somewhat of a B-movie thriller except with an oddly uneven tone running across it. Sometimes it is amusing but it is never hilarious; sometimes it has action but it is never exciting; it just tends to have a little bit of everything to make it passable for those willing to go along with it. If you sat to watch it without any vested interested in the character of Sam then probably you'll not get much from it but then this is because it doesn't offer a huge amount for you. The main selling point here is Campbell and he does make it more entertaining than it deserves to be because his performance and his character are quite fun. The in-jokes for his fans are a nice touch if a little clunky, while he throws himself into it with energy and good comic timing. The supporting cast are never more than average though and it does hurt the overall film.The effects are solid enough and the A-Team-esque action is decent and bloodless enough to distract. The direction is surprisingly "straight" though; the TV show has lots of music and quick cuts and sliding transitions but here the presentation is a lot more drab by comparison – a bit of "oomph" in this regard would have helped the film feel slicker and more fun as works for the show. Overall The Fall of Sam Axe is a distracting bit of filler to those fans of Burn Notice, even though it never gets to the same level of entertainment or fun as the actual show does. Bruce Campbell fans will get a kick out of it and it is certainly an "easy" watch but nothing more than that.

Fans who only know Bruce from Burn Notice might feel that this movie isn't as tightly plotted as usual and focuses too much on comedy. Bruce-only fans meanwhile will probably be surprised find Bruce playing it more straight than usual.But if, like me, you love both Bruce AND Burn Notice, you'll lap this up! It comes across a little like a TV movie version of Romancing the Stone, with a sharper political edge. Writer/creator Matt Nix clearly has a somewhat jaundiced view of US foreign policy in Central America. Bruce, as always, lifts the whole thing with his charisma - he's like a more self-aware, mocking version of James Garner and Matt Nix cleverly plants lots of in-jokes for both Burn Notice fans and Evil Dead-ites alike. Jeffrey Donovan's cameo felt a little forced, but other than that it's all good. If you're immune to both Bruce and Burn Notice you'll spend your time finding fault with the accuracy of the thing. Otherwise you'll just sit back and be entertained by a fun action/comedy for 90 minutes.

Burn Notice: The Fall of Sam Axe is a journey into the past of the series' most enigmatic character as only Bruce Campbell can play him.Set in 2005, the movie follows Sam's last mission as a Navy Seal before he wound up retired in Miami. A moment of indiscretion gets Sam sent into the South American jungles to deal with a terrorist group causing havoc. But, things aren't what they seem.So far, the biggest complaints about this movie are that some of the uniforms are inaccurate, which means they must be doing everything else right. As made for TV movies go, this was very good. Even thought it felt more like one of Bruce's B-movie romps than an actual extension of Burn Notice, that only helps bring home the fun of the movie. Bruce gets many a great line, and a few nods to both his past and his fans.The other characters ranged from well-acted to a kind of meh performance, and the overall direction by Jeffrey Donovan was well done. Fans of both Bruce and Burn Notice will enjoy this picture and come away feeling satisfied. Was this necessary? Maybe not. Was it worth it? Hell yes.