A fearless, globe-trotting, terrorist-battling secret agent has his life turned upside down when he discovers his wife might be having an affair with a used-car salesman while terrorists smuggle nuclear war heads into the United States.
Harry Tasker (Arnold Schwarzenegger) leads a double life. At work he is a government agent with a license to do just about anything, while at home he pretends to be a dull computer salesman. He is on the trail of stolen nuclear weapons that are in the hands of fanatic terrorists when something more important comes up. Harry finds his wife is seeing another man (Bill Paxton) because she needs some adventure in her life. Harry decides to give it to her, juggling pursuit of terrorists on one hand and an adventure for his wife on the other while showing he can Tango all at once.Written by
John Vogel <jlvogel@comcast.net>
At one point in the film, Tasker uses a Mk II hand grenade to kill several terrorists. For those wondering where this grenade came from, it was originally in the script that Juno put a grenade between Helen's legs, saying all she has to do is keep her legs closed, which Helen remarks is a problem Juno seems to have. When the two escape, Harry re-pinned the grenade using Helens diamond earring for use again later. They cut this scene out of the film, causing this grenade's presence to be a continuity error, however the scene remains in the novelization by Dewey Gram and Duane Dell'Amico. This grenade, complete with the earring in place of the pin, is prominently visible on many of the posters for the movie and on the region 2 DVD cover. See more »
Goofs
When they fly to shoot the terrorists in the truck over the Florida Keys, they drive on the bridge that was the original highway(built over a railroad) that was closed being replaced with the highway in the background in the movie. See more »
Quotes
Gib:
[talking to Helen in a disguised voice]
If you don't complete your mission, the deal is off
[hangs up the phone]
Gib:
I'm going to hell.
See more »
Crazy Credits
In the middle of the credits, Gib (who's waiting outside in the stereotypical spy van as Harry's having fun inside the party) says, "You know what? I'm sick of being in the van. You guys can be in the van next time. I've been in the van for fifteen years, Harry." See more »
Alternate Versions
Most USA network television versions replace Sade's "I Never Thought I'd See the Day" with another song during the hotel room 'seduction' sequence, probably because of music licensing restrictions. See more »
James Cameron has directed some fantastic action movies during his career (Aliens, the first two Terminator movies, The Abyss, Titanic--that boat action was like totally awesome!!), but none were as funny as True Lies is. Arnold Schwarzenegger (Terminator, Eraser, the Governor of California) is Harry Tasker, a computer programming father by day, James Bond by night, working for a top secret government agency that is beyond the CIA and run by Charlton Heston. Tom Arnold, in his first dramatic role, plays Harry's partner, Gib, and is the smartass, class clown of the agency. Schwarzenegger and Arnold have a fantastic chemistry, creating the movie's biggest laughs. Jamie Lee Curtis plays Harry's under-appreciated wife, Helen, who flirts with the idea of leaving Harry for a used-car salesman, played with uber-confidence by Bill Paxson. Helen finds out the true identity of her husband in another funny scene where both are captured by Arab terrorists with help from a truth serum. The action part of True Lies comes from Harry trying to track down the nuclear bomb that has been stolen by the terrorists. A wonderfully shot escape scene on the bridge that connects the Florida Keys to the mainland is the pinnacle of True Lies. An action film that does not take itself too seriously (notice all of the silly Arnold-lines peppered throughout the movie, my personal favorite being "you're fired!" before Trump thought of it), True Lies is wildly entertaining, so much so that you almost forget Tom Arnold was married to Roseanne.
113 of 150 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful to you?
| Report this
James Cameron has directed some fantastic action movies during his career (Aliens, the first two Terminator movies, The Abyss, Titanic--that boat action was like totally awesome!!), but none were as funny as True Lies is. Arnold Schwarzenegger (Terminator, Eraser, the Governor of California) is Harry Tasker, a computer programming father by day, James Bond by night, working for a top secret government agency that is beyond the CIA and run by Charlton Heston. Tom Arnold, in his first dramatic role, plays Harry's partner, Gib, and is the smartass, class clown of the agency. Schwarzenegger and Arnold have a fantastic chemistry, creating the movie's biggest laughs. Jamie Lee Curtis plays Harry's under-appreciated wife, Helen, who flirts with the idea of leaving Harry for a used-car salesman, played with uber-confidence by Bill Paxson. Helen finds out the true identity of her husband in another funny scene where both are captured by Arab terrorists with help from a truth serum. The action part of True Lies comes from Harry trying to track down the nuclear bomb that has been stolen by the terrorists. A wonderfully shot escape scene on the bridge that connects the Florida Keys to the mainland is the pinnacle of True Lies. An action film that does not take itself too seriously (notice all of the silly Arnold-lines peppered throughout the movie, my personal favorite being "you're fired!" before Trump thought of it), True Lies is wildly entertaining, so much so that you almost forget Tom Arnold was married to Roseanne.