- Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1
- Video Codec: AVC/MPEG-4
- Resolution: 1080p/24
- Audio Codec: English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
- Rating: Not Rated
- Region: A (Region-Locked)
- Discs: 1
- Studio: 20th Century Fox
- Blu-ray Release Date: July 26, 2011
- List Price: $24.99
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BestBuy.com:
Purchase Burn Notice: The Fall of Sam Axe on Blu-ray at CD Universe
Shop for more Blu-ray titles at Amazon.com
Overall
[Rating:3/5]
The Film
[Rating:2.5/5]
Video Quality
[Rating:4.5/5]
Audio Quality
[Rating:3.5/5]
Supplemental Materials
[Rating:1.5/5]
Click thumbnails for high-resolution 1920X1080p screen captures
(Screen captures are lightly compressed with lossy JPEG thus are meant as a general representation of the content and do not fully reveal the capabilities of the Blu-ray format)
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The Film
[Rating:2.5/5]
Burn Notice: The Fall of Sam Axe is a 90-minute direct-to-video feature directed by Burn Notice star Jeffrey Donovan (Michael Westen). The story acts as a sort of prequel to the Burn Notice series, offering a bit of backstory to fan favorite character Sam Axe (Bruce Campbell). It finds Navy Seal Sam Axe in a precarious situation after the incurable ladies’ man unknowingly sleeps with his Admiral’s wife and as punishment is sent far away on an undesirable mission to Colombia where he is supposed to observe and report back on the local military’s efforts to root out a supposed terrorist group. Of course, upon arrival, nothing goes smoothly for Sam and he ends up targeted for assassination and fleeing into the aid of the very group he was meant to be rooting out as he has to help evacuate a local clinic that is the target of the corrupt military.
As a stand-alone story, The Fall of Sam Axe is missing something and that is the chemistry between Michael and Sam from the Burn Notice series. I like the Sam character and Bruce Campbell, but I just don’t know how successful this particular attempt at giving us his back story actually is. Perhaps this would have been better done interwoven into the series itself as a special double episode.
Video Quality
[Rating:4.5/5]
The Fall of Sam Axe has a different look from the Burn Notice series proper. I’m not talking about the tropical locale and editing style, which is pretty spot on here. I’m referring to the fact that the Burn Notice series is filmed on 16mm and this has been captured in high definition, which gives it a much cleaner and less textured look. The AVC/MPEG-4 1080p/24 encodement looks good and detailed with little video noise, flesh tones are natural and the colors are really vibrant.
Audio Quality
[Rating:3.5/5]
The DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 soundtrack is nothing special really. It’s a typical “television” program sounding mix – not too aggressive with occasional use of the surrounds for some low-level discrete information. Some explosions and things have good heft helped out by the sub and dialogue is clean and clear.
Supplemental Materials
[Rating:1.5/5]
There is a cool audio commentary that brings together Burn Notice stars Bruce Campbell and Jeffrey Donovan with producer Matt Nix in addition to a faux making of featurette that finds the “overworked” director Jeffrey Donovan going native in the jungles of Colombia.
- Commentary by Bruce Campbell, Jeffrey Donovan, and Matt Nix
- The Fall of Jeffrey Donovan (1.78:1; 1080p/24; 00:11:26)
The Definitive Word
Overall:
[Rating:3/5]
Burn Notice: The Fall of Sam Axe will only be worth it for the most ardent Burn Notice fans. As a stand-alone feature, it falls just a little flat, which is disappointing.
Additional Screen Captures
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[amazon-product align=”right”]B004ZBFRQM[/amazon-product]
BestBuy.com:
Purchase Burn Notice: The Fall of Sam Axe on Blu-ray at CD Universe
Shop for more Blu-ray titles at Amazon.com
Overall
[Rating:3/5]
The Film
[Rating:2.5/5]
Video Quality
[Rating:4.5/5]
Audio Quality
[Rating:3.5/5]
Supplemental Materials
[Rating:1.5/5]
