James Cameron still sits in the top five of highest grossing film directors of all time. Having films like Titanic, the ‘Terminator’ trilogy, and Avatar to his credit have positioned him as nearly a sure thing for any movie he finds himself attached to. Cameron hasn’t always been known for epics however. Back in the day, he was even content with directing an action/comedy. Not long after The Terminator blew everyone’s minds, the writer/director teamed back up with global icon Arnold Schwarzenegger for True Lies. Trues Lies also featured Jamie Lee Curtis and the hilarious Tom Arnold, in an action/comedy that saved Tom Arnold’s career and helped Schwarzenegger spread his wings a little more.
True Lies also featured Jamie Lee Curtis and the hilarious Tom Arnold, in an action/comedy that saved Tom Arnold’s career and helped Schwarzenegger spread his wings a little more.
True Lies isn’t completely unlike other films the Austrian native had done during that time. He’s still wading out into the waters as ‘action hero’, playing Harry Tasker, a counterterrorism spy who masquerades as a computer salesman for his family and the general public. Harry’s life, naturally, is a lie. He spends every day pretending to be someone else, either on the job or when he is at home. When Harry finds out his wife (Curtis) could be seeing another man, he investigates only to later realize that the situation isn’t what it’s made out to be, all while trying to prevent terrorists from bringing nuclear weapons onto American soil. It’s an action packed comedy free for all in a movie that went on to be just as big a commercial success as almost anything Cameron gets his hands on.
For a nineties movie, True Lies really does have it all. As an action movie there’s no lack of explosions, fight scenes, or gun battles. As a comedy it has all the clever wit, writing, and timing that’s needed to provide entertainment value. Schwarzenegger does his thing as usual, but the true standouts were Tom Arnold, Jamie Lee Curtis, and even Bill Paxton as ‘Simon’. Arnold’s timing is at best, THE best, with Bill Paxton adding something of a ‘pathetic charm’ in his outing as Simon. Curtis gives the movie its real conflict, and at times showcasing her own comedic instincts at the appropriate times. Cameron’s direction holds everything together like glue, and he was also at the helm of the writing team insuring a complete script with a decently solid plot structure.
True Lies is on Hulu Plus, Amazon Prime in select territories or available for online rent/purchase. It’s a less than known product for today’s crowd, but older adults should remember it well. Younger movie fans are encouraged to see it if they’ve seen any of Cameron’s more globally recognized work. He is a giant in the industry, and whenever he puts his name on the dotted line, the world waits in anticipation for what it’s going to look like. Even though that is the case, it’s important for the world to remember where directors like Cameron came from. True Lies is an acceptable choice to fill this void, as movies like this were his humblest of beginnings.
