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DVD Remo Williams - The Adventure Begins
Talk about hubris: this film, released at the height of sequelmania in the mid-1980s, came with its own intimations of future sequels built right into the title. Unfortunately, you have to make a good first film in order to generate follow-ups--something these filmmakers didn't manage--so the adventure began and ended with this one. Based on the pulp paperback adventure series The Destroyer, the film deals with a ne'er-do-well, Remo Williams (Fred Ward), who is recruited to battle the forces of evil. He is trained by an Asian martial arts master who, in those days before political correctness, was played by Joel Grey in heavy makeup. But the action is both forced and preposterous, jokey without every really being funny. The best thing about the film is Grey--and his stereotyped depiction of an Asian is pretty hard to take today. --Marshall Fine
Review(s): DVD Remo Williams - The Adventure Begins
Top-notch writing....watched it 6 times over the past 20 years
Cult favorites (like this one) that can be viewed many times start with a story that moves around alot eventhough the overall plot might be simple. Sometimes they have a good plot like the original Terminator or a complex one like Being John Malchovich, but this one has a simple overall story and made up for it in wonderful writing (the script for Terminator by the way is simplistic genius and reads as well as watching the movie). There are no less than 20 quotable quotes from the humorous martial arts trainer.
Many succesful stories start out as a collection of chapters that were originally written one chapter at a time with the plot being secondary to entertaining the reader in each chapter. That's why all the comic book-based movies like this one (based on The Destroyer) are so good and why Asimov's Foundation, HitchHiker's Guide, and Harry Potter were so successful. Each were written under the pressure of having to entertain the audience one chapter at a time.
The ending action scenes at the military camp are not as good and feel very much like an 80's detective series with all the almost recognizable faces. Captain Janeway was even more attractive being 15 years younger as the lower-ranking officer investigating the crooks.
A Great Beginning to A Great Adventure...But Will The Adventure EVER Continue?
This review refers to "Remo Williams - The Adventure Begins" (DVD/MGM)
Remo! Remo! Remo!...I really enjoyed the fun and action packed adventure that began in 1985. It was a film about good vs. evil, that I could enjoy with my kids. But you sure do know how to keep a lady waiting. I've been waiting 20 years already, for the adventure to continue. I mean it took Bruce Willis 3 times to save the world, and the Karate Kid didn't even learn the drum technique until part three of his training.Rocky, well Rocky needed 4 sequels to complete his training! And Bond..well you know! If you wait any longer you will have to do one of those, coming out of retirement to save the world stories!
For those that missed this fun flick, here's a little of the story. As the title implies, the adventure begins. A NYC cop is set up to take a fall, right into the River.He is presumed dead,and the perpetrators of this little scheme, turn out to be a secret organization, committed to eradicating bad guys. They answer only to the President of the United States.This is their way of recruiting new blood. While recuperating, our hero is given a new look, and a new name..Remo Williams(anyone out there remember how they came up with the name?). Against his will he will be trained by a master in martial arts to fight off the villains. He will dodge bullets, balance on a pole and walk on air! The master thinks it will take 15 years to fully train this guy who "walks like a pregnant Yak", but as it happens there are some really bad guys that need to be taken care of immediately, and we get to see Remo take them on by putting all his new skills to work.
So you see, Remo had only begun to train. The title is a real teaser for fans of Remo. Now I know he had to take some time out to fight off the underground creatures, making the earth tremor, but I figure after 20 years, Remo must be trained by now! How about a sequel?
The film is a great action and adventure film that may be enjoyed by the entire family without getting too graphic on the violence or language. It takes place in New York City(most of the training is there), and has some historical views as well. Some great shots of the skyline, including the WTC, and a fabulous chase up and down the outside of the Statue of Liberty with all the scalffolding during the time it was being refurbished. Fred Ward stars as Remo, and Joel Grey is Chiun, the master. And what a pair they make. You'll be laughing and rooting for the good guys all the way.
Although the DVD has an excellent picture and the sound is very good in Stereo surround(could even be better in 5.1), I have to complain that "This DVD has been formated to fit your screen" Pan and Scan...what's up with that? There are subtitles in English, French and Spanish for those needing them.
Checking over at the IMDB, I saw two interesting things. First the tech info for the DVD lists it as Widescreen..I can't find one in widescreen? Where is it? Second, there was a TV movie made in 1988 titled Remo Williams in which he has a new assignment. I never saw it or heard about it.
Come back Remo... an entire new generation(and some of us oldies) await your return!
And oh yeah.. how did they come up with the name Remo Williams?(hide your eyes if you don't want to know)..from a bedpan..of course!
Enjoy....Laurie
A silly yet fun "Adventure"
This one was a fave of mine when it first hit the premium cable channels way back when. But now that I've seen it again for the first time in almost twenty years, I hafta admit those twenty years ain't been too kind to it. Back when I first saw it, I thought the fairly wide array of stunt-action scenes were pretty cool, especially the parts on the scaffolding of the Statue of Liberty. You know, back when they were fixin' Lady Liberty up to celebrate her 100th birthday. Now I see the span-jumpin', chop-socky goodness for the hokey cheese-fest it is, especially the "dental glass-cutter" scene. Oh man, was that one a howler! And don't get me started on the whole "running across wet concrete" deal! On the upside: they couldn't have made a better selection for the title role than Fred Ward, who also starred in another of my childhood faves, "TimeRider"! Sadly, he should've known better than to get caught up in the third "Naked Gun" movie...
But, I'm getting off-track. I especially felt for Joel Grey here, who must've been really hard-up for work to have agreed to an ethnic role-- complete with a silly make-up job and horrifically stereotypical accent-- that harkened back to the days of the classic Charlie Chan movies. His bit as an aged Korean master of mystical martial arts is proof positive that winning an Oscar doesn't necessarily translate into capturing decent roles in subsequent films. But don't take my word for it; just ask Marissa Tomei!
Speakin' of supporting roles: also of note here is Kate Mulgrew as a whistle-blowing Army officer whose life is threatened by the bad guys. Naturally, she and the hero kinda fall for each other as they're being chased down by the evildoers in the climactic final clash... which kinda weirded me out. This is mainly due to the fact that I just don't perceive a romantic "vibe" coming off of the character... or ANY of the characters Mulgrew has played in movies and TV. She does the "take-no-guff military authority figure" thing quite ably, though-- a quality that would serve her rather well when she took the captain's chair in "Star Trek Voyager".
BTW despite the presumptuousness of the movie's "The Adventure Begins" subtitle, I coulda sworn the "Remo Williams"/"Destroyer" novel series was developed into a short-lived TV show a year or so after the movie was released. If anyone has any solid info about this, drop me a line, willya? Thanks.
`Late
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