When a street-smart NYPD cop (Fred Ward) regains consciousness after a bizarre mugging, he has a new face and a new identity! Now heÂ's Remo Williams, the #1 recruit of a top-secret organization, and heÂ's toppli... more »ng evil at every turn Â? even atop the Statue of Liberty Â? in this Â"spectacular and funny adventure filmÂ" (Gene Siskel, Chicago Tribune)! Trained by a quirky Korean martial arts master (Joel Grey) to dodge bullets, brave terrifying heights and thwart attackers with his bare hands, Remo becomes the ultimate criminal exterminator. But when he faces off against a corrupt millionaire and his army of henchmen, the real adventure begins!« less
Brad S. (Snibot) from DALLAS, TX Reviewed on 2/5/2010...
This is one of my favorite action movies. Fred Ward is excellent as Remo Williams a half believable action hero. Kate Mulgrew has a great run at Mjr. Flemming, I imagine a great deal of inspiration from Cpt. Janeway came from this role. Joel Grey is simply hilarious as Chiun, and increasingly believable as a martial arts instructor.
This movie really has a bit of everything, it isn't quite Rambo, but not as hookie as Terminator. Excellent example of the genre, my only complaint is that they don't have any more of the books changed into movies, the translation was superb.
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James E. from ERIE, PA Reviewed on 8/15/2009...
It's really a fun adventure. Fred Ward and Joel Grey make the movie. There are some moments of forgivness you got to give, but hey, it's an action movie. Wish the made more. (They wrote tons of books on this series)
1 of 1 member(s) found this review helpful.
Movie Reviews
4 Stars for the movie, 1 star for the DVD!
Lulu | The Rat's Mouth, USA | 08/13/2003
(2 out of 5 stars)
"I can't tell you how disappointed I was when Remo Williams FINALLY was released to DVD and MGM had the temerity to release it in FULL-FRAME (pan and scan) rather than widescreen in its original theatrical aspect ratio! It's 2003, MGM...people are savvier about film than they used to be, and we want to see our favorite films the way they were originally presented in the theater! I don't even demand "extras" like commentary or making-of documentaries...just a crisp transfer in anamorphic widescreen with enhanced sound. Is that so much to ask?Four stars for the movie "Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins" - a wonderfully engaging '80s action-adventure flick that doesn't take itself too seriously, featuring terrific performances by Fred Ward and Joel Grey - and one star for the crummy presentation it received on DVD. Remo deserves so much better than this."
I loved it
Alexander E. Paulsen | Jacksonville, Fl United States | 07/18/2003
(4 out of 5 stars)
"I saw this in the theater when it came out and anxiously awaited the sequels. This is one movie where the sequel would have probably been a much better movie if for no other reason than actors and director would get into The Destroyer legend.I loved the books at least up until Richard Sapir passed away. The books were fun, funny and contained much social satire. They were gems of wit and wisdom.Basically it is about a cop recruited to be a supersecret agent for the government for an agency called CURE. The theory being that the President needed a tool to combat evil that could be fought only by violating the Constitution. Of course Presidents now boast about violating the constitution but these stories are from a more innocent age.In the movie Fred Ward is perfectly cast as Remo Williams named in a very amusing way - "We put a lot of thought into it."
Joel Gray does a marvelous job of Chiun the Master of Sinanju the latest in a line of assasins dating back a millenia or two. Sinanju being the "sun source of all martial arts".Wilford Brimly is probably the biggest departure from the books cast as Harold Smith. In the series Smith was a much more interesting character and the interplay between him and Remo is always entertaining.Overall the plot was weak. Iw ould have rather had them adapt one of the many stories from the book series. I just never felt that Grove was that evil a guy worthy of accelerating Remo's mission. Patrick Kilpatrick was a great villan - muscle man "Stone". I particularly enjoyed the scene where Remo uses Stone's special feature to escape from a gas chamber.The film was well structured I thought with equal amounts of Remo's training and mission, Joel Gray doing a wonderful Chiun, soap operas and all.I thought it was a good first effort. Had they kept it up I am sure they would have gotten the hang of it and the movies gotten better and better. I downrated the DVD mainly because of the format. so-called "fullscreen" is really only a half a screen. I did not buy the DVD just for that reason. I have an old copy on Betamax that I still watch twice a year or so.There are no significant bonus features on the disk as was pointed out by a previous reviewer. This is just about inexcusable these days.If my Beta tape ever weasr out I may be forced to buy a disk, but until then maybe MGM will get their heads out of you know where and re-release this movie properly."
Depends on if you're a fan of the book or not.
James Vitale | Florida, United States | 04/26/2001
(4 out of 5 stars)
"This film gets a lot of bad commentary by people who did not read the book series that it was based on. The.......... review has this problem as well. This movie was based on a series that currently has 123+ books in it. If you are a fan of the books, the character acting by Joel Grey and Fred Ward is pretty right on, not a political correctness faux pas as the review suggests. It was not stereotypical acting, but a near perfect depiction of a character whose personality has developed over the course of a 100+ books. Yes, the action scenes are a little lukewarm primarily because it was not really possible to depict the capabilities of the book characters with the technology of the time. If you are a Destroyer fan, you will most likely love this movie and the life it brings to Chuin and Remo, and even Harold Smith (although Wilford Brimley is a little too portly to be the gaunt, perfectly groomed Smith, although he accomplishes the lemonyness perfectly)."
A Great Beginning to A Great Adventure...But Will The Adven
L. Shirley | fountain valley, ca United States | 10/17/2005
(4 out of 5 stars)
"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!