Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins

release year: 1985
genre: action/adventure
viewing setting: home DVD, 5/9/04

synopsis: An average guy gets recruited by a top-secret spy organization, and receives some mysterious but effective training.

impressions: This is based on the Destroyer series of action novels, which number in the hundreds and are probably written by several different people. No matter. This movie is fairly true to the original concept: take a tough cop with no family, fake his death, give him superhuman training, and turn him loose on various bad guys. I really liked the training scenes - a good mix of almost-plausible feats and humor. The overall plot - something involving an evil weapons contractor and the Army - is a little weak, but this is excusable.

things to watch for: The fight on the statue of Liberty was pretty good.

something this movie has that no other movie has: An ancient Korean man who can dodge bullets.

acting: Fred Ward is good as the title character, a guy who at first can't believe what's happening, but slowly and grudgingly comes to enjoy it. Joel Grey is the star of the show, though, as the wizened martial-arts master Chiun; he's serious one minute, funny the next. Wilford Brimley appears as the head of their secret organization. Kate Mulgrew (later to be Captain Janeway on Star Trek: voyager) makes a pre-fame appearance as an inquisitive Army major.

final word: A worthy book adaption, and a good action/humor movie in its own right.

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