So I just watched another Guy Hamilton flick...
... and I'm discovering that this guy's non-Bond resume is pretty darn good. The film is REMO WILLIAMS: THE ADVENTURE BEGINS. At this point I've seen pretty much all of Guy's more high profile films - BATTLE OF BRITAIN, FORCE 10 FROM NAVARONE, EVIL UNDER THE SUN, and now REMO! The only one remaining now is the Harry Palmer sequel FUNERAL IN BERLIN. So far I've enjoyed all of Guy's films (though BATTLE OF BRITAIN perhaps less so) with NAVARONE and EUTS being my 2 favorites out of his non-Bond oeuvre.
Now as for REMO it's hardly a great film or even a very good one, and yet it has this strange and quirky charm to it which is somehow endearing. I mean how many films have we seen that follow a certain pattern or formula where we can pretty much guess what will happen next. This one is different and strangely unique. Fred Ward was never leading man material and yet he's somehow appropriate here. Someone called him a "blue collar James Bond" here and that's an apt description I think. Joel Grey as the Korean sensei is hysterical and actually the highlight of the film! The training scenes and the repartee between Ward and Grey are the heart of the film! In fact a large chunk of the film is basically a KARATE KID for grown-ups and it's better than the latter in every way. Even Grey's Chiun is more memorable than Pat Morita's Miyagi. It's funny how prominent THE KARATE KID is in the pantheon of 80s movies while this one is completely under the radar. While neither is a great film REMO is certainly the superior one. Just the dialogue/wit and the quirky situations (never mind the action set pieces) alone put this one over the top! Speaking of those quirky moments how many martial arts masters have you seen who are addicted to soap operas and who watch them while sitting on their index fingers? Or when did you ever see such clever and dogged (no pun intended) Dobermans that they would follow their quarry across a tightrope? Did you ever see a dog walk a tightrope? Not I. And then speaking of action set pieces, that fight on the scaffolding on the Statue of Liberty has GOT to be a first! Makes sense since I doubt getting a permit to film a movie on that site is an easy task. I'm still impressed that they got permission and for THIS movie in particular. This wasn't the Bond series or some other big popular franchise so I'm surprised that they actually were able to secure the site for this picture. The stunt work is truly impressive and worthy of a Bond film for sure!
The whole premise of this secret organization called CURE leaves a lot to be desired and some of the plot points are pretty haphazard but the action set pieces, the quirkiness, and the training stuff are spot-on and give this film the unique charm, without which the film would have been instantly forgettable. We essentially get an adult version of THE KARATE KID which I'll take any day over the kiddie version. The nighttime opening over New York City is cool and the looming Twin Towers remind us of days past and a more innocent America. Also I really dig the score - Remo's theme is really kick-ass patriotic!!
P.S. Any film that features Wilford Brimley (yes, the guy who was born old) is an automatic plus, and he's not even doing a DIA-BEETUS commercial here.
Connery, Moore, and Brosnan! Accept NO substitutes!