TBJCSKCNRRQTreviews Colombia. A hospital needs protecting. The final mission before he retires to Miami. After it goes wrong, Sam(Campbell, and it is *his* show for sure: charming, goofy, serious when called for) faces an informal inquiry. What happened back there? With framing device securely in place, explaining the narration, we can begin.Sanchez' charity aid worker is too similar to her infamous Niki, though the snark fits the tone of the franchise. She does end up less frustrating than that. Maybe it's that I've seen both her and Paolo in roles where I don't hate them. Xerxes! Even when they give him nothing to do, he's awesome. And she's solid in A Perfect Getaway, an enjoyable if flawed film. A role not everyone could have handled. A doctor, an angry teen girl, and a few individuals who shouldn't be trusted - good guys and bad alike are compelling. We get nice, big fireball explosions, gunplay, stunt work and more. Guerrilla warfare, strategy in the face of uneven odds, this fits right in. You can go into this blind, though there are great nods for the fans.There is some bloody violence and disturbing content in this. The DVD comes with several extras. Its full hour and a half commentary track is informational and funny, featuring the star, the director and the show creator. There's 26 minutes of a great Comic Con panel. The Fall of Jeffrey Donovan is an 11 and a half minute joke documentary, as the talent supposedly cracks under the pressure – it's hilarious and easily the single best thing to come out of the production of the picture. The 1 and a half minute deleted scene is fine. I recommend this to anyone who enjoys spy action thrillers, and/or the work of the deeply enjoyable, the one, the only, the Bruce. 7/10

jonahjthompson It was completely and utterly terrible. I am so committed to the burn notice franchise and series, and love the characters, but this seems to be a joke. I was cringing for a good 99% of the time. I thought that Sam Axe was supposed to be so quirky because of his retired man mind set, I can't ever imagine that being a trait he kept whilst in military service. It was essentially slanderous to what is a truly great action drama, the film simply never needed to be done. I am trying to erase every part of this movie from my memory in order to retain some kind of regard for Burn Notice. However this is proving hard as I am somewhat scared from the experience.

bob the moo 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.

WOLVERINE25th 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.