Review of True Lies (1994) by Timothy S — 03 May 2012

No one would dispute the statement that James Cameron is one of the premier event filmmakers working today, and because of that, "True Lies" should have been a home run. And the action scenes are indeed amazing. The last half hour is especially impressive with an amazing car/helicopter chase over a bridge and the breathtaking finale involving a skyscraper and a fighter jet.

Cameron's action sequences always have a thrilling, go-for-broke quality to them that I love and you'll walk out of this film on a thrill-ride high. Unfortunately, it can't make up for the giant derailment that occurs throughout the film's middle section. The subplot involving Bill Paxton as a wannabe spy and Arnold's suspicions that his wife is cheating on him make up a bulk of the film, and I have no idea why. There are a few good moments, most notably Jamie Lee Curtis' funny and sexy striptease. But for the most part, it's a hugely contrived waste of time. It almost feels like you're watching two movies simultaneously, one very good and the other a merely passable time-killer.

Schwarzenegger is actually quite good. Despite the outlandish, thrilling and over-te-top action, he actually plays a real person here. He's not yet ready to take over the James Bond role, but his performance here is light years ahead of his "Commando" and "Raw Deal" characters. Also good is co-star Tom Arnold, putting aside all of his bad press and past failures to turn in a fine comedic performance as Arnold's wisecracking partner.

"True Lies" is a film that I really wanted to like a lot more than I actually did. With some editing and more of a focus on the action, this could have been a whole lot better.