SNMR 7.9: "True Lies"

GREEN'S HIGHLY INAPPROPRIATE USE OF GOVERNMENT RESOURCES REVIEW:

Helen Tasker (Curtis) thinks her husband Harry (Schwarzenegger) is just a boring computer salesman. What she doesn't know is that he's really a super spy for the U.S. Government's "Omega Force" a CIA-like unit. When Harry finds out that Helen is being seduced by a horny used car salesman (Paxton) he decides to take matters into his own hands, enlisting his partner Gibson (Arnold). Oh, yeah there's an Islamic terror group operating out of the Florida Keys that is threatening to blow up major US cities with stolen nuclear warheads. Conveniently Harry will use his James Bond-like skills to foil the bad guys and rescue his wife and daughter from the terrorists

This is one of those movies that is just plain fun to watch. I remembered just how so in preparing for this review, as I hadn't seen this movie in about five years. Aaaahnold will never be given credit for being a half decent actor but he is because he can play the serious action hero and he can play the softer roles with unexpected comedic timing.

What makes this film a winner is the standout performances of the supporting cast. Tom Arnold and Bill Paxton are fantastic as the wise-guy sidekick and the smarmy used car salesman aka wannabe secret agent. Jamie Lee Curtis had never done a big screen action flick like this before and handled herself quite well as Mrs. Aaaaahnold. Even the cameo by Charlton Heston is good. If the film has a weak link it would be Tia Carrere as bad girl Juno Skinner. But even she manages to fill her role adequately.

Sure the Arabs as bad guys story is well worn, even for a film that came out in 1994, years before Al-Queda, The Taliban, Osama BL and 9/11 but it works nicely. The screenplay has some clever lines and is fast paced.

James Cameron's abilities as a big time action director have never been in question as far as I'm concerned. His resume of writing, producing and directing is right up there with the big boys of big action, Spielberg and Lucas.

If you haven't watched this movie in a while, it's definitely worth a rental. I used to own it on VHS and recently added the DVD version to my library, well worth it for under $10. However, I would love to see Cameron come out with a two disc version of this movie with more special features than the current DVD edition has to offer.

***** out of *****

True Lies (1994, R, 141 minutes), starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, Tom Arnold, Jamie Lee Curtis, Bill Paxton, Tia Carrere, Eliza Dushku, Art Malik and Charlton Heston. The screenplay was written by James Cameron, based on a screenplay by Claude Zidi, Simon Michael and Didier Kaminka. Directed by James Cameron.