True Lies Reviews

Even though it is a rather weaker effort in Cameron's career, it was, at that time, the most expensive movie ever made (a recurring trademark in Cameron's work). Basically, it is a rather light and goofy action comedy with some rather impressive action scenes thanks to the massive budget mentioned before. As a matter of fact, it was also a remake of a French movie called 'La Totale' but it was barely seen abroad (I haven't even seen it myself to be honest). Eventually, I have re-watched this flick recently and I thought it was a decent watch. For once, it seems that James Cameron didn’t take himself too seriously and, in fact, it is his only film which could be described as a comedy (there is still tons of action though). Therefore, you have a rather odd mix. For example, you have the now iconic lapdance by Jamie Lee Curtis, a scene which is quite awesome on one hand, but on the other hand, it doesn’t make much sense to have all those spies trying to trick this housewife. On the other hand, at the end, you have this spectacular action scene with this plane and there was Eliza Dushku hanging there for maybe 15 minutes and, honestly, I wonder if it was really appropriate. Still, even though it is nothing really amazing, it remains a decent action-comedy and it is worth a look, especially if you like the genre.

This is quality drama.

*Arnold Schwarzenegger rides a horse into a elevator in a hotel*

"Could you press the button for the top floor please.... Thank you."

Arnold Schwarzenegger always brings the chopper.

....And, I mean, this is actually a really good movie.

My only complaint is that "Juno" is the name of an antagonist, but that's really no big deal, since the film itself is actually very Juno-y.... Junonian. Whatever.

I'm surprised with how much this movie impressed me.

(9/10)

"Well, you see, this is the problem with terrorists. They're really inconsiderate when it comes to people's schedules."

Mention the name James Cameron during a conversation and one will immediately evoke thoughts of The Terminator, Terminator 2, Aliens, The Abyss, Titanic, Avatar and True Lies. That's one hell of an impressive run of movies. Over the course of his career, James Cameron (with his infamous trait of perfectionism) has single-handedly created some of the greatest action and science fiction movies of recent times, and 1994's True Lies is without doubt one of the greatest actioners to emerge from Hollywood during the 1990s. In addition to this being a James Cameron film, it's an Arnold Schwarzenegger vehicle, and their respective styles work extremely well together.

When speculation was rampant in the early '90s about who the new James Bond should be, Arnold Schwarzenegger was considered to be one of the long shots. Pierce Brosnan eventually got the gig instead of Arnold, but those of you wanting to see how Arnold would've fared as Bond should look no further than True Lies, as the Austrian Oak portrays a very Bond-esque secret agent. With tongue firmly in cheek, the film commences with a Goldfinger parody as Schwarzenegger's character of Harry Tasker swims up to an elegant mansion to infiltrate a high-class party. When he dumps his wet suit, it's revealed that Harry is wearing a full tuxedo underneath. Very Bond.

Harry Tasker is a secret agent living a double life. At home with his wife Helen (Curtis) and daughter Dana (Dushku), he's a loving, meek husband and father. Harry's family has no clue about his actual line of work, since they believe his cover story of being a dull sales representative for a computer company. The main narrative thread concerns Harry's latest mission: he's on the trail of the leader of a dangerous Middle-Eastern terrorist syndicate who have acquired nuclear warheads with plans to blow up Miami (yes, but can they dance?). This, however, is perceived as a secondary problem to Harry because he's convinced that his long-neglected wife is having an affair.

A Hollywood remake of the 1991 French film La Totale (though an uncredited remake), True Lies is essentially a fast-moving satire of every action-adventure movie in history (most significantly taking cues from James Bond). Interestingly, Schwarzenegger was the one who convinced James Cameron to commandeer this movie. Once Arnie learned that a remake of La Totale had been sanctioned, he wanted the lead role. When he passed the script onto James Cameron, Arnold said he wanted to do the film because he found the protagonist to be interesting. Cameron was shocked, because it was very rare for Schwarzenegger to pick a script based on his interest in a character. Once Cameron entered the equation, he fired the original screenwriters and went about re-writing the script himself. Remember, this is the same guy who carries out his directorial duties while wearing a hat that reads "Head Motherfucker In Charge".

Cameron may spend more money than any other filmmaker (True Lies costed in excess of $100 million), but nobody delivers more bang for your buck. The director's action sequences are gargantuan objects of beauty handled with a phenomenal dexterity that's rarely seen. In addition to the utilisation of mind-blowing CGI for this movie (the special effects are practically seamless), a large portion of the action was pulled off with practical effects and stuntmen. The results are spectacular. True Lies may require a suspension of disbelief, but it's not difficult to overlook logic for the sake of sheer entertainment. Added to this, while True Lies reaffirmed Cameron's ability to keep viewers on the edge of their seats, the film also showed he was capable of making an audience laugh. One of the best things about True Lies is that it's utterly hilarious, with hysterical one-liners and a number of comedic situations. In comparison to the James Bond franchise, True Lies is far funnier. It's more violent, too, as this is an R-rated action film as opposed to a tame PG Bond flick.

