True Lies

In the film's prologue, a secret agent subtly infiltrates a tightly guarded party of bourgeoisie, speaks five languages flawlessly, seduces a beautiful art collector, and busts out a tango so classy it would make Argentineans throw their hats on the floor in frustration. And the agent is played by Arnold Schwarzenegger, who normally leaves wreckage behind him just by walking into a room and hasn't been able to learn English in forty years. Like sorry kids, but this is total comedy gold. Cameron is fully aware of what he holds in his hand so he knows that all he has to do is zoom the camera into Arnold's face at the right moment and he’ll bring you to your knees. Completely against current tradition, this action comedy is actually action (whereas these should be two automatically kindred genres since they're mostly about rhythm, pacing, and editing) and even though the second half falls a little short of the first half, once Schwarzenegger picks up an AK with his foot and shoots four people in a single second, all is absolutely forgiven. (31/10/2022)

We, the audience, are lucky that no one has offered Arnold the role of James Bond yet (a terrible idea), but here he fits the role of a secret agent very well. He tryes to act and it doesn't look bad at all. The script is good, the storyline with the irresistible "super agent" Bill Paxton is funny and Jamie Lee Curtis is a born comedian. The horse and motorbike chase is excellent and especially the whole final half hour is one big action orgasm. Arnold should kiss Cameron’s feet. (28/09/2003)

It's been ages since the last time I saw this film... and I don’t regret watching it again today. Sure, it's not an Oscar-winning masterpiece, it does get pretty naïve at times, the action scenes are far-fetched and there are lapses in logic. On the other hand, it’s still great entertainment. Jamie Lee Curtis has been on my good for quite a while (I'll never forget A Fish Called Wanda). I already liked her as Helen the resigned wife, but when she became Doris, I almost laughed my head off. In what other film could I see a future California governor dancing the tango with a rose in his teeth? (19/04/2020)

Sometimes there is great power in simplicity. Arnold the is simplest famous actor ever, but we eat his every fist and grin, and there’s also Jamie Lee Curtis, who looks simply divine in a bathing suit, sidekick Bill Paxton, who is intellectually simple and wryly funny, and James Cameron, who can make a simple action comedy almost as surely and imaginatively as he can make his visual spectacles. It's unnecessarily long and the ending evokes the overblown Commando from the 80s (especially in terms of body count), but it’s still great fun and one of the best representatives of Hollywood action of the 90s. 85% (12/10/2012)

If James Cameron had realized that sometimes less is truly more and had ditched the runtime of around two and a half hours, this could have been a truly excellent film. The chase with the daughter is indeed action-packed, but after two hours, it still feels unnecessary. The film tries to open and then close too many things, which is probably its biggest flaw. Otherwise, it's a beautiful example of a gritty action comedy that works great in other respects. (27/10/2014)