Burn Notice: The Fall of Sam Axe

The long anticipated prequel to the Burn Notice series answered many of our nagging questions about the series and Sam Axe in particular; but, posed even more. Matt Nix (the writer) and Bruce Campbell (the actor) played the Sam Axe character true to the form we would expect of a former Navy SEAL, if anything even more so. Affable, caring, not taking himself too seriously -- but with a high sense of loyalty and duty as well as street savvy. For the most part, a "squared away" SEAL - except that most of those guys that I'm acquainted with are quite a bit more serious, and anything but easy going.

Unfortunately, not all the show's characters fared the same. Don't get me wrong, none were poor actors; just that, some were weaker than others. And, most were appropriate for the genre and situation; but, just as in the series, some were written unbelievably stupid, or uni-dimensional or repetitive. Matt does seem to have a bit of a penchant for writing controlling shrews as lead female characters.

The director, Jeffery Donovan (Michael in the series), and writer are apparently much more acquainted with crooks, thugs and terrorists than they are with anything military. Guns, bombs and thugs are portrayed with amazing accuracy but anything military (especially Navy) seems to end at the mere term: "Navy SEAL." Supposedly Mr. Nix relies heavily on spy consultants but no one associated with the show appears to have even served in the military. No attempt seems to have been made to even approximate the correct insignias, uniforms, badges or military law (J.A.G) processes.

None-the-less, the series isn't about the military, TV budgets aren't the same as movies, Jeffery is a beginning director, and Matt... well he's Matt, one of a kind. The character-driven story was so compelling that, if you didn't look too deeply, or become annoyed with the characterizations, it was two hours well spent. Followers of the series will not be disappointed and will be well served with the new explanations, the new questions to answer, the expansion on a well-liked character, AND a great filler to a terribly long season hiatus.

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.

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.

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.

... and if you are not one, you should be.

Look, Campbell was pushing 60 when he did this and his performance is so smooth that he qualifies for the title KING OF COOL with the likes of Steve McQueen and John Travolta.

The whole thing has a tongue in cheek feel, but that is hardly a bad thing since most of the headlines these days have a foot in your *&&%% feel.

The dialogue is sharp, the scenery is interesting, the women (all two of them) are pretty, and there is a beginning a middle and even an end to the story.

What more could anyone ask for?