Arnold Schwarzenegger is in top form here as Harry Tasker. Arnie has always possessed a gift for comedy, and True Lies provided ample opportunities for the star to put this gift to good use. It is a tribute to Schwarzenegger's burgeoning maturity as an actor that he pulled off one of his best and most appealing performances in this film without being shirtless at any point. Alongside Ah-nold, Jamie Lee Curtis is terrific as Helen. One particular exchange between Arnie and Curtis sums up the tone of the film quite well: when she finds out his identity as a spy, she asks if he's ever killed anyone, and Arnie replies "Yeah but they were all bad". Other highlights of the film include a wonderful comic turn by Tom Arnold as Schwarzenegger's right-hand man, in addition to Tia Carrere as a sexy femme fatale, the side-splitting Bill Paxton as a car salesman, Art Malik as an effective villain, and Charlton Heston who clearly had fun playing the one-eyed head spy honcho.

Granted, True Lies is too long at almost 140 minutes, and the relationship between Harry and Helen drags from time to time. Sure, the film is over-the-top and ridiculous as well. But I can live with that, because this is also a funny, action-packed blockbuster that's easy to recommend. It's Arnie's best work outside of being a prop for Cameron's Terminator movies.

8.8/10

Wow! What an extremely intense non-stop thrill ride this film really turned out to be. Before I saw True Lies I was definitely expecting from True Lies what I actually did about it after I saw it. What I really liked about this film was that the action was non-stop. It kept to grips with you all the way through. There isn't one single scene that doesn't bring you action, romance or tension between the characters. True Lies is without a doubt one of the ultimate Saturday night chill-out nights in front of the TV with a pizza. True Lies is a damn cool film that I personally think you will love for being what it is. There have been possiblities of a True Lies sequel without Cameron as director but possibly having Arnie, Jamie Lee Curtis, Bill Paxton and Elia Dushku in it too.


Arnold Schwarzenegger proves once again that he is one of the ultimate action heroes of all time. He always looks great in an action film whether its True Lies, Predator or The Terminator trilogy. Arnie portrays Harry with a strong taste and similarity with other action characters. Harry is a spy but to his wife Helen he is just a boring computer salesman. Harry always ends up doing the dirty work and going behind his wife's back. The way Harry treats Helen is a bit like how Indy treats Marion in both Raiders Of The Lost Ark and Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull. Where I think he's quite similar to Indy is because there are some action sequences where they look like Harrison Ford-Indy stunts. For example, when Harry was on the horse and when he was dangling from the plane. Arnie's most famous character is obviously The Terminator but his character in True Lies is another famous character for him. When you see Arnie in action in this film, you might feel that if Sylvester Stallone was a far better actor then Arnie would have been a good John Rambo because of his body build and his attitude with killing people an deven saving people too. I loved Jamie Lee Curtis in eternal hilarious comedy A Fish Called Wanda but after seeing True Lies I love her even more now. Helen is Harry's wife and mother of his daughter Dana. She is unaware that her husband is a spy and believes he is a computer salesman. I literally drooled over the scene where Helen was forced to strip and I am not joking. True Lies made Jamie even more famous than she was already. Both her and Arnie made a good couple and on-screen partnership. Without either one of those two actors the film would have been a disaster.


True Lies is a film from a director that you would expect too much from because of the success he has given to us in the past such as the two Terminator films, Aliens and The Abyss. James Cameron goes to modern day action in this action-packed, intense thrill ride. James Cameron is a director who always gives us films that are really different but are all good. After Cameron's work on The Terminator, Aliens, The Abyss, Terminator 2: Judgment Day and True Lies I think it was a risky move in him doing a film like Titanic but that ended up being his most famous achievement. I would love to see James Cameron do more films like this because he has shown out of all the films he has done in the past that he can create a successful entertaining action film.


True Lies is one of the best action films of all time and one of the best black comedies too. True Lies isn't James Cameron's best film and it isn't his worst neither. I prefered True Lies over The Abyss and The Terminator but not as much as Terminator 2: Judgment Day, Titanic and Aliens. Arnie is still amazing as the Terminator. Jamie Lee Curtis is still brilliant and hot in A Fish Called Wanda which I won't forget of course. True Lies brings together another great year for cinema that was 1994. True Lies is definitely a masterpiece of action films.

Maybe not a classic Arnold, but close. There's bad guys, he's the good guy, he saves the day (in a lot of ways). Not much in the way of surprises, but there's some good action, good comedy, and the Arnold one-liners. You know, kind of his take on the James Bond "Just killed the bad guy" line.