Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins (1985)
January 23, 2025 1:31 PM - Subscribe
An officially "dead" cop is trained to become an extraordinary unique assassin in service of the US President.
Nature snubbed you cruelly when She denied you Korean birth.
Nature snubbed you cruelly when She denied you Korean birth.
God this movie is so ridiculous, but I love it. Fred Ward, Wilford Brimley, even Joel Grey (unfortunately in yellow face). One of those movies that I just can't help enjoying.
posted by miss-lapin at 5:43 PM on January 23 [6 favorites]
posted by miss-lapin at 5:43 PM on January 23 [6 favorites]
I tried watching this a few weeks ago. I had forgotten about Joel Grey's role. That's as far as I made it. I remember thinking it was a bit of a dud when it first came out, so...
posted by under_petticoat_rule at 6:33 PM on January 23 [1 favorite]
posted by under_petticoat_rule at 6:33 PM on January 23 [1 favorite]
I watched this on VHS as a kid and thought it was awesome. My wife had never heard of it, so we watched it as middle-aged adults and... it mostly held up. The yellow face is very unfortunate, but we couldn't help laughing at Fred Ward getting roughed up during training. It helps that the movie is knowingly a bit of a spoof, rather than deadly serious and/or unintentionally campy, like most other action movies of the time. My favorite bit is Remo using the henchman's diamond tooth to cut glass.
posted by mrphancy at 7:22 PM on January 23 [5 favorites]
posted by mrphancy at 7:22 PM on January 23 [5 favorites]
Not just yellowface, but a really bad misuse of Joel Grey's talents. Which is too bad, because Fred Ward is the opposite of all the stereotypical musclebound action heroes of the 80s.
posted by Halloween Jack at 10:09 PM on January 23 [2 favorites]
posted by Halloween Jack at 10:09 PM on January 23 [2 favorites]
It is very much a movie 11 year old me enjoyed. It was a perennial on free weekends of the costly pay channels when I was a kid. Saw it maybe 2 or 3 times at least? I can't imagine it'd hold up for adult me what with my rarified and sophisticated tastes (I just finished watching this tonight so yeah...) When I was a bit older I read a couple of the books (did you know it is a long running men's action series, called the Destroyer?) borrowed from my weird uncle and I found them unchallenging and silly but I could see the appeal. There is a TV pilot "sequel / reboot" with Roddy MacDowell as the Chiun character which is somehow worse than the Joel Grey version.
posted by Ashwagandha at 10:55 PM on January 23 [1 favorite]
posted by Ashwagandha at 10:55 PM on January 23 [1 favorite]
This is another film that I remember watching as a kid, and then Shepherd and I rewatched a few years ago.
The Joel Grey yellowface is extremely inappropriate but damn, Fred Ward was great. I mean, Remo Williams/Tremors Fred Ward can 100% get it. I think the thing I was surprised by the most was that it felt like a serious action movie to me as a child but as an adult, I am like oh shit this is totally a send-up.
posted by Kitteh at 3:37 AM on January 24 [3 favorites]
The Joel Grey yellowface is extremely inappropriate but damn, Fred Ward was great. I mean, Remo Williams/Tremors Fred Ward can 100% get it. I think the thing I was surprised by the most was that it felt like a serious action movie to me as a child but as an adult, I am like oh shit this is totally a send-up.
posted by Kitteh at 3:37 AM on January 24 [3 favorites]
If you like Fred Ward, you might try Cast a Deadly Spell-a noir alt history where magic is widely practiced in 1940's LA. Also starring David Warner, Julianne Moore, And Clancy Brown.
posted by miss-lapin at 3:53 AM on January 24 [5 favorites]
posted by miss-lapin at 3:53 AM on January 24 [5 favorites]
Oh, we watched that not too long after because it was firmly in my wheelhouse: noir with a side of Lovecraftian menace!
I remember seeing that one originally on HBO!
posted by Kitteh at 4:21 AM on January 24 [1 favorite]
I remember seeing that one originally on HBO!
posted by Kitteh at 4:21 AM on January 24 [1 favorite]
That's where I saw it too!
posted by miss-lapin at 4:37 AM on January 24 [1 favorite]
posted by miss-lapin at 4:37 AM on January 24 [1 favorite]
Cast A Deadly Spell is great! Fred Ward is/was underrated.
posted by mrphancy at 6:16 AM on January 24 [3 favorites]
posted by mrphancy at 6:16 AM on January 24 [3 favorites]
I haven't seen it since the '90s, but still holding out hope that "Professional assassination is the highest form of public service" remains a movie quotation and not the way of things
posted by uphc at 6:28 AM on January 24 [3 favorites]
posted by uphc at 6:28 AM on January 24 [3 favorites]
See, here’s the thing…
When I thought to make this FanFare post, I knew it would draw engagement.
There’s something about this movie that endears it to people.
posted by Lemkin at 6:34 AM on January 24 [2 favorites]
When I thought to make this FanFare post, I knew it would draw engagement.
There’s something about this movie that endears it to people.
posted by Lemkin at 6:34 AM on January 24 [2 favorites]
I'm fairly certain I saw this multiple times as a kid in the 80s, both on a free-HBO weekend and I think my parents owned the VHS, but I remember nothing about it except two things: a flawed weapon by the shady defense contractor blows up and kills a soldier, and the Joel Grey character walks on water at the end? Unless I'm remembering and combining other movies. That's probably a vote for why it never became a launchpad for the Remo Williams universe, it's just a pulpy action film ready for the post-golf-tournament Sunday slot on your local CBS affiliate.
posted by AzraelBrown at 6:42 AM on January 24 [1 favorite]
posted by AzraelBrown at 6:42 AM on January 24 [1 favorite]
Yes! Love it. Even though the bad guy plot was pretty lame, Ward and Gray were great. Soundtrack pretty good too. I enjoyed a dozen or two of the books from the series back then, too.
posted by davidmsc at 9:27 AM on January 24 [2 favorites]
posted by davidmsc at 9:27 AM on January 24 [2 favorites]
It's been decades since I've seen this movie but I remember enjoying it in much the same way that I enjoy watching Big Trouble In Little China (the pair of these movies would probably make a good double-feature for a night in, given that they both are send-ups of 80s action movies and were both released in 1985). A quick glance at Wikipedia reveals that Joel Grey's yellowface make-up was nominated for an Academy Award. YEESH!
posted by KingEdRa at 11:31 AM on January 24 [5 favorites]
posted by KingEdRa at 11:31 AM on January 24 [5 favorites]
*Sob* I briefly thought they'd made a prequel to "Remo: Unarmed and Dangerous" but it's just an alternative title.
posted by TheophileEscargot at 4:47 AM on January 25 [1 favorite]
posted by TheophileEscargot at 4:47 AM on January 25 [1 favorite]
I only very rarely watch broadcast television anymore, but this was one of my "will stop and watch" films whenever it popped up when I was a kid. Somehow I've never bought a copy of it! And now, reading about Joel Grey and yellowface... hrrrm.
posted by cupcakeninja at 9:10 AM on January 25 [1 favorite]
posted by cupcakeninja at 9:10 AM on January 25 [1 favorite]
ALSO! Wilford Brimley delivers this iconic quote from equally iconic Charlie Russell: "Guard, protect and cherish your land, for there is no afterlife for a place that started out as Heaven."
posted by davidmsc at 3:16 PM on January 27 [1 favorite]
posted by davidmsc at 3:16 PM on January 27 [1 favorite]
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posted by funkaspuck at 1:49 PM on January 23 [7 favorites]