Bullet Points: The President’s Man

Made for TV movies were at one time a staple of the major broadcast networks. Over the years the broadcast networks have moved away from them and now made for TV movies are almost exclusively found on cable televison.

But in the year 2000, CBS was still making made for TV movies and they turned to Chuck Norris, the star of one of their long running series Walker Texas Ranger, to star in the The President’s Man…

• Back to School: Chuck Norris plays Professor Joshua McCord… when we first see him Joshua McCord is lecturing his class on the code of honor and morals developed by the Japanese samurai (Bushido for those in the know). But we quickly find out that being a college professor is only his day job… McCord is actually the President’s Man, a secret agent/super soldier who is called in to covertly take care of sensitive missions that the United States can disavow any knowledge of if needed.

• The First Lady: The President does not reach out directly to McCord, instead Joshua’s daughter, Que (Jennifer Tung, Kung Pow: Enter the Fist) serves as the intermediary. When some terrorists take the First Lady hostage while she is in Rio de Janeiro for a conference and then demand 100 million dollars in weapons so they can overthrow the Brazilian government, the President makes it clear that his administration does not negotiate with terrorists. Instead President Mathews (Ralph Waite, Cliffhanger) reaches out to Que and it isn’t long before Joshua McCord is on board a stealth fighter, then parachuting out over Rio and landing on the roof of the swanky hotel that the First Lady is being held captive in. The entire action packed rescue mission takes place before the first commercial break and was a perfect way to hook viewers for the remainder of the movie.
• Getting Too Old For This Shit: Once he returns to Texas after successfully rescuing the First Lady, Joshua McCord pays a visit to his mentor George Williams (Stuart Whitman in his final role). We learn that George was the President’s Man before Joshua and Joshua asks his mentor how he knew it was time to retire. George tells Joshua he will know, but before he can even consider retiring he needs to find a replacement.

• The Tradition Continues: Cut to Bogota, Colombia, where we meet Sgt. Deke Anderson (Dylan Neal). Deke is a part of a mission to rescue some innocent women and children from a drug kingpin’s compound and things go a little side ways and Deke has a verbal (and eventual physical) altercation with his commanding officer. And even though the mission ends up being a success… Deke finds himself court martialed and sentenced to no less than 7 years in prison. A few months in to his sentence, Deke finds himself at odds with some white supremacists in the prison. Deke ends up killing the ring leader of the bigots in self defense, but all the other white supremacists tell another story and now Deke is facing 30 years in prison!
• Second Chance: Fortunately for Deke, his file is flagged on Que’s super computer and after realizing the charges against Deke are bullshit, she confers with her father and next thing you know, Que is visiting Deke in prison. Deke is not filled in on everything during their initial meeting, but the possibility of having his record expunged and being a free man again is too good for Deke to pass up, so he travels to Texas to meet Professor Joshua McCord. From there Deke is tested and put through the paces, which means we get some montages as Joshua and Que decide if Deke has what it takes to be the President’s Man.

• The Final Exam: As we enter the third act of the movie, Joshua once again gets word that his services are needed this time in Medellín, Colombia… an area of the world his protégé Deke is familiar with. In fact this mission involves Santiago, the very drug kingpin that Deke was dealing with when we first met him. To add some personal stakes for Joshua, Santiago is doing shady business involving weapons grade plutonium with General Vinh Tran (Soon-Tek Oh, Missing in Action 2: The Beginning)… someone Joshua has a past with from his time serving in Vietnam.

The President’s Man jams a lot into its 90 minute runtime, which makes it fly by. And despite the fact that it was a made for TV movie, there were some big action set pieces to grab your attention and keep your attention. The movie had a definite Remo Williams vibe and thanks to Christopher L. Stone’s score, a James Bond vibe as well.

After watching The President’s Man, I felt like I got much more than just a TV movie. And if you want more of this review, check out these Bonus Bullet Points…

• Familiar Face: Thomas Rosales Jr. played one of Santiago’s soldiers that Deke has to eliminate during his mission in Bogota. Rosales has been in countless action movies as both and actor and as a stunt performer including Speed, Tremors II: Aftershocks and Traxx.
• If You Ever: …wanted to see Chuck Norris slice an apple in half with a katana, then The President’s Man is the movie for you.
• Sequel: A sequel to The President’s Man premiered on January 20, 2002 titled The President’s Man: A Line in the Sand. Dylan Neal did not reprise the role of Deke Slater for the sequel as the two sides could not come together on money. Judson Mills, who played Francis Gage on the final two seasons of Walker Texas Ranger, stepped in the role of Deke Slater.