Review of True Lies (1994) by Filipeneto — 19 Sep 2021

This is one of those films that marked the nineties, and that almost everyone has seen on TV or on VHS/DVD. It was a great success and even today it has admirers who do not let it fall by the wayside. The story of this film couldn't be better, even though it is similar to an older French film, which inspired the producers and director, James Cameron. It starts by introducing us to Harry, a secret agent from a very secret government agency. He does risky, action-packed work, but has never told his wife, who thinks he's just a salesman, and is starting to have an affair with a used car salesman who told him he was a secret agent. When Harry finds out, he decides to use the means of his agency to give his wife a faint scent of his own life, but things get complicated when the terrorists he was following manage to catch both of them.

The film starts off really well, with an excellent action sequence that doesn't lag behind many of the best scenes in James Bond or "Mission Impossible". Cameron clearly shows what he's coming up with and what he intends to do, and is usually successful in his efforts, though he sometimes overdoses it a little and makes the action scenes histrionic. The film makes good use of situational comedy to spice up the action and give the film a light touch. Of course, the way the action and comedy came together is something that can be discussed and some will say is bad, but I personally never saw any problem with the final result. In fact, and looking at the number of films where the insertion of humor and comedy ruins the final result, this is one of the films where this has been done more effectively and with greater skill.

The cast has several well-known names. On the one hand, Arnold Schwarzenegger was living a good moment in his career, in the wake of previous successes, and he presents himself here with great aplomb and commitment. Bill Paxton doesn't come up that often, but he's crucial to the plot and does a very good job of it, as can Tom Arnold, with the exception that he was sometimes very irritating. Tia Carrere was a sexy and very Machiavellian villain, in the best style of some famous "bondgirl". Jamie Lee Curtis had, on the other hand, a somewhat uneven performance: she was good as a housewife and even the scenes with her lover were excellent, but it would have been better to see her more confident and confident at the end of the film. Curtis was just the damsel in distress. However, she presents us with one of the most famous striptease and pole dance scenes in the history of cinema. The one who got worse in the film was Art Malik, who used all the clichés and prejudices about Arabs and terrorists to elaborate his character. The result of Malik's self-indulgence (and director Cameron's too, in not giving the actor better material) is a character who is basically a walking stereotype.

Technically, the film bets largely on special effects, visual and sound. It's a James Cameron movie, let's face it! There was no way we could expect anything different! Even planes and jet fighters were used in the action scenes, and the fights and chases were electrifying. Good sets, good use of the green screen and excellent costumes, combined with competent cinematography, help the film to be visually elegant and appealing.