The President's Man (2000)

Purely Joyful Movie!

Blending excellent reporting and strong storytelling, this is a disturbing film truly stranger than fiction

Very good movie overall, highly recommended. Most of the negative reviews don't have any merit and are all pollitically based. Give this movie a chance at least, and it might give you a different perspective.

Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

This is an old-fashioned movie, although the technology has a role: the satellite used to track the Columbian facility, otherwise there are '80s rock, a Vietnamese officer and memories of the Vietnamese war, fights in the Columbian forest …. The 1st scene is of Norris teaching about Bushido and the samurai's behavior. He has a daughter who's half Vietnamese. He meets again his Vietnamese enemy, the killer of his wife, in the Columbian forest; and maybe this unexpected encounter with an aged enemy is the decisive moment in the samurai's life that Norris was teaching about in the opening. The movie makes much of the training of the next man of the president, which is bland enough that even the few funny moments seem genuinely humorous. A president's man is assigned missions like rescuing the president's wife, or a congressman's daughter held hostage by a creepy cult, or a scientist kidnapped by the drugs cartel.These assignments take the warrior in Rio, in Columbia, and even Vietnam is somewhat brought in the Columbian forest …. A silly script, lackluster and clumsy storytelling, and a bland role for Norris, here as a martial arts teacher, and what he has to do is look like a walking sphinx; and the story takes a very chaste view: sexless characters, no blooming romance, with the new trustee choosing the job, not, as one might of expected, an idyll with the Vietnamese liaison.Like many of the '30s cowboys, like many of the '80s fighters, Norris wasn't an actor, but a showman. Fortunately, he doesn't try to act. So, if you enjoy his generic character, you will also enjoy his roles.One may ask whether Norris didn't deserve a career's twilight more like Wayne's, i.e., more dignified. But did Bronson, or others, got one? This movie, with its crass pompous militarism, has been made for children. The fights are bloodless, the movie is enjoyable (if you need to see another movie with Norris, or are an unpretentious kid) and mostly mediocre; the dialogues, stilted and sometimes mindless, as when Norris attributes his disciple's indiscipline on his … survival instinct, when it was heroic impulsiveness.I liked it for what it is, a modest unintelligent militarist show, a 3rd hand version of the Republican creed, the fights are exciting though ordinary.

I gave it an 8 out of 10 because it does (as others have noted) follow the old formula of the Mentor (Norris) training the next generation (Neal) as his eventual replacement. Certainly there are similarities between it and other like minded films and of course his character is very much like his character in Walker Texas Ranger. That said I enjoyed it as what it was meant to be. Pure escapism entertainment. Made for TV movies do have smaller budgets than the big box office features so naturally you get what you pay for. Also part of it I think is the difference in picture quality between TV and big screen movies. A TV image has around 280 scan lines per second to maintain the image, but a DVD (yes it's out on DVD now) has around twice that many. Also if something is misaligned (say for a blue screen effect) for the small screen (TV) it's not as noticeable since the screen is smaller. The same misalignment for the big screen (theater) would be a very noticeable thing though. In short the movie people put more work into a film for the big screen because they have more time, money, and errors are more likely to be caught on the big screen. This movie is what it is, a made for TV 90 minute escape from everyday life. You can't judge a movie made for TV by the same criteria as you would one made for the big screen. Plus the man was 60 yrs old already when he made it. How many people would still have the stamina to act like he did in this one at that age? Arnold Schwarzenegger is just 7 yrs younger than Mr. Norris and he has gone into politics. Probably because he recognizes his own human limits and that he's not the young man he was when he made Conan and the Terminator.

This is one of the best Made For TV action movies I have ever seen. It is not WB sugar coated and it is extremely violent. It is also better than a lot of the direct to DVD movies I rent. There is plenty of martial arts and gun battles for the average action fan and Chuck Norris does his thing. The first 15 minutes and the final 30 minutes are fantastic TV for Norris fans. The middle of the movie is fun as we watch Chuck teach his young protégé and then rescue him from an almost botched mission. It was also cool seeing Chuck square off against Soon Tek Oh, his enemy from Missing in Action II. Another great thing about this DVD is that it is enhanced for widescreen HDTVs, so you do not have to watch it in 4:3 standard or 4:3 expanded. To those people who rate this flick poorly, remember, this was a CBS TV movie with a limited budget. Please do not compare this to Chuck's theatrical releases like Delta Force or Lone Wolf McQuade. For an old dude, Chuck still rules.

If you have seen even one of Norris's former horror shows AKA films, or his disgusting series "Walker, Texas Ranger" than you have seen this film's plot already, and it's outcome. It even has the same lame sound track that tries to inspire people in the American way. All it inspired me to do was change the channel. I will never understand how these films get funded and produced. I know dead people that can write better scripts! Please, warn all you know about this mess! Avoid it at all costs, and for god's sake, keep the children away from it!!!