Review of True Lies

Introduction

"True Lies" is James Cameron`s big budget answer to James Bond, featuring Arnold Schwarzenegger as the spy, Tom Arnold as his sidekick and Jamie Lee Curtis as his unsuspecting wife.

The plot features a band of middle eastern terrorists threatening America in revenge for what is calls cowardly attacks by American forces on other countries (hmmm, sounds rather familiar to the current real life situation really!).

Once the terrorists arrive on American soil, it`s up to Arnie to stop them.

Video

The video comes in 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen, and is of above average quality, with a little grain, but a generally satisfactory picture. The image is quite detailed, with good contrast and little or no dirt.

Visually, I remember grinning from ear to ear when I saw this at the cinema, highlights include the opening snow chase, the horseback chase through the streets and hotel and the ending Harrier jump jet sequence. As to be expected from Cameron and a large budget, the effects are very good indeed, and on the whole still stand up to scrutiny in 2002.

Aside from the effects, there also the memorable Jamie Lee Curtis striptease scene, and DVD really helps to show off her curves!

Audio

The soundtrack is good, but falls behind more recent action movies. The main failing is a lack of range and power, characteristic of early Dolby Digital 5.1 mixes for laserdisc/DVD, so although good use of the available channels is made, the sound doesn`t have the impact of the visuals.

The dialogue is clear and understandable throughout the film.

Features

The only extra is the trailer, which oddly stopped half-way through on my Pioneer DV-545.

The menus are clear and easy to navigate.

Conclusion

Overall, "True Lies" is still an entertaining action thriller, with all the correct ingredients - great action, a good cast and plenty of humour along the way. Buffy fans look out for an early performance from Eliza Dushku.

The disc itself is competent, featuring good sound and video, but this is a title crying out for a special edition complete with DTS sound and some good quality extras. However, having said that, I enjoyed watching it again, which is all you can really ask for from an action movie.