Puppet Master: Axis Termination

I love the Puppet Master series, but this is just plain bad. I get this trilogy isn't to be taken seriously, but there are limits. Do yourself a favour and stick with the original 3 movies!!

Best part of the movie? The closing credits.

P Puppet Master: Axis Termination (2017) on Tubi is the final chapter in the Axis trilogy. The German forces are prepared to end the puppet threat once and for all, unaware that the puppets plan to infiltrate their base and bring down their reign of terror forever.

Directed by Charles Band (Trancers), this installment stars George Appleby (Game of Thrones), Tonya Kay (Saving My Baby), Paul Logan (Alien Apocalypse), Tania Fox (Art of the Dead), and Diana Prince (Evil Bong 888).

Despite Band's legacy with the Puppet Master series, this film feels notably different from earlier entries, and it's a disappointing conclusion to the Axis trilogy. I'd actually rank it among the three weakest films in the series. Overall, it may be worth watching for dedicated fans, but it doesn't stand out as one of the better entries. I'd score this a 3.5/10.

Axis Termination is the final part of the Puppet Master Axis trilogy, and it's quite a disappointment, lacking the fun factor of the previous two films. It's an overly talky effort, with not enough puppet action, and the acting is decidedly dodgy: Paul Logan as heroic Captain Brooks is wooden, Kevin Scott Allen and Tonya Kay (boasting a Botox trout pout) hide their lack of talent behind dodgy German accents, whereas George Appleby as Russian doctor Ivan Ivanov doesn't even try, his cadence just bizarre.

The film also suffers from bad CGI for the numerous bullet hits (I hate CGI blood), a dreary plot that wastes its interesting 'psychics at war' concept, and uninspired direction from Charles Band, who tries to disguise his apparent lack of interest by swathing everything in strong primary coloured lighting.

Given the delightfully OTT approach Band took with Axis Rising, I had hoped that this one would reach hitherto unseen heights of outrageousness; instead, it all feels very underwhelming.

The 11th installment, the 5th film in chronological order, and the final in the Axis Trilogy. Although this is by no means a brilliant film, it is the best (by far) in the series since the original. This installment has a much darker tone than the stupid, comical 'Axis Rising', and has a lot more depth. Indeed a vast improvement on the previous Axis films. The acting and dialogue are much better, as well as the effects and tension. The puppets also look much better and are livelier, having been so stocky in previous films. In this installment Captain Brooks (Paul Logan) and a group of people with special powers battle against Nazi wizards to gain control of the puppet serum that is quickly running out. Nazi Puppets Wehrmacht, Bombshell and Blitzkrieg are back, as well. Unfortunately, I found the lighting in the film to be very poor. Hunky Paul Logan makes the film a lot more watchable, as well...

Well the end of a trilogy and also the end of a cycle or whatever you want to call it. Apparently the newest entry after this (movie number 12 by the way, which is called "Littlest Reich") will be a reboot. And it's funny because there will be an original cast member (at least), although Barbara Crampton did not have a character name in the very first Puppet Master.

But back to this one. This concludes a trilogy within the franchise and as I and probably others have stated before you could have told the story in one movie, but they stretched it over 3. Puppetry is good, though I'm not as impressed as I was with the first one. While the budget restrictions probably are the same, the very first one was way back ... Anyway there are worse movies (even in this franchise) and if you want to have a complete overview of things (like me), you'll probably watch it, even if it doesn't matter to the next one ...