True Lies (1994)

From The Terminator to Titanic, you can always rely on writer-director James Cameron to show you something you've never seen on the big screen before. The guy may not consistently pen the most scintillating dialogue in the world (and, especially in this movie, he doesn't seem to have a particularly high regard for women), but as a director of kinetic, push-the-envelope action sequences, he is in a class by himself. In True Lies, the highlight is a breathtaking third-act jet and car chase through the Florida Keys. Arnold Schwarzenegger plays a covert intelligence agent whose wife of 15 years (Jamie Lee Curtis) finally finds out that he's not really a computer salesman and who becomes mixed up in a case involving nuclear arms smuggling. Tom Arnold is surprisingly funny and engaging as Schwarzenegger's longtime spy partner, and Bill Paxton is a smarmy used-car salesman (is that redundant?) whom Arnold thinks is having an affair with his wife. Purely in terms of spectacular action and high-tech hardware, True Lies is a blast. --Jim Emerson Amazon.com essential video

Gordon Street? Sid once benched with Arnold on Gordon Street, but that was a long time ago when Sid was a young man

True Lies has long been on the Sid the Elf back-burner. It was on the list of films that must be reviewed at some point, and kind of became an emergency B. It was like the Vinny Testaverde of B, weren't too excited to use it because of the apparent clumsiness involved, but if first and second options failed, you might be ok going with it. Well, we officially went into emergency B mode this week so we went with True Lies. It turns out that we were exactly right, there was a ton of clumsiness to endure, but in the end Sid came out ok. Really, you're never in bad hands with Arnold. If Amazon had his California tourism commercials on DVD, we'd not only review them, we'd give them 5 stars. The point is, we could get a laugh or a hundred out of Arnold saying anything at all. True lies was no exception.

In this film, Arnold plays super terrific secret agent Harry Tasker. Tasker's family believes he is a computer salesman, that he loves the computer business, and that he is an incredibly boring person. His mission is to track down nuclear warheads stolen by an arms smuggler from Kazakhstan. We were blown away when we learned that Borat's country was prominently involved in this film. So Arnold goes to a party at the arms dealer's house where he meets Cassandra from Wayne's World 2. She is an antique dealer who is using her business as a front to smuggle the warheads for Aziz the leader of a terrorist organization into U.S. and A, greatest country in the world. Once Arnold starts poking around the situation, Aziz decides to follow him. Arnold, of course, is much too smart for this. He leads Aziz into a mall where he procedes to catch him with the front and make Aziz blead inside his chest. Aziz manages to get away on a motorcycle, being chased by Arnold on a horse. A terribly B action sequence ensues and Aziz gets away. Just great B all-around, trust us.

Arnold then finds out that his wife, Laurie Strode, is having a kind of affair with a guy named Simon, who is a B version of Lester Diamond. This is the intentional comedy part of the film with Arnold using secret agent methods to track Simon and his wife. Simon pretends to be a spy to get chicks. Harry and his sidekick, Tom Arnold, kidnap Laurie and interigate her through a one-way mirror. They find out that Mrs. Tasker hasn't done anything with Simon Diamond, but that she is bored with Harry and craves adventure. So Harry gives her a fake assignment, which entails her going to a hotel room and getting ready to have a sexy time with a supposed stranger, even though it was really Arnold doing soundboard in the shadows. Anyway, the terrorists bust into the hotel room and take Harry and Helen prisioner. Some of the most ridiculous action sequences ever filmed ensue, including the famous Arnold iso-rowing Jamie Lee Curtis from the limo to the helicopter scene. So he just saved his wife from the terrorists, now they have kidnapped his daughter. Harry's daughter is played by a young Eliza Dushku. In case you were wondering, the ruling on the field is that it is ok to think she's hot here--moving on. She manages to get the arming key for the missles and has Aziz chase her onto the top of a skyscraper. Arnold flies to her in a marine jet and has her jump in. Ok. Aziz manages to jump onto the plane as well, but he is hanging from a missle. So Arnold fires the missle into a helicopter carrying the other terrorists and kills them all. That encapsulates why Sid believes Arnold should be the sole exception to the law stating the president must be born in the U.S. At the end of the film, we see that Arnold and Jamie Lee are now secret agent partners as they go off to a mission together.

This film was an action-comedy(both intentional and unintentional), by James Cameron. We liked it, but we also lost interest in the second half of the film. Maybe we just couldn't resist the lure of the Arnold soundboard after listening to him for a solid 45 minutes. Maybe it was only enjoyable after doing a unit in the bushes and making countless "Good. Now we are having fun" jokes and assesing the parallels of the film with Wayne's World 2 because of Charlton Heston and Tia Carrere. If you're an Arnold fan, it's certainly a must. You can always laugh at Arnold and as a bonus, you can make fun of Tom Arnold and his "I can't believe they gave me this part!" glow throughout the film. This film isn't the Governator's best work, but it did just fine in a B pinch. Without hesitation, Sid recomends. November 12, 2008

Ya Gotta Love It!

Arnie is best when the movie is: 1.) Campy, ex. Last Action Hero, Commando, 2.) Shear testosterone: Predator, Terminator, or 3.) when he surrounds himself with great co-stars: Kindergarten Cop, Eraser, and the focus here, True Lies. Jamie Lee, Bill Paxton, Grant Heslov, Art Malik are all terrific, but Tom Arnold takes the prize in this one. Gib(Arnold), the perfect partner for Harry(Arnie), is histercal as he trys to keep Harry's two lives separate and them focused on their national defense assignments, even while firing off very funny lines about all that comes up.
Not to be missed by any Arnie fan and leave it to Jamie Lee Curtis to give a strip-tease that is both VERY sexy and belly-laugh funny at the same time!
I suppose, if you really wanted to be offended, a middle eastern person could be, but give it a rest, I'm Irish, and the Irish folks are the bad guys/ terrorists in Patriot Games and just flat out nasty-bad in Gangs of New York. Everybody has their "bad apples". Just sit back and enjoy a funny, action movie with secret agencies, used car salesmen and a pair of Harrier Jets firing Sidewinder missiles at a bridge somewhere in the Florida Keys. October 24, 2008

Over The Top Violence - Comedy!

This movie has everything: Undercover agents, military violence, insane anti-American antagonist, great comic situations, Jamie Lee Curtis doing a sexy dance, family rescue... best of all, Arnold. Who else can deliver true grit fighting and side-splitting humor the way Arnold can? This movie has them both in adequate amounts to keep you riveted. Who dances the Tango better, Jamie Lee or Tia Carrera? This movie is just great fun!! October 6, 2008

Top class blockbuster

Arnie is a spy, Jamie Lee Curtis is a housewife. Inside the lies of their marriage are a great many fine stunts and setpieces, with some superb one liners and a lot of first class action.
This is a very entertaining and enjoyable film, like James Bond but with less class. September 22, 2008

This Super Action Movie Delivers Great Entertainment.

This is a classic! Continuous action-adventure with a good measure of comedy. The cast is great, the production does the trick, the story is almost-believable. You can't look away, it is pure fun and entertainment.
September 1, 2008

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