Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins

Plot synopsis:
Sam Macon (Fred Ward) is an NYPD cop. One night, he breaks up a mugging, and then is pushed into the river in his car.Sometime later, he awakes in a hospital, with a new face. MacCleary (J.A. Preston) tells him his new name is Remo Williams (based on a name on a bedpan), and that Remo now works for an organization that doesn't officially exist. MacCleary says Remo is ideal because he has no family and has military background. Remo steals an ambulance, but Mac is in it. He takes Remo to meet Harold Smith (Wilford Brimley), the head of the organization CURE.Smith tells Remo that the government is corrupt, and Remo will be their troubleshooter. Smith has computer access to all networks, and Mac is his liaison. Mac takes Remo to a building and tells him to kill the man inside. Remo slips in and find an elderly Korean man, but no one else. He realizes the Korean is his target and tries to kill him, but he's too fast. The man is Chiun, and is his trainer.Smith researches George Grove (Charles Cioffi), a defense contractor with criminal suspicions, especially on the HARP defense system. He notices someone trying to access the same information - Major Rayner Fleming (Kate Mulgrew). She tells her boss, General Scott Watson (George Coe), and reminds him that she will be attending a weapons demonstration by Grove.Remo begins his training. Chiun is rude and harsh, insulting Remo at every turn. However, Remo gradually comes along. They work on balance and breathing, and mutual respect begins to develop, although Chiun won't admit it. Remo gets good enough to dodge bullets and run without leaving tracks.The Grove weapons demonstration shows grave flaws with the weapons. Fleming gets suspicious. Grove tells General Watson to bury the report. Grove defends himself when asked about HARP, mentioning the CD-18 demonstration planned for the following week at Mount Promise. Grove gets annoyed with Fleming, and asks Stone (Patrick Kilpatrick) to trail her. Stone gets photos of Fleming, Remo and Mac, and Grove orders him to kill Remo. Remo notices Stone's diamond dental work, too. Remo uses his new skills to defeat the bad guys atop the Statue of Liberty, but Stone gets away. Remo complains to Smith and Mac, and they tell him they all have an escape plan - Remo's is death by Chiun. He's obviously angered by the news, and walks out on Chiun.Mac and Remo infiltrate a Grove warehouse, battling extremely clever dogs and ravenous rats. Remo finds a satellite, which is subsequently destroyed by lasers, alerting the guards. They escape, but Mac is shot in the back. Mac gives Remo a computer disk for Smith to analyze, and is captured, but commits suicide before telling Grove any information. Smith realizes HARP is a fake and tells Remo to go after Grove. He meets Fleming at Mount Promise, and they get locked in a steel gas chamber by Wilson (Michael Pataki), one of Grove's goons. Remo fights Stone and uses Stone's diamond tooth to cut the glass to escape.During their escape from the facility, they find Chiun and steal a truck with no brakes. Remo and Fleming jump out, but Chiun cannot open the door. He's dazed, but otherwise unhurt, and inadvertently calls Remo "my son". Remo continues his mission, calling Chiun "little father".The military chase Remo and starts firing at him. Remo rides a tree trunk being pulled through the woods on cable. He drops the log and overturns the jeep with Grove and Watson, then races to the lake to escape. He dodges bullets fired by Grove and disarms him. He tosses Grove on the Jeep and lights in on fire, walking away. Chiun is surrounded by troops and walks across the lake to safety. Remo tells Fleming, "we're the good guys".

Tags: comedy, murder, cult, violence, humor, philosophical, revenge, sadist

Review:
This is a movie best enjoyed on a slow Saturday afternoon when you don't feel like going out and just want to zone out for a few..Put this one in your VCR and enjoy the absolutely wonderful score by Craig Safan (this movie's got one the best theme songs I've ever heard)The interplay between Fred Ward and Joel Grey (their dialog is side-splittingly funny at times, especially Grey's one-liners) and a pre-Star Trek: Voyager Kate Mulgrew..
However, viewed as an entertaining mixture of action and fun, the movie delivers quite well.Fred Ward does a fine job as Remo, especially in his scenes with Chiun, his Shinanju master played fantastically by Joel Grey.
Some have argued that Ward was too old for the role, which would be debatable even if this were a straight-out action movie; given its true nature, Ward was an excellent choice, and the dynamic between him and Grey makes for some of the most entertaining sequences in the movie.Joel Grey's Asian "sensei" character stereotype can be forgiven in the context of the semi-spoof, tongue-in-cheek nature of the movie.
