True Lies (B+ or 3/4 stars)
Arnold Schwarzenegger stars in 'True Lies', an entertaining, if bloated action/comedy thriller directed by James Cameron (Aliens, the Terminator movies). At home with his lovely wife of 15 yrs., Helen (Jamie Lee Curtis) & daughter, Dana (Eliza Dushku), the strapping Harry Tasker (Arnold) is a loving, if somewhat meek, dull-as-dishwater, husband & dad. In fact, he is dull enough that Helen, who does love him, has started contemplating having an affair. When he heads off for work every day as a computer salesman, however, he doesn't drive to the 'ole sales office where Helen THINKS he has a cubicle.
Instead, he is actually a James bond-like superspy for the clandestine Omega Sector - an international top-secret US government organization combating nuclear terrorism. He joins-up with his partner, Albert (Tom Arnold, yes, that Tom Arnold) to - oh, you know - save the world & stuff. This includes romancing beautiful-but-lethal women such as Juno Skinner (Tia Carrere) & contending with 'wacko' missile-happy terrorists like Salim Abu Aziz (Art Malik). When Harry discovers that his wife may be straying from him, he utilizes his super spy skills to track down Helen's would-be suitor/possible spy (a humorously slimy Bill Paxton), he inadvertently drags Helen along into his world of covert meetings & international conspiracies. Fun chaos ensues.
'True Lies' effectively combines the action/thriller elements with the domestic comedy at hand, and that's a tricky feat to pull off {think 1989's Die Hard}. The big conspiracy plot concerning Arab extremists & stolen nuclear warheads, is very straightforward, but it offers up several exciting chase sequences, shoot-outs, & massive explosions. It is the opening & closing segments of the film that contain the spy action. The more interesting plotline {for me} follows Harry & Helen as they learn to share their various secrets with each other. Arnold Schwarzenegger is, of course, well known for his action films, but he's undervalued for his comedic skills {Twins, Kindergarten Cop}, & this movie lets him show off both skill sets beautifully with brawn, comic confidence & nice-guy tenacity.
Jamie Lee Curtis is just fantastic. She more than holds her own as a mousy, repressed mom/wife/store clerk who learns to let loose, let her 'sexy' fly {in one amazing, iconic bedroom sequence}, & wield some major automatic weapons, to boot. And Tom Arnold is surprisingly stellar as Harry's wisecracking, embittered divorcee partner/buddy, Albert. Director James Cameron has created a thrilling story about marriage, love, honesty, and oh, yeah ... nuclear weapons, ha. That it's all wrapped-up inside a state-of-the-art action film makes it stand-out. This film, along with Speed, has given 1994 audiences a healthy dose of cinematic action+love; I prefer the more breakneck pacing of Speed, but both wildly impress.
Now, it's funny -- I enjoyed the opening action segment of this movie very much; enjoyed the climactic action segment very much; enjoyed 'aspects' of the marital comedy in the center ... but not everything gelled, for me. At 141 minutes, this film could've been trimmed a good 20-25 minutes and this would have been an absolute knock-out. As is, it's fun & well acted {I'd probably nominated Jamie Lee Curtis for her charismatic performance}, but despite some thrilling action, slick editing, unique set pieces, fun chase scenes, humorous one-liners, memorable music, & spectacular pyrotechnics, the more laborious stretches keeps me from outright loving 'True Lies'. Thumbs up for some grandiose, joyful entertainment, though.
Instead, he is actually a James bond-like superspy for the clandestine Omega Sector - an international top-secret US government organization combating nuclear terrorism. He joins-up with his partner, Albert (Tom Arnold, yes, that Tom Arnold) to - oh, you know - save the world & stuff. This includes romancing beautiful-but-lethal women such as Juno Skinner (Tia Carrere) & contending with 'wacko' missile-happy terrorists like Salim Abu Aziz (Art Malik). When Harry discovers that his wife may be straying from him, he utilizes his super spy skills to track down Helen's would-be suitor/possible spy (a humorously slimy Bill Paxton), he inadvertently drags Helen along into his world of covert meetings & international conspiracies. Fun chaos ensues.
'True Lies' effectively combines the action/thriller elements with the domestic comedy at hand, and that's a tricky feat to pull off {think 1989's Die Hard}. The big conspiracy plot concerning Arab extremists & stolen nuclear warheads, is very straightforward, but it offers up several exciting chase sequences, shoot-outs, & massive explosions. It is the opening & closing segments of the film that contain the spy action. The more interesting plotline {for me} follows Harry & Helen as they learn to share their various secrets with each other. Arnold Schwarzenegger is, of course, well known for his action films, but he's undervalued for his comedic skills {Twins, Kindergarten Cop}, & this movie lets him show off both skill sets beautifully with brawn, comic confidence & nice-guy tenacity.
Jamie Lee Curtis is just fantastic. She more than holds her own as a mousy, repressed mom/wife/store clerk who learns to let loose, let her 'sexy' fly {in one amazing, iconic bedroom sequence}, & wield some major automatic weapons, to boot. And Tom Arnold is surprisingly stellar as Harry's wisecracking, embittered divorcee partner/buddy, Albert. Director James Cameron has created a thrilling story about marriage, love, honesty, and oh, yeah ... nuclear weapons, ha. That it's all wrapped-up inside a state-of-the-art action film makes it stand-out. This film, along with Speed, has given 1994 audiences a healthy dose of cinematic action+love; I prefer the more breakneck pacing of Speed, but both wildly impress.
Now, it's funny -- I enjoyed the opening action segment of this movie very much; enjoyed the climactic action segment very much; enjoyed 'aspects' of the marital comedy in the center ... but not everything gelled, for me. At 141 minutes, this film could've been trimmed a good 20-25 minutes and this would have been an absolute knock-out. As is, it's fun & well acted {I'd probably nominated Jamie Lee Curtis for her charismatic performance}, but despite some thrilling action, slick editing, unique set pieces, fun chase scenes, humorous one-liners, memorable music, & spectacular pyrotechnics, the more laborious stretches keeps me from outright loving 'True Lies'. Thumbs up for some grandiose, joyful entertainment, though.