[.ca] Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins...

The greatest:
Yes, this is the greatest. I have a list of my favorite 30 or 40 movies and TV shows ever and this is at the very, very, very top. I have a good memory too, for movies and toons. I would remember if I had EVER seen something better. First, note that it is based on a series of novels called "The Destroyer" by Sapir and Murphy. It has an active website, www.sianju.com (I believe... I may have misspelled it). This movie may be 20 years old and the first destroyer books older, but they are STILL MAKING THEM! Over 130 books, each one averaging maybe 200 or 250 pages... the story of Remo may in fact be the longest story ever told. Now, that said, you will either agree or disagree with me. You may or may not be impressed with the special effects, or the story, or the humor. The ending is the greatest, though. Sure, you can see the 6 or 8 foot wide platform under the water and make out its edges also from the way the waves ricochet along the surface of the water, but the IDEA is brilliant and terribly funny. Here are these military guys who have lived their whole lives in the real world, shooting with real guns and understanding power on those terms, and suddenly, out of the blue, they bear witness to something that maybe... no ordinary mortal is meant to see. I also like the bullet dodging. It's really irritating how they slow things down and make it look fake like in The Matrix and other recent things. This is REAL bullet dodging, dagnammit. The character Chiun surely inspired so many other characters from other movies (Pat Morita's character in Karate kid, for instance), Japanese animation (Kamesennin from Dragonball for instance), and well, all sorts of other things (well, plenty of video games for sure), it is hard to even imagine. He is the very-old-man-invincible-martial-arts-master who says arcane, silly all the time, that has almost become a stereotype over the years. Joel Grey does an amazing job as this humorous, incredibly arrogant and insulting old man who one would say to have a superiority complex if he were not in fact superior, and you just know that things will turn out all right when he's around. Some may say this movie oozes with testosterone, and to that I say, YES! But in a good way. The DVD's only special feature, unfortunately, is the preview to the movie. That's because this was made in 1985, on analog technology, and before the era of keeping around extra features for use in later releases (such as outtakes, behind the scenes looks, etcetera).

Remo is a fun film to escape to:
This film does not take itself seriously and you shouldn't either. Remo Williams is a lot of fun and it aspires to be nothing more than that which is great. Because of rising production costs, among other things, have forced studios to stay clear of movies that are made just for fun and focus on huge CGI effects blockbusters or long boring oscar winning dramas. All the easy going films that were so common in the 80's have gone away and it's a shame. Part of what makes Remo so great is that there is a complete lack of huge explotions, car wrecks, wire stunt action scenes, or CGI monsters. Remo spends more of its time dealing with the work of becoming a hero which, in this writer's opinion, is much more interesting. I have never read the Destroyer series but you really don't have to to enjoy Remo. If you're looking for a giant action laced movie you may want to keep looking but if you are in the mood to see a fun, more grounded, how to become a hero, sort of film, Remo is perfect.

Just the Worst drivel that anyone with a camera can put out:
Never have a seen a movie go nowhere in such a long drawn out dtoryline such as this one. The acting is simply pathetic and that doesn't help a plot that is about as dense as a patch of grass. It blows me away that actual human beings took time out of their busy schedule of breathing, eating and sleeping to actually make this movie in the first place and then follow up and put out a DVD. I do have some good news however. This movie did make a top 10 list of mine. Actually maybe even top 3 when it comes to wasting money that could easily have been spent on much more worthwile things such as wigs, polyester suits and root canals. Listen if you are thinking of buying this movie DON'T!!! Instead send me half the money for the cost of the DVD as I will summarize the movie for you right here. SUMMARY: Movie Begins, you will fall in and out of slumber for the next 90+ minutes and when you wake up you will be surprised that you are still at the same point the movie began.

His name was Remo and...:
First-this movie is far from getting it right.But just the fact that it was even attempted is enough for any Destroyer fan.I've always been a great fan of the paperback series-any series with a charachter like Chiun (pronounced CHYEEWN not CHYUN)can't go wrong.They at many times beat the world news on events that were going to happen.I really liked the movie in spite of itself.Grey did as fine a job as probably humanly possible for a cauc-ie actor portraying a nearly un-portrayable oriental charachter.The villains were alot like you encounter in the books ie: men in power who don't know what real power is and therefore must find out the hard way.Whoever cast Brumley (no offence to Wilford) is an idiot.Oh,and Kate was great-she stepped right outta the series-fine lady,beautiful woman & a wonderful actress.Alas, no sex or even full nudal frontity or even jellified villains eating their own firing guns with no hands,but hey,it's a Dick Clark production,and that's the reason why...and Guy,you Hamilton!!why could'nt you bring as much style and excitement to this as you did for Goldfingah.Which reminds me the theme song and soundtrack is sub-par to say the least.Who could write and sing a cool song out of a title like Remo Williams:The Adventure Begins,anyway.It should have been called His name was Remo and the script should have followed #1Created,The Destroyer up until the execution scene.Gotta admit the rest of this movie is really cool especially the carney played by William Hickey.

Fun Film - Would Benefit from a Sequel:
A late-night cable favorite since its creation, REMO WILLIAMS has always been close to my heart and revisiting this DVD recently reignited my wishes for a sequel. REMO WILLIAMS' strong point has always been its weakness as well. "The Adventure Begins" the title tells us up front, and presents a tale devoted almost entirely to character origin and development. Whereas lesser films would have thrown in a training montage across three minutes of film, Remo's lasts ninety. And it's not even over. Never "ready" to be unleashed as the assassin he's meant to be, Remo Williams spends the entirety of the film under Chiun's tutelage, forced into action only by circumstance. Only in the final minutes does he seem ready to begin the life he has been designed for. How does this affect the film? Well, it will feel downright slow for the Fast and Furious generation weaned on quick-cut, shallow films like XXX which speed along from one explosion to the next. For those of us who used to read way back when and enjoyed seeing these pulpy characters fleshed out onscreen - as well as those of us who dug Kung Fu Theatre on Sunday afternoons (check out KILL BILL Vol 2's "Cruel Tutelage of Pai Mai" sequence for the heavy influence of Chiun), it means this is a simultaneous delight and letdown (the latter only because, realistically, we know there will never be a sequel to continue this story). My only other minor criticism of REMO WILLIAMS is its relatively bloodless onscreen presentation. Not that I'm looking for gore, but for an assassination film, this one is very tame. On the upside, one could feel very comfortable sharing this film with pre-teen action enthusiasts. The REMO WILLIAMS DVD is a bare bones, full-screen affair, but at its bargain price, who can really complain? You know what you're getting and it looks better than a TV re-run. A deluxe edition DVD would be nice but this viewer isn't holding his breath.