Burn Notice: The Fall of Sam Axe

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Burn Notice: The Fall of Sam Axe
Fox Television Studios
Original release
NetworkUSA Network
ReleaseApril 17, 2011 (2011-04-17)

Burn Notice: The Fall of Sam Axe is a 2011 American

fifth season
.

Plot

Set two years before the

John Diehl) about a mission in Colombia. Sam reveals that he had unwittingly had an affair with a superior's wife (Chandra West
) and that he was punished with a dangerous mission: to track down a terrorist group known as the Espada Ardiente and assess the need for American support against them.

In Colombia, Sam meets his new team, including Commandante Veracruz (

shepherds on a small farm
that the corrupt Veracruz is trying to secure as a way-point for drug transportation. After watching them do very basic training and promising Amanda he won't leave them, Sam heads back to Veracruz's camp to call for support and stall long enough for help to arrive. Veracruz calls his bluff and almost forces him to reveal where the Espada Ardiente are hiding out, but the farmers give Sam a way out and he escapes back to them, where he apologizes and tells them how they can all help him stop Veracruz. Altogether, they then travel to a CIA outpost to ask for help, narrowly escaping a trap set by Veracruz along the road. They arrive to the isolated outpost and find its only use is observation, and is practically empty except for two men and some radio equipment, which they use to call for assistance. Sam is instructed that nothing will happen until he travels to the nearest military base first to detail the situation. Again, Sam promises he'll return and gets on the helicopter with the two men, but they admit nobody is coming until they go through the proper channels, and that the locals are essentially being left for dead in a "compromised" facility, giving Sam no choice except to force them to land at gunpoint.

In the present, the Admiral tips his hand that things are heading towards a trial, but Sam refuses a lawyer and continues his story.

At the outpost in Colombia, Sam strong-arms the CIA men into calling for backup, which won't arrive for three hours, leaving him and the others to hold off Veracruz as long as possible. Their odds get worse when reinforcements show up for Veracruz, and, despite their best efforts to block his path, eventually they run out of ammunition and must retreat back to the outpost. Still anticipating assistance, Sam has the guys call out again, birthing his alias "Chuck Finley," and learns that they won't have enough time. Shortly thereafter, Veracruz arrives on scene, so Sam heads outside to buy his friends more time. They refuse to surrender to Sam and rough him up a bit before firing on the outpost, and then, the cavalry arrives to save the day. Once Veracruz and his forces are in custody, and all of Sam's friends have said their goodbyes, he is escorted back to the base to testify.

The Admiral evaluates the situation and threatens Sam with a court martial, but Sam has an ace up his sleeve: Beatriz, seeking redemption for influencing her friends to fight in the first place, has photographs of the entire operation and published them in Colombia's largest

honorable discharge with full pension, a first-class plane ticket to the city of his choice, (Miami), a change of clothes, and an ice-cold beer
.

Cast

Production

Jeffrey Donovan, star of Burn Notice, directed the film and made a small cameo appearance.

Development

The film was announced in the summer of 2010 at the annual San Diego Comic-Con, and it was revealed that it would serve as a lead-in to the show's

fourth season
episode "Made Man".

Casting

The full cast was confirmed by January 2011, and included

Michael Westen
, the main character of Burn Notice.

Filming

Filming began in January 2011 in

Bogota, Colombia.[3]

Reception

The film received mixed reviews. Matt Fowler of IGN gave it a 7 out of 10, calling it an "enjoyable distraction," but adding that it "fails to live up to Sam Axe standards."[4] Scott Von Doviak of the A.V. Club gave the film a B−, explaining that it "sounded promising" but "has the routine rhythms of a straight-to-DVD action movie sequel." He added: "fans should enjoy Campbell's performance, but Sam Axe deserved a more interesting fall."[5] Rob Frappier of Screen Rant wrote that "Matt Nix has done a great job," specifically because of Sam's consistently funny "zingers." He later said that fans would enjoy the film.[6]

Ratings

The event was viewed by 3.57 million viewers upon its first airing. In the 18–49 demographic, there were 1.44 million viewers.[7] It was the 23rd most-watched show on cable television that week.[8]

Home media

The DVD release included special features, a

mockumentry titled The Fall of Jeffrey Donovan, audio commentary, deleted scenes and a feature at the Comic-Con 2010.[9]

References

  1. ^ "Watch the Comic-Con Panel!". USA Network. Retrieved August 10, 2010.
  2. ^ Abrams, Natalie (November 30, 2010). "Jeffrey Donovan to Direct Burn Notice's Sam Axe Prequel". TV Guide.
  3. ^ a b Mitovich, Matt Webb (January 31, 2011). "Exclusive: Burn Notice Prequel Rounds Out Cast". TVLine. Retrieved April 20, 2011.
  4. ^ Fowler, Matt (April 18, 2011). "Burn Notice: The Fall of Sam Axe Review". IGN TV. IGN. Retrieved May 25, 2011.
  5. ^ Von Doviak, Scott (April 17, 2011). "Burn Notice: "The Fall of Sam Axe"". A.V. Club. Retrieved May 25, 2011.
  6. ^ Frappier, Rob (April 17, 2011). "'Burn Notice: The Fall of Sam Axe' Review and Discussion". Screen Rant. Retrieved May 25, 2011.
  7. ^ Seidman, Robert (April 18, 2011). ""Burn Notice: The Fall of Sam Axe" Movie Averages 3.6 Million". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on April 20, 2011. Retrieved May 25, 2011.
  8. ^ Seidman, Robert (April 19, 2011). "Cable Top 25: 'Pawn Stars' > Melo & KG & 'Lemonade Mouth' + 'WWE RAW,' 'American Pickers,' 'Deadliest Catch' + More". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on April 23, 2011. Retrieved May 25, 2011.
  9. EAN
     5039036050470.

External links

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