The directors could have let the character carry that competence through to the end of the movie.The movie does have some great action sequences, especially the chase around the scaffolding surrounding the Statue of Liberty (remember when they were remodeling it, back in the 80's?), and it is very funny in many places.
It has just enough action, just enough "buddy movie" dynamic, just enough tongue-in-cheek humor, just enough spoof, just enough comic-book type fantasy elements, and just enough enigmatic and amusing martial arts to make it terrifically entertaining.
The one-liners from Remo (Fred Ward) Chiun (Joel Grey) and Mr. Smith (Wilford Brimley) are reason enough to see this movie.
The true scene stealer in this action-packed, fast-paced film is Joel Grey as the Korean martial/mental arts master, Chiun, who delivers the best lines and performance of the movie.
Fred Ward is also good as our hero, who is physically imposing and equally emotionally distraught as Remo Williams.Highly recommended for action lovers, spy fans, and people who love quirky films that have been lost, but not forgotten..
I know some people will be turned off by an occidental actor playing a Korean, and a some of the dialog between Remo and Chuin are exchanges of insults, but Grey and Ward seem to be enjoying the verbal repartee of their characters.
Watching it again loses some of the wonder but none of the fun.A brilliant mix of espionage and Karate Kid with the master / pupil relationship played for both laughs and oriental mystique, this is a film to kick back to and simply enjoy.The Eighties were the decade for action comedies and this was one of the best (It was nominated for an Oscar, for goodness sakes)- watching it now brings back lots of great memories.Always liked Fred Ward - he's the actor Chuck Norris should have been here - and he and the others make this a winner.Fun movie and one that deserves a remake..
And as unbelievable as it may be to dodge a bullet, or walk on water, you have to realize - if you want reality you can turn on the news, if you want entertainment watch a movie...like Remo Williams : The Adventure Begins.
Based on the DESTROYER paperback series,Remo williams is a fair and quirky Action thriller,Directed by 007 veteran director Guy Hamilton,Fred Ward plays the blue collar version of Bond pretty ggod Joel grey steals the show as the Korean martial arts master sent to train Remo,to fight crime for the good old USA,DESTROYER fans will be disappointed at some of the changes,and the plot [an evil arms dealer selling a worthless Star wars project] but an enjoyable film,great stunts and good chemistry between Ward and Grey.
But you can still see the fun and action and while there are many fine characters nothing stands out like Joel Gray and his portrayal of Chun (the greatest martial arts sensatiom since Bruce Lee) well maybe the banter of Chun and Remo- but Gray is absolutely wonderful.
Remo is required to do a number of tasks such as run along the sides of a skyscraper, climb on the outside of a ferris wheel, and there's a nifty little segment where he dukes it out with a bunch of construction workers on the top of the Statue of Liberty (!).Fred Ward is perfect in the title role and Joel Grey nearly steals every scene as Chiun.
Light hearted humor, and good action makes this film very entertaining and fun to watch..
I read the best of the books a few times a year, and a few of the greatest lines in the movies are in this film..
I've also heard that Fred Ward (aka Remo Williams) did all his own stunts in that movie, from balancing on the Ferris Wheel to climbing on the Statue of Liberty.
It has a similar theme: a secret organization designed to ensure that justice is done.The concept was good, and it works very well on the TV show, but I would imagine that it was not good enough for a second movie.The interaction between Fred Ward (Gus Grissom in The Right Stuff) and Joel Grey (Caberet) was hilarious and kept your interest throughout.Kate Mulgrew ("Star Trek: Voyager", "Warehouse 13")added to the humor as a clueless Major.It's not award material, but it is good entertainment..
They give him a new identity Remo Williams (Fred Ward), and give him a trainer Chiun (Joel Grey) master of Korean martial arts Sinanju.
Sure its fictional,a lot of the moves taught are impossible,but a lot are also plausible, and that along with the humorous banter between master and student as the wisdom and skills are passed on to the latter are what made me so addicted to Remo in book form, and what also makes this film so much fun to watch.Being addicted to the books before the film was made, usually a hindrance to enjoying the film when made as gets your hopes up too high, did not deter me from enjoying Fred Wards performance as the Destroyer to be, and i find it almost unfathomable that a follow up film never became a reality-but i will live in hope of it happening, and if they made another film half as close as this one was to the books i will die happy i will die happy..
But he does have some great scenes picking on Remo.The film makes you wish there really were, pressure-point using, bullet dodging assassins out there taking down the bad guys.
Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins (1985) was one of the many films that tried to actually launch a series of sequels before the results of the box office receipts were in.
The producers were so sure that Remo Williams part one would be so successful that they would produce a series of films based upon the title character.
