Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins (1985)

User Rating:

5.9/10   

Director:

Guy Hamilton

Writers:

Warren Murphy (novel)
Richard Sapir (novel)

Release Date:

11 October 1985 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Comedy | Crime | Thriller

Tagline:

A hero who doesn't exist must save America from an enemy we never knew we had.

Plot:

An officially "dead" cop is trained to become an extraordinarily unique assassin in service of the US president.

Plot Keywords:

Assassin | Ancient Korean Martial Art | Korean | Female Military Officer | Kung Fu

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 3 nominations

Cast

Fred Ward	...	Remo Williams
Joel Grey	...	Chiun
Wilford Brimley	...	Harold Smith
J.A. Preston	...	Conn MacCleary
George Coe	...	Gen. Scott Watson
Charles Cioffi	...	George Grove
Kate Mulgrew	...	Maj. Rayner Fleming
Patrick Kilpatrick	...	Stone
Michael Pataki	...	Jim Wilson
Davenia McFadden	...	NYC traffic control cop
Cosie Costa	...	Pvt. Damico
J.P. Romano	...	Boomer #1
Joel Kramer	...	Boomer #2 (as Joel J. Kramer)
Frank Ferrara	...	Boomer #3
Marv Albert	...	Sports announcer (voice)

Also Known As:

Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins... (USA) (alternative title)
Remo: The Adventure Begins... (USA) (poster title)
Remo: The First Adventure (USA) (poster title)
Remo: Unarmed and Dangerous (UK)

Runtime:

121 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Singapore:PG | Germany:16 | Australia:M | Iceland:14 | Iceland:16 (video rating) | Argentina:16 | Chile:18 | Finland:K-16 | Norway:16 | Sweden:15 | UK:15 | USA:PG-13 | West Germany:16

Filming Locations:

Coney Island, Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA

Trivia:

Some of the actors who auditioned for the part of Remo Williams claimed to be proficient in the martial art of Sinanju, not realizing it was a fiction derived from the Destroyer novels on which the movie was based.

Goofs:

Audio/visual unsynchronized: When Remo is hanging on the log and Grove is shooting at him with the machine gun from the Jeep, there is gunfire but the gun isn't firing.

Quotes:

Conn MacCleary: Didn't I tell you? We don't use that 'bang bang' stuff. Your mind and your body become your weapon. That's what your new pal Chiun is going to teach you.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Ultraviolet (2006)

Soundtrack:

Remo's theme (What If)

This is an 80's action film, not the Matrix...

Look all you movie snobs out there. This is a classic 80's action flick and nothing more. Sure there were some effects, but that is not the focus of the story. It is the interplay between Remo and Chuin that makes this one shine. It has classic and memorable lines. And, it was good enough for major plot points to be stolen later by the writers of the Matrix and Men in Black. If you want better action sequences, see those. If you want to see 80's action in all of its glory, get this one. One last point: It is sad that the DVD doesn't have a Widescreen option.