True Lies

A visually stunning gem with the typical directorial signature of a master. Arnold Schwarzenegger delivers one of his best performances here, becoming a true charmer, he is he is absolutely irresistible as agent Harry Tasker. Throughout the movie, we get countless gags and see several excellent comedic scenes. The ending is one of those action sequences that are bound to make every viewer hold their breath. Another multimillion-dollar production where the money is truly visible. Everyone put their heart into it, including the King of the World, James Cameron, he truly is one of the best directors of all time. (27/01/2006)

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)

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)

I had the idea that True Lies was one of the more digestible films of the acting genius Arnold Schwarzenegger, or rather one of several movies that I can give 3 stars. However, when I repeated the experience years later, it quickly became clear to me that the film contains a lot of nonsense, and the humor it possesses no longer appeals to me. The French original seems to me to be two classes better. Here the American budget and Arnold's myth earn it points. Overall impression: 45%. (22/04/2013)

I can't help it, but Arnie using his alternating 3-4 standard grimaces with more intensity than ever before does not make for good acting. The wooden muscle man walks through the Bond exhibition with the elegance of a scared high school student, and one has to think that beating up villains suits him better. James Cameron did a pretty good job, but I really don't understand why a film with such a sparse plot has a full 144 minutes, when the content would fit into 90 minutes and the jokes into 20. Some of the action sequences (especially the one with Harrier) are great, whilst the seductive dance by Jamie Lee Curtis is really sexy and certain gags are perfect (for example, the one with the battery in the camera is still quite current today). Unfortunately, I was bored for most of the film and tried to find something truly supportive in this mix of family comedy and spy action. It's definitely not a story that fizzles out, it's definitely not Arnie's awkward etude, and it’s not even the bulging bodice of Jamie Lee and Miss Carrere's killer body... It's not even Cameron's direction... so what the hell is it??? (03/04/2006)