True Lies (1994)
dir. James Cameron

Great story, great twists, great characters, great comedy, great writing, great shots, great editing, classic Arnie lines, and some fucking cool moves. When one goes to see an adventure movie, one expects to see extraordinary feats work towards a happy ending. This is exactly what True Lies has.

A truly intelligent movie, fabulously written and very funny. Great story. The plot was exciting and unpredictable. Marvelously edited. The movie very nicely comes full circle, ending with music and a setting that ties it together with the beginning. Bookends are a really cool and fulfilling way to end movies.

This movie is a great example of my realistic action theory. Some movies portray action that is not only far-fetched, but it is presented so unrealistically that it looks fake and makes the movie seem like a waste of time. However, if the action is presented right and made so that the audience knows that they are witnessing something that really is stretching the limits of human ability, seemingly impossible antics can be portrayed with such realism that the unrealistic seems realistic. Speed is a movie that failed to make the unrealistic action realistic because there was no plot base to support such unbelievable action, the characters seemed as if it was just another day at the office, and it seemed as if the action in the movie was just thrown in in an attempt to make it an action movie. True Lies, however, succeeded in making the Harrier-flying, dog-chasing, helicopter-hanging action very real because of its firmly established plot base and realistic character expression.

Aside from a few cheap thrills, the action is incredible. The scenes with the Harriers thundering across the screen were awesome. Cameron is a master of keeping the action moving when we expect the credits to roll. He has that special knack for putting that "second wind" into his films. At the precise moment that it seems that everything is resolved (the nuke in the Keys), the movie takes a turn and the audience leans forward, eager for more action. Much of my enjoyment could have come from the fact the the theatre I saw the movie in has THX digital surround sound, and I have not been exposed to that very much. Even after seeing the film a second time, I was overwhelmed. Thinking someone was kicking the seat throughout the movie, I realized it was the pounding of my heart with every amazing action scene.

Something refreshing about this movie was that it was a true action movie that was made with a fun attitude, instead of the serious action attitude that many action movies are ruined with. Schwarzenegger extends his true human nature and appeals to the audience by taking comedy breaks from the action and being somewhat human for once. Unfortunately, some of the comedy goes a bit overboard at times, bordering corniness.

The film is full of cliches and stereotypes, but I do not consider them to be negatives. They are actually the fundamental pillars of this great movie. They contribute to the construction of an action movie which contains a great variety of "daredevil" stunts. Seeing them all in a single movie (much like Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom) is extraordinary. The beginning of the film is amazingly like the beginning of Goldfinger. In fact, the whole movie is in the spirit of the old James Bond films.

The acting is fantastic. Everybody does what is asked of them with such perfection. Schwarzenegger, Curtis, and Paxton are all excellent. I even think that Curtis should have been up for an Academy Award. Schwarzenegger is dramatically funny (well, most of the time) and pulls off a few one-liners that he is famous for. And some of the moves he does are damn cool. James Cameron once again proved how he and Schwarzenegger are such a good team. The comedy is subtle and perfect.

It ended how it began. Bookends. I love those! Nice use of unsuspecting, innocent, quirky bystanders, with the old man in the bathroom and the janitor vacuuming in the office building. Amazing attention to detail.

The tango music (especially at the end) is fantastic. Too bad it's not on the soundtrack.

I think I had to pee more during this movie than any other movie.

It's only after seeing this film a zillion times that I am beginning to pick out stuntmen, extra helicopters in the sky, etc. Kinda sucks to finally have to notice all that.

Date Reviewed: n/a