Don't listen to the Hype. It's awful

Crappy film

There are moments in this movie where the great movie it could've been peek out... They're fleeting, here, but they're worth savoring, and they happen often enough to make it worth your while.

One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

The 11th installment, the 5th film in chronological order, and the final in the Axis Trilogy. Although this is by no means a brilliant film, it is the best (by far) in the series since the original. This installment has a much darker tone than the stupid, comical 'Axis Rising', and has a lot more depth. Indeed a vast improvement on the previous Axis films. The acting and dialogue are much better, as well as the effects and tension. The puppets also look much better and are livelier, having been so stocky in previous films. In this installment Captain Brooks (Paul Logan) and a group of people with special powers battle against Nazi wizards to gain control of the puppet serum that is quickly running out. Nazi Puppets Wehrmacht, Bombshell and Blitzkrieg are back, as well. Unfortunately, I found the lighting in the film to be very poor. Hunky Paul Logan makes the film a lot more watchable, as well...

Some idiot on here had the gull to claim this one was the worst since The Legacy and that just baffles me. Of course, we're all free to have our own opinions on these things, but that sort of statement makes nearly no sense at all. This entry is a stylish, well-written, well-acted and incredibly fun flick that delivers in ways the franchise hasn't been able to in a long while. The plot centers around the puppets being caught in the middle of a battle between Allied forces and the nazis once again, with the primary players in the fight being Nazi telepaths (Tonya Kay and Kevin Allen Scott) and the mystic Dr. Ivan Ivanov (George Appleby) and American soldier Brooks (Paul Logan).Beautifully shot by Howard Wexler and saturated in Mario Bava-esque hyper colorful lighting schemes, this is probably the most stylistically ambitious film in the series thus far. The screenplay by Roger Barron is also a step above average, offering some shockingly good dialogue and character dynamics. The characters feel real enough for us to care about, while still maintaining the pulpy tone that the Axis films have been aiming for. It also benefits by having the best villains in the series since Richard Lynch's turn as Major Kraus in Toulon's Revenge. Kevin Allen Scott and Tonya Kay manage to chew the scenery while still delivering strong performances. No one is phoning it in here. Needless to say, Paul Logan's trademark B-movie tough guy schtick makes him pretty easy to route for.If I have any complaints, it's that some of the puppets look pretty poor (Blade especially) and the climax is more than a little rushed. But these two minor quibbles do very little to sway my opinion. Axis Termination is an immensely satisfying installment in the series, something it hasn't had in a very very long time.

The eleventh installment in the long running Puppet Master master franchise has the deadly puppets again battling evil Nazis, but this time with the help of powerful psychics to battle an evil Nazi psychic and evil Nazi puppets. The story and characters aren't all that interesting and producer/director Charles Band has made the series increasingly campy on what seems to be smaller and smaller budgets, although they did shell out for some stop-motion puppet animation which was pretty fun. I think my main complaint is that there weren't enough of the puppets doing horrible things. If you're watching a Puppet Master film (or Gremlins or Chucky for that matter), you want to see little things attacking big things, and there was not enough of that in this final installment of the Puppet Master Axis Trilogy. Outside of "Puppet Master: The Legacy," which was primarily made up of clips from previous films, this is probably the low point of the series. Still, I enjoy pretty much everything Charles Band makes and I did find myself entertained, even if I was overall disappointed.

Say what you will about creator Charles Band's long running low- budget killer-doll franchise "Puppet Master." The fact is for darned-near close to thirty years now, the series has managed to continue on with relative competence, while maintaining at least a certain degree of imagination and low-brow entertainment in each new chapter. From the fun and sometimes genuinely creepy initial trilogy, through the kitschy 90's gems that were the fourth and fifth chapters, and indeed through a surprisingly fun prequel in the 'Retro' spin-off... "Puppet Master" had done pretty well for itself over the years.Unfortunately, a troubling noticeable trend has plagued more recent entries in the saga, and it's becoming increasingly clear that at a certain point, enough is enough. Hindered by lower budgets and a general apathetic feeling of "been there, done that", the last few films have come across as a mere shadow of what the series once was, and the most recent chapter- 2017's "Axis Termination"- is perhaps the worst offender. While not objectively the worst of the series in terms of story, it's just so wholly unremarkable and thrown-together that you can't help but feel cold and disconnected from the opening sequence through the final climactic battle. And it's a sign that it sadly might be time for those delightful killer dolls to finally throw in the towel for good. At least in terms of the original series continuity."Axis Termination" follows an unlikely group of heroes who are brought together by the allied force during World War II. Each member gifted in some way- including some with magical and psychic abilities- the team are given the mission to work alongside the puppets of Andre Toulon in order to battle a dreaded group of Nazis whom are seeking to gain Toulon's formula for everlasting life. However, when the daughter of team leader Dr. Ivan Ivanov (George Appleby) is kidnapped, matters take a personal turn, and it becomes a mission of vengeance.To give some minor credit where it is due, the concept is actually quite fun, and it serves as an interesting enough follow-up to the previous two movies, which were similarly placed in a World War II setting. It creates a unique atmosphere allows for some decent contrast with more modern entries in the series. The idea of a borderline superhero-inspired team of allied forces is also quite amusing, and I actually genuinely liked Appleby as the gifted Dr. Ivanov- a man suffering dwarfism who is frequently ridiculed, yet also holds more power than even he will admit to. Unfortunately, a likable lead and a funky concept can only get you so far, especially when the movie doesn't know what to do with them. "Axis Termination" feels strained... coming across as too rushed and undeveloped, yet also somehow feeling dull and over-padded. And look, I understand that there was simply no real money to work with... but that doesn't excuse shoddy situational writing and half-baked character development. It's a poorly constructed, slap-dash effort that feels like it was put together out of obligation moreso than motivation. The story is minimal and lacks proper build-up or conclusion, there's a distinct lack of stakes and shockingly the puppets themselves- the stars of the series- feel tacked on and superfluous.Visually the film is flimsy and has a really cheap, tacky look to it. And given the modern age of digital photography, I can't just sit back and act like that's OK anymore. Anyone with a cheap DSLR and some shop-lights can make something that looks semi- professional. So it's hard to excuse people with decades of experience giving us such visual drivel. Director Band, returning to helm the series once again, doesn't seem to care much. His choice in shots, composition and flow is suspect at best, and lacks any real thought. It's put together in the blandest of ways- every scene being composed of simple wide shots and shot-reverse-shot editing, and the few times he tries to do anything fun with the camera, it comes off as hockey and out of left field. This isn't made any better by the woeful acting, with the bulk of the cast looking very uncomfortable on-camera. It's unintentionally amusing, and some genuinely cringe-worthy line-deliveries left me chuckling when it clearly wasn't appropriate.As it stands, "Puppet Master: Axis Termination" might not quite be the worst of the series, but it's a continuation of the general downgrade in quality that has occurred over the past few installments, and it really feels like the series is dead in the water at this point. There's no money to build creative effects or kills anymore. There's no motivation on the part of the filmmakers to try and take the series in new and interesting directions. And it all feels so by-the-books that it comes across as a wholly pointless endeavor. Thankfully, there is some hope for the franchise with a somewhat higher-budgeted reboot in the works. But as it stands, I think I'm pretty much done with the original series. "Axis Termination" musters up a very poor 2 out of 10. I wouldn't even really recommend it to fans.