Review of True Lies (1994) by Xgary X — 16 Apr 2012

Arnold Schwarzenegger plays a government super spy posing as a computer salesman whose secret identity is unknown even to his wife and family. James Cameron's spoof of Hollywood action blockbusters has all the ingredients of the summer hit; humour, romance and big budget special effects, all served with a healthy dose of irony.

Arnie will never win any prizes for his thespian skills, but he is perfectly comfortable in the familiar surroundings of stereotypical terrorists, uzis, explosions and cheesy one-liners, with Art Malik slumming it as the usual Islamic nut job and an unrecognisable Eliza Dushku is the rebellious teen daughter.

I must admit that the sight of Jamie Lee Curtis being "sexy" made me slightly queasy and the film drags in the middle because of a flabby sub plot involving a potential rival for Arnie's affections.

Cameron is a master of the action set piece however, the opening sequence out-Bonding the contemporary 007 films and the set pieces involving Harrier Jump Jets are spectacular. The jokes could've been funnier but it's a nice idea efficiently executed.

Solid mainstream entertainment; no more, no less.