Burn Notice: The Fall of Sam Axe

Been a fan of Burn Notice from the beginning I thought this movie was just an other ripoff of my favorite show. Never been so wrong. This movie is so hilarious and exciting from the first seconds right to the last frame. It's been so long that I have laughed so much watching the whole thing through. Now I know what lies behind Sam Axe, and as someone pointed, it would be nice to see the beginning of Michael Westen's story (he made a cameo role here) as well. I think this is one the the best movies I've seen in years. Nothing deep and meaningful, just pure fun without the serious over exaggerated exploding action. Comedy? Yes! Entertaining? Absolutely! Full of action? Rright on! Compared to any other action/comedy movie: A Winner! I think The Fall Of Sam Axe is one of the most recommendable movie for anyone who likes a good old-school action comedy.

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.

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.

I'm a big Burn Notice fan, and I deem Bruce Campbell a god among men. This was tailor made for me, right?

The Fall of Sam Axe tells the origin story of our titular hero, his early antics and adventures in the deep jungles of Columbia.

It sets itself apart from the show well and doesn't really utilize the other cast much. It does however still feel like Burn Notice, what with the familiar beloved character, story development style and narration.

I was concerned whether it would work but as Campbell has proven time and time again he works just fine as a leading man. Combine that with a surprisingly great supporting cast including Pedro "Game of Thrones" Pascal and the roster is a solid one.

Maintaining that perfect balance of seriousness and comedic elements this spinoff movie is really enjoyable, heartfelt and a very worthy addition to the Burn Notice franchise.

Burn Notice with even more Bruce Campbell? Yes please!

The Good:

Great cast

That Burn Notice charm

Beautiful scenery

The Bad:

Nothing springs to mind

For whatever reason I never knew this even existed and just watched it this night (6-26-13).

The movie itself was nothing to write home about but was nice to see Sam being Sam.

With Burn Notice ending after this season I am actually glad I didn't know about this till now as it was the beginning to the end of a TV show I greatly enjoyed.

For such a hodgepodge character set I was always amazed that they made it work. Campbell's character was a big part of its success and quite possibly its glue.

If you are a fan of the show it is worth watching.