Customer Reviews

True Lies

5 star:		(150)
4 star:		(54)
3 star:		(18)
2 star:		(10)
1 star:		(16)

 

 

Meet Arnold Swarzennegar - amazing James Bond type spy who's absolutely clueless as a husband and father. He starts out as impeccable as 007, who he is obviously spoofing, but then loses it and goes crazy when he suspects his wife (Jamie Lee Curtis) is cheating on him.

his best buddy, Tom Arnold from "Roseanne" fame, is the perfect comic foil. It's really Tom that makes this act/adv stand out from the crowd. The dialogue is fast, funny, and Tom takes it to the limit. Also up for a laugh is Bill Paxton, another Cameron regular (Aliens), who plays a seedy used-car salesman posing as a spy in order to seduce women. He really goes all the way, completely unafraid of playing a true idiot!

It's just so great to watch an act/adv with great action that isn't limited to the usual, off-hand quips from stoneyfaced he-men. This movie is one of my favorites because it's a great popcorn movie that delivers on many levels. It's not just an excuse to blow things up and no one takes themselves too seriously. Everyone obviously had a great time making this film and it shows. I hope they make the sequel soon.

I bought the DVD before I got my 5.1 system and thought the sound was great with normal stereo but WHOA NELLY! Watch the volume levels, though as comfortable dialog quick becomes sonic booms in this one.

This has the best picture (via S-video) and audio quality I've seen so far on a DVD.

True Lies DVD

True Lies is a movie about an U. S. spy (played by Arnold Swarzennegger) who tries to keep his true occupation a secret from his wife( played by Jamie Lee Curtis, the daughter of Tony Curtis, and her mother was Janet Leigh.
Anyhow this movie has some hilarious moments, I especially like the used car salesman, who reminds me of an ex-friend.

Highly recommended for fans of Arnold Swarzennegger and Jamie Lee Curtis. I didn't realize she could play a sexy role.

Gunner February, 2008

There are two ingredients for a great Arnold flick: tonue in cheek comeday and unbelievable action. This movie has enough of both of these for two movies.

When Arnold gets together with James Cameron, you know the action's going to be unbelievable. I can't wait for TRUE LIES 2. The chase scene in the snow, the bridge chase, and the Harrier scene...some of the best action I've seen in years.

Jamie Lee Curtis as Arnold's unsuspecting wife is just great. She can play both the vulnerable housewife and the hard as nails woman protecting herself...plus she can scream really well! The chemistry between her and Arnold onscreen is great.

The comedy in this movie is great. Tom Arnold plays Arnold's partner and just gets walked all over by him. Has to take all the abuse and cruddy jobs...just hilarious. Then there's Bill Paxton's bit role as a sleazy car salesman. He does an unbelievably funny job.

This is probably Arnold's best movie since TERMINATOR 2. Definitely a must see for any action junkie.

"True Lies" is one of my favorite action films, being at the same time one of the prototypical mid 1990's action films and a parody of the same genre. It strikes a perfect balance between humor and action throughout the course of the film. It's a must see if you like Arnold.

However, the DVD release presented here is brutal. Do not let the THX certification on the front of the DVD case fool you. The film is presented in 2.35:1 aspect ration, but is not anamorphic widescreen, a format optimized for widescreen televisions. It is presented in letterbox format instead, which means that the picture is much, much worse than its anamorphic equivalent because the black bars at the top and bottom are actually encoded into the video stream. This process leaves less room in the video encoding for the actual image, reducing its quality. Anamorphic widescreen leaves the black bars out of the video encoding, preserving more of the video stream for the actual image and allowing the DVD player and TV to add the black bars if necessary. Since a widescreen TV does not have need for these bars, they can be left off entirely, leaving only the high quality image.

Anamorphic widescreen has been a standard feature of DVDs for years now, so it's easy to forget that not all DVDs have it. Old DVDs are especially suspect on this front. If you have a nice television, the lack of anamorphic widescreen will be very noticeable and distracting throughout the film. Maybe it will be out on Blu-ray soon...

"True Lies" is quite simply, one of the most entertaining, fast paced and hilarious films that Arnold Schwarzenegger has ever starred in. From the very first time I saw this movie in the theater to several viewings both in VHS and DVD format, I've found that the superior script and exceptional acting in this film entertains every time. I've read of and heard many lament over some aspects of this film and the best I could say to those is that quite often the movies that Hollywood produces are a sensationalism of real life events and ultimately a movie such as this one is for entertainment not making statements about any one group or individual and as a medium for entertainment, this film succeeds completely!

Performance wise, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jamie Lee Curtis, Tom Arnold, Bill Paxton, Tia Carrere and Art Malik all deserve great honors and the accolades they received for their respective parts in this film. "True Lies" was probably Arnold Schwarzenegger's best overall performance both in the action and the dramatic sense. Jamie Lee Curtis couldn't have been any better in this role and I can honestly say that I was impressed with Tom Arnold's performance in this movie whereas any other film or show I've seen him in I was not impressed. I believe the only other movie I've seen that Art Malik was in was "The Living Daylights" and in both that movie and this one his work has been exceptional.

Say what you may like about director James Cameron but you would definitely have to admit that prior to the current but most likely "temporary" culmination of his career as a director with the movie "Titanic" and heading off to run the "Dark Angel" television series, few directors could come close to matching his accomplishments. "True Lies" was James Cameron's fifth highly successful hit in a row and with this movie and "Titanic" one could definitely say that during this run of box office hits, he had the pulse of the fans as he wrote screenplays and directed these extraordinary films.

The Premise:

Harry Tasker (Arnold Schwarzenegger) is a high speed "spook" working for a highly secretive government agency that is a watch dog/operator spook agency that identifies and handles terrorist threats to the United States. Along with his handler Albert Gibson (Tom Arnold), they uncover a major terrorist operation which is bent on using nuclear warheads against the US to accomplish its goals. As Harry, Albert and their organization are working to uncover the terrorists plot; his family becomes heavily involved in the story which is where Helen Tasker (