Burn Notice: The Fall of Sam Axe (2011)

The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.

It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.

Typical of many Bruce Campell movies. Mix of humor, a little bit of emotion. Though a prequel to Burn Notice, so very different, with its humor. But great to tell the story of how Same Axe left the Navy. If fan of Burn Notice, a must see, but don't expect it to be serious. It is listed as last episode of Season 4 on Netflix, but really is a standalone movie.

As a long-time Bruce fan (I first saw Evil Dead in the early 90's, not realizing the man already had a cult fan base), I enjoyed every scene Bruce was in, and since he was in virtually every scene in the film, obviously I enjoyed most of the film. The doctor guy was annoying, the love interest was whiny but an OK foil, the teen girl was hot but evidently found the scenery too tempting to resist gobbling up in big bites. The villains were competently played but telegraphed oily evil immediately, losing all sense of suspense there.It was predictable and a bit preachy, and the mention of the SOA was bordering on heavy-handed, but Bruce charms and smirks his way through it and makes an otherwise forgettable bit of tripe an actual pleasure to watch. It is significant, however, that no one but him could have.Of course, one doesn't watch Bruce Campbell for the outstanding special effects (Alien Apocalypse, anyone?), the great supporting cast (The Man with the Screaming Brain?), or the realistic, down-to-earth plots (any Evil Dead you care to name), one watches for Bruce. By that standard, this movie does fine.

The Fall of Sam Axe was quite disappointing. In its best episodes, Burn Notice is tightly written, entertaining, and has a chemistry between the actors. Little of that was present in this two-hour prequel. The story goes two years before the Burn Notice timeline, but what surprised me was how little it added to the overall narrative. The movie follows Sam Axe, a supporting character in the show who supplies many of the laughs. As played by b-movie icon Bruce Campbell, he's a laid-back Lothario who knows a thing or two about combat. Here, we see Sam before a military tribunal, explaining what went wrong in his final Navy SEALS mission. The mission into Colombia involves all the usual intrigue of corrupt military officials and freedom fighters that herd goats. As Sam defies orders to save the rebels, he's joined by two doctors, played by Kiele Sanches and RonReaco Lee. Both are chronic whiners throughout the movie and offer no real substance to the plot. In fact, the only passionate performance comes from Ilza Rosario, playing the young rebel Beatriz in a debut role. Bruce Campbell has always been one of the great pleasures to watching Burn Notice. Here, as usual, he plays on the cult films of his past, at one point hurling a chainsaw in a nod to the Evil Dead trilogy. His appeal on the show was his devilish charm, a guy who doesn't mind name-dropping his connections. Ultimately, though, he's a Miami retiree with a good heart, and by setting this film before that, much of this is lost. Seeing him as an overweight soldier just feels off, and I wanted the Sam Axe we're familiar with. The movie was directed by Jeffery Donovan, who plays the protagonist Michael Westen on the show proper. This makes his feature-film directing debut, and in the end the debut is weak. It feels too much like an episode stretched out over two hours, with no added urgency to justify the extra running time. The high mountains of Colombia (or an adequate fake) are cloudy and gray, a far cry from the colorful, populated streets of Miami. But even Donovan doesn't deserve all the blame: series creator Matt Nix wrote the screenplay and co-wrote the story. His pilot for the show won awards, deservedly so, for creating a fast-paced and fun atmosphere for his spies and rogue agents to play in. All of that is lacking here.The best scene comes early on with a cameo by Donovan. His character Westen was still the CIA's top agent at this point, and the camaraderie between the him and Axe was sorely missed as the film progressed. Burn Notice is most at home with its leads and pushing them into ever-tighter corners, so The Fall of Sam Axe lacks all the advantages while making poor use of the show's breakout character. Bruce Campbell is an eminent crowd-pleaser, but the movie here is certainly not.

TV movies are awful. They tend to be a 40 minute show stretched out to 90 minutes. This is not the case with BN:TFOSA. Bruce Campbell does his usual awesome job of entertaining the audience that you forget you are watching TV. I especially appreciated the nods to Evil Dead, and his book, thank you Bruce for being a fans actor. Many "A-listers" could learn a lesson or two about respecting the fans from you (yes I am looking at you George Lucas). Jeffrey Donovan does a admirable showing as a director. He used some good moves behind the lens without getting crazy. Many times directors will so desperately want to "show their style" they get funky beyond reason, not the case here. He kept the action steady and allowed us to enjoy it. Thank you. The writing was better than average as well. I can't review the script ( I didn't read that, and who knows how close the shoot came to it) but I can certainly see Mat Nix's hand on it. I would be surprised if they deviated much from his very excellent work as a writer. The only complaint I could make would be the realism factor was down. I know BN tends to lean toward the A-Team side of realism and The Fall stuck with that style.Since this movie was announced at Comicon last year I have been eagerly awaiting it. I was not disappointed, and if you like Burn Notice, neither will you.