But that didn't stop the producers from trying to force the FOX Network to create a series of made-for-t.v.-movies based upon the DESTROYER novels.Fred Ward (American defined!!) stars as a lazy and sloppy cop who's declared legally dead after a botched arrest.
His death faked after his car plunges into a river, an American policeman is given a new identity and forced to become an assassin for a government-run secret organisation in this mix of action and comedy starring Fred Ward as the title character.
As evidenced by the title, this was intended to the first in a series of James Bond like movies that never quite took off, which is unfortunate since this is as riveting and entertaining a ride as one would expect from 'Goldfinger' director Guy Hamilton.
The film also spends little time on the idea of assassinations made to look like accidents despite an intriguing suggestion that the secret organisation has been run for decades as a way of the government dealing with shady figures that cannot legally be touched.
Knowing his former life is full of shadiness, the "dead cop" is named Remo Williams(Fred Ward), a super-assassin who is trained by a Korean master named Chiun(Joel Grey, Jennifer's father).
So, if you like great one-liners and half-comedy, half-action (martial-arts style) movies, this is an absolute must see!
Remo Williams is a simple story about an apparently-dead cop that is recruited by a secret association to save USA from politically powerful criminals, and to this purpose he is trained by Chiun, a Korean expert of martial arts.
Fred Ward realistically plays a good-hearted but dull guy without never becoming the classical "flat", trivial, predictable Hollywood character -- it's incredible that after 20 years from this movie some directors are still not able to avoid such annoying pitfalls.
Ward, Grey, Preston and "bureau chief" Wilford Brimley are all that stand in the way of baddies Charles Cioffi, Michael Pataki, George Coe, Patrick Kilpatrick and assorted henchmen in a series of chases and battles that take them everywhere from military bases, to logging camps to even the top of the Statue of Liberty (the movie's most stunning set piece.) And hey, let's not forget the radiant Kate Mulgrew as the "damsel-in-distress", a naive yet tough Army major whose sense of integrity gets her into hot water with the baddies, and falling into Remo's arms more than once!
The Eighties marked the Great Revival of the good old popcorn-munchin', kick-and-punchin' B-feature, and "REMO WILLIAMS: THE ADVENTURE BEGINS" was one of the best of the lot.
If you liked the feel of True Lies with the snappy dialog and over-the-top action, you'll love Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins..
The movie has none of this - it's frankly an embarrassment from start to finish, and I'm sorry I paid theatre prices to see it.The martial arts "action" (if one can call it that) is an abysmally-shot series of lame special effects attempting to make it appear that Remo Williams (the miserably-miscast Fred Ward) is a student of a super-martial art being taught to him by the Korean "Master of Sinanju" Chuin - played by that great Oriental actor Joel Grey(!!!).
The insults (i.e., "You move like a pregnant yak!") are funnier in the books since they highlight Chuin's scolding perfectionism in light of Remo's mastery; in the movie, they're God's Honest Truth as Ward's fighting style seems stuck at "barroom brawler" level.The plot veers between meant-to-be-lighthearted political adventure about a villainous defense contractor who manages to kill off any people involved in Government oversight of his work (ho-ho!) - and the supposedly-poignant fact that the agency Remo works for, CURE, will be forced to shut down (with all its members committing mass suicide) if its existence is ever exposed.
In particular, "Remo's Theme" sounds so ripped off from Indy that I actually laughed out loud when it first played.This film was obviously intended to be the first of a series, as evidenced by the title, but how anyone could think this would become a classic is beyond me, as every single element of the plot and every character is a VERY blatant ripoff of something or other.What's left for this movie to be is just a lighthearted uncomplex action flick, and while it succeeds at times (mostly in the training sequences), it's mostly way too big on building up Remo into some sort of folk hero on the level of 007 or the aforementioned Indiana Jones.
This movie is great fun!Based on the very popular 'Destroyer' series, Fred Ward plays Remo and Joel Grey (in heavy make-up) his wise teacher Chiun.
