Review of True Lies

Introduction

It`s time to save the world again, and who better to ask than James Bond? Arnold Schwarzenegger perhaps? Anything MI6`s best can do, the Austrian Oak can do better, or that`s what True Lies would have us believe. Arnie and director James Cameron reunite for yet another explosive blockbuster. Of minor interest is the fact that True Lies is presented on a Columbia Tristar disc, presented by Universal and heralded by the Twentieth Century Fox logo and fanfare. All that is missing is Warners and Paramount to make the full set.

Harry Tasker is an intelligence agent who along with his colleagues at Omega Sector, the Last Line Of Defence is responsible for the security of the free world. But for fifteen years, he has been living a lie, happily married to Helen and with a teenage daughter Dana, telling them that he is a humble computer salesman. However the two worlds that Harry lives in are set to collide, as the nefarious forces of Crimson Jihad are set to wreak havoc on the Unites States with four illicitly obtained nuclear warheads. Just as America may be facing its greatest threat, Harry may be fatally distracted when he learns that his wife is having an affair.

Video

True Lies gets a 2.35:1 anamorphic transfer and it`s pretty much immaculate. The picture is sharp clear and colourful, with nary a hint of print damage and just a smidgen of grain. It`s reminiscent of Terminator 2 in that there is a blue steel feel to the film, very industrial and very clean. The special effects still stand up after all this time, with the harrier still very impressive.

Audio

An English DD 5.1 soundtrack accompanies a DD 2.0 Surround Spanish one. It`s a good vibrant sound mix with bullets flying from all directions when required. Explosions are powerful and other sound effects are reproduced well. Brad Fiedel`s music is perfectly suited to the movie.

Features

Extras what extras? Cool trailer and some animated menus as well as plenty of subtitles.

Conclusion

True Lies is an action thriller that tries to out Bond Bond, and for the most part it succeeds. Arnold Schwarzenegger stars as Harry Tasker and acquits himself quite well. He`s born for the action sequences and handles the comedy as it comes, however Arnie still can`t do love scenes or even flirting, and in his scenes with Jamie Lee Curtis and Tia Carrere, he can just about manage sly, but generally appears creepy. Tom Arnold is perfectly cast as the sidekick, Al Gibson and gets all the best lines. Charlton Heston is Arnie`s boss, Jamie Lee Curtis is his neglected wife Helen and Art Malik is the evil nemesis Salim Abu Aziz (check out those eyeballs) assisted by Tia Carrere as Juno Skinner. For Trivia nuts, Eliza Dushku plays Arnie`s daughter Dana, though she`s better known for playing Faith in Buffy the vampire slayer.

The movie is a fun romp in the world of espionage. There are classic action sequences with Arnie going up against the bad guys, most notably on horseback, in a Harrier and in a tuxedo. The action sequences far outdo anything that Bond has produced, whilst the plot involving stolen nukes holding the US to ransom is classic Bond. Those who think that Arnie is too much of a tree trunk to be a suave sophisticated secret agent should consider the irony of a hero in Bond who always introduces himself by name (The name`s Bond, James Bond… D`oh) How secret is that? O.K Rant over, back to the movie.

In between the action, the film is padded out by the inclusion of an affair that Arnie suspects his wife of having. Bill Paxton`s used car salesman, Simon who as luck would have it pretends to be a secret agent is leading her astray. This act is played for laughs and Bill Paxton impresses as the scheming gigolo, brought down to earth. This culminates in Jamie Lee Curtis` sexy dance in black lingerie that is worth mentioning, and then it`s back to the movie proper. This is the problem. The domestic interlude is too long and detracts from the main story. I usually find myself losing interest before the action starts again. But that`s a minor niggle.

As you`d expect with a James Cameron movie, there`s a nuclear explosion (Aliens, Terminator 1 and 2 and The Abyss) but in this it is a backdrop for a kiss. Where was the nuke in Titanic? As an aside, I compared this to the VHS version of the film and some scenes were restored, most notably the moment after Arnie`s interrogation under truth serum, he actually does what he tells the torturer and the scene makes logical sense now, before it was a blur followed by a pile of corpses. It may still be slashed by the BBFC, but less so than before and that can only be a good thing.

Overall, this is a great action flick, with comedy thrown in, drifts a bit in the middle, but not too bad and since it has Jamie Lee Curtis` dance then I forgive. This could almost be the best Bond movie ever if it weren`t for one thing, Arnie can`t do irony. Ironic that.