Movie Review: True Lies (1994)

Stars: 4 out of 5

Pros: Lots of laughs and over the top action

Cons: One scene goes on too long

The Bottom Line:

A secret spy life

Family complications

Filled with action, laughs

“If You Need to Talk, Speak into the Purse.”

I’ve had True Lies on my to watch list for years.  It always looked like fun.  I bumped it up thanks to the awful TV series attempt at the franchise.  At least one good thing came out of that series – I finally watched the movie and really enjoyed it.

The movie introduces us to Harry Tasker (Arnold Schwarzenegger).  While his wife, Helen (Jamie Lee Curtis) thinks he works for a computer sales company, he really works for Omega Sector, a top-secret government spy agency.

While in the middle of trying to track down a terrorist threat, Harry begins to think that his wife is having an affair.  Naturally, he uses Omega Sector resources to track her every movement.  What will happen now that his two worlds have collided?

I knew the basic premise going into the movie (even before watching the TV series).  I also knew it was billed as an action comedy.  I wasn’t prepared for just how much I would enjoy it.  Oh, it is obvious early on that this movie isn’t going to be realistic.  The opening scene ends with an over-the-top chase scene.  And you know what?  I didn’t care.  I was smiling at how ridiculous it was.  It was just plain fun.

And that continued over the course of the movie.  There are lots of great scenes that had me laughing.  Not to mention the one liners.  And yet, the action still had me on the edge of my seat since they did plenty with heights, one of my fears.  Were these actions scenes remotely realistic?  No.  Did I care?  Not in the slightest.  I was so caught up in the story I was able to enjoy the ride and not really worry about it.

I will say I was bothered by the hotel room scene.  If you’ve seen the movie, you know what I’m talking about.  It features Helen dancing around in her underwear.  It went on a little too long for my tastes.  We just didn’t need that much of it.  (Okay, seems like they could have done something else period, but that’s a different discussion.)

I watched the movie on TV, and I suspect it was highly edited based on run times alone.  There might have been more content that would bother me that was edited out, and I’m a little nervous to find out.  Keep in mind that this is an R rated movie before you decide to watch it.

One reason this movie works is the cast.  They all played their part of the hilt.  This was especially true for me of Jamie Lee Curtis.  I’ve seen plenty of her movies, but I really felt she nailed this role.  It’s easy to see why she won an award for it.  But again, the entire cast was great.  Their chemistry made everything work, and the way they reacted to what was happening or delivered their lines really made the humor work.

This movie did come out in 1994.  That means that we have some rather obvious green screen at times.  But most of the time I was so caught up in the action I wasn’t noticing.

True Lies is an over-the-top action movie in all the best ways.  If you are looking to sit back and just enjoy a film, this is one to consider.