Thursday, April 21, 2011

What I’m Watching: Burn Notice: The Fall of Sam Axe

Burn Notice: The Fall of Sam Axe
Premiered April 17 at 9pm

What could be more exciting than an off-season dose of the best burned spy show set in Miami? This mostly Michael-free tale of the last mission undertaken by Sam before he was booted by the CIA is pure entertainment, and it’s a whole lot of fun. I’m especially impressed by the fact that this standalone TV movie doesn’t use its series origins as a crutch. Michael appears only a few minutes in, but it’s fun to see him sprouting a beard and quite a bit of confidence. To be fair, Michael is a better narrator, but Sam’s still a blast. The only major connection to later events in the series itself is the origin of the Chuck Finley name from a magazine cover, which is a lot of fun. In terms of supporting cast members, the casting of Kiele Sanchez and RonReaco Lee is impressive, and I like how they work as foils to Bruce Campbell’s Sam. This TV movie has the same feel as the show while containing the story to just one plot for a double-header. This certainly works infinitely better than something like “24: Redemption,” and I was fully engaged and enthralled for the full two hours of this production. I particularly liked Sam’s description of building a bomb as doing the opposite of what the warning label says, and his training of the non-terrorists with football plays. The situation-relayed-in-trial format has been done many times before, but here it worked wonders, and now I’m looking forward to the return of the show in just two months!

TV Movie Grade: B+

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