USA’s Burn Notice brings Bruce Campbell and James Bond to TV

by Josh Roth @ 1:36 pm June 24th, 2008

I can’t believe I didn’t get into this show earlier. It is a terrific combination of quick witted dialog, James Bond like action, and Bruce fraking Campbell. Burn Notice is about ex-spy Michael Weston (Jeffrey Donovan) trying to discover why he was “burned” (fired from being a spy, had his bank accounts and passport frozen) and stranded in Miami. The premise alone makes it worth a look, but it’s also incredibly well written and has some surprisingly high production values.

The cast has to be given a whole lot of credit for making the show come to life. Jeffrey Donovan clearly dominates the show, with his badass homegrown version of James Bond who lectures the audience on how to live like a spy. But the way the cast plays off of each other is what makes the show. The dialog is fast paced and clever, just the way I like it. It feels like a Guy Ritchie movie, a lot like Snatch (one of my personal favorite films) it has an ensemble cast and a badass narrator (Burn Notice chooses Jeffrey Donovan over Jason Statham), with fast paced dialog and some great action.

Bruce Campbell, as the FBI informant and good friend Sam, is my favorite character by far. My love for Bruce Campbell started with the Evil Dead trilogy, he’s a genius of mixing comedy with action and horror, which is precisely what he does in Burn Notice. He steals the show whenever he’s on screen, especially in the Season One finale where he’s the center of one of the story lines.

If you like James Bond levels of action, quick witted and snappy dialog, and a terrific ensemble cast to boot, run out and rent season one of Burn Notice on DVD now. Catch up so you can be up to date for the second season, starting July 10th at 10pm on USA. You won’t regret it, you may just get addicted yourself.