True Lies (1994)

Director:

James Cameron

Writers (WGA):

Claude Zidi (screenplay) and
Simon Michaël (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

15 July 1994 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Comedy | Romance | Thriller

Tagline:

When he said I do, he never said what he did.

Plot:

When a secret agent learns of his wife's extra-marital affair, he pursues her and uses his intelligence resources in a job he kept secret from her.

Plot Keywords:

Terrorist | Agent | Secret | Mission | Secret Agent

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 6 wins & 14 nominations

Cast

Arnold Schwarzenegger	...	Harry Tasker
Jamie Lee Curtis	...	Helen Tasker
Tom Arnold	...	Albert Gibson
Bill Paxton	...	Simon
Charlton Heston	...	Spencer Trilby
Tia Carrere	...	Juno Skinner
Art Malik	...	Salim Abu Aziz
Eliza Dushku	...	Dana Tasker
Grant Heslov	...	Faisil
Marshall Manesh	...	Jamal Khaled
James Allen	...	Colonel
Dieter Rauter	...	Boathouse Guard (as Deiter Rauter)
Jane Morris	...	Janice
Katsy Chappell	...	Allison
Crystina Wyler	...	Charlene

Runtime:

141 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | French | Arabic | German

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) | Dolby Digital (35 mm prints)

Certification:

Finland:K-16 (original rating) | Iceland:14 (original rating) | Iceland:16 (video rating) | Hungary:16 | New Zealand:M | Brazil:14 | Portugal:M/12 | France:U | Netherlands:12 | South Korea:12 (cable rating) | Argentina:16 | Australia:M | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:14 (Nova Scotia) | Canada:AA (Ontario) | Canada:PG (Manitoba) | Chile:14 | Denmark:15 | Finland:K-14 | Germany:16 | Netherlands:16 (original rating) (cinema release) | Norway:18 | Peru:14 | Singapore:PG | South Korea:15 | Spain:18 | Sweden:15 | USA:R | UK:15 (cut)

Filming Locations:

Ambassador Hotel - 3400 Wilshire Boulevard, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

Trivia:

During the striptease scene and Jamie Lee Curtis falls was actually not part of the script. She really does fall but to continue filming she gets back up and continues on with the scene. You can also see it was not intentional by Arnold Schwarzenegger's sudden reaction to help her when she falls.

Goofs:

Factual errors: Harry's daughter could not hang on the front of a Harrier while it was in the hover. She would be instantly sucked into the engine.

Quotes:

[last lines]
Gib: You know what? I'm sick of being in the van. You guys are going to be in the van next time. I've been in the van for 15 years, Harry.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Late Night with Conan O'Brien: 5th Anniversary Special (1998) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Entity

"You're fired."

After the nuclear fall-out of Last Action Hero, Ah-nuld needed a hit. Thankfully, James Cameron came to the rescue. Having worked together on The Terminator films, third time really is the charm. The film is both exciting and funny. It has just as much laughs as action bits.

To his wife Helen (Jamie Lee Curtis) and daughter (Eliza Dushku), Harry Tasker (Arnie) is a boring computer salesman. Nothing could be further from the truth. He works for the Omega Force, a super-duper spy agency. His buddy at the office is Gibson (None other than Tom Arnold). Harry never has time for his family, and this leads into a hilarious sub-plot involving Simon (Bill Paxton), a supposed secret agent that Helen is secretly seeing. The real meat of the plot has to do with Harry and company tracking down Salim Abu Aziz (Art Malik), a pretty evil terrorist known as "The Sand Spider" (Why is he called that ? probably because it sounds scary).

Lasting over two hours, True Lies manages to be entertaining for much of it's length. Arnold plays his usual hero: invincible superman who can't get hurt. Tia Carrere plays Juno Skinner, a femme fatale helping the terrorists for no other reason than money. The sequence with Harry in the harrier jet are spectacularly done.

Rating: *** (out of ****)