This pale piece of a screenwriter's attempt at converting the powerful series to film left much to be desired.Joel Grey portrays the Master of Sinanju, Chiun with perfection (how else could he be portrayed?) and Fred Ward does an admirable job at playing Remo, but the cast is restricted by a screenplay that doesn't have a real villain.
effectively America's only real answer to James bond.superb action/comedy only made imperfect by an overly long pursuit/ending(the log anyone's a real shame this film wasn't made into a franchise as it is the perfect antidote to Ian Fleming's fantastical ego trip that is James bond(a 2-d cut out character that could not possible exist in the real world)master Chin as the arrogant wise man(opposed to humble) is ingenious,a is Kate McGraw as the spunky idealistic heroine(good career move as she was in danger of being typecast as a man eating you know what.Ward is obviously a great action/comedy lead and the support of Preston and Bradley are great turns.in particular McClearys character makes this film all the more endearing {a tall dignified afro-Caribbean English man(very Conservative)}.The style of the film appeals to the younger audience and there is plenty of wit for the more mature.although the humour does fall at times and can be rightly criticised for not having enough action for a flick of this nature, i think the intension was to use this film as an introduction of the characters for their continuing adventures.Satan's score is also inspiring,make on Joel grey is great and the Jewelled toothed henchmen make this in my arrogant opinion the action comedy of the 1980's along with Howard the duck en naturally.
Guy Hamilton is known for his great Bond movies - Goldfinger and Live and Let Die, but his direction can't save some bad acting by Fred Ward and questionable casting of Joel Grey as a Korean assassin.
Renamed Remo Williams, the officer is trained in ancient martial arts by master Chiun while Harold Smith using his impressively connected computer system to track the actions of George Grove – a connected and powerful man in the military but also incredibly corrupt.
It also has a great sense of fun – nobody is taking it too seriously and it allows some of the sillier stuff to work for what it is without it detracting from the material; hence, for example, guard dogs managing to keep up with Remo is "funny" rather than "dumb".The final third of the film is not quite as good but only because the plot is a bit clunky and it does lose a certain amount of its energy.
i can only speak for myself,but i enjoyed this movie.i thought it moved along at a good clip.Fred Ward was good as the title character,but Joel Grey was a real hoot as his Korean mentor Chiun.Wifred Brimley plays the head of the organisation that recruits Remo.Kate Mulgrew(Captain Janeway in Star Trek Voyager)is also in the movie.even though i liked the movie,i didn't fell it was very substantial,and after watching it,it felt incomplete.i suspect they were hoping to do a franchise,but the movie wasn't a commercial success,so they abandoned the idea.too bad,because it would have been good to see Remo progress in his training and take on new adventures.for me,Remo Williams:The Adventure Begins is an 8/10.
Joel Grey portrayed Chiun as well as I could have hoped, and Fred Ward gave a great New Yorker performance as Remo.
Fred Ward as Remo and Joel Grey as the Korean (!) master are very likeable (their scenes together are very funny), there are some good action scenes, and Kate Mulgrew, out of place as she seems in this movie, isn't nearly as annoying as Kate Capshaw was in "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom.""Citizen Kane" it ain't, but if you just want to be entertained, this movie will fit the bill, and then some..
Remo Williams (played by Fred Ward of Tremors fame) is the destroyer, a man that learns martial arts from an angry and condescending Korean master named "chiung".
Fred Ward is very good as 'Remo', as is Joel Grey as 'Chiun', his soap opera-loving Korean mentor.
It's the same old story about good guys who behind closed doors just want money, blah, blah...But thanks tho the chemistry between Ward and Grey, this film excels in the training scenes, which are the heart of the film.The banter between Chiun and Williams is priceless, and at first it's because they dislike each other, then toward the end of the film, it's out of a father/son relationship.It's a shame that the rest of the cast are so very poor, and add nothing to the rest of the film.Set pieces are good, the statue of liberty scene is filmed amazingly, but what else would you expect from a director of so many Bond films.It drags a little toward the end, but it's well worth two hours of your time..
So why not turn to men's paperbacks, like The Destroyer, a series of 152 books written by the team of Warren Murphy and Richard Sapir (as well as some ghostwriters) that have 30 million books in print?Sam Makin (Fred Ward, The Right Stuff) was a tough New York City cop who died in the line of duty before being resurrected as Remo Williams, now the CURE organization's front man in the war against the enemies of the United States.
Now with a new face, no fingerprints and training in the assassination skill known as Sinanju from the Korean martial artist Chiun (Joel Grey, who is not Asian and is actually a Jewish man from Cleveland), Remo is ready to battle corrupt weapons dealers and save Kate Mulgrew's military officer character.I've been begging Becca to watch this movie for years and she responded to it by asking, "Was this a real movie or one of those ones you like that no one knew about?" It was an actual movie.
The paperback series, created by Warren Murphy and Richard Sapir, told the story of secret government agent Remo Williams and his trainer Chiun and their adventures.
Makin is renamed "Remo Williams" and a Korean martial arts master named Chiun (Joel Grey) is entrusted with training him until he is skilled enough to be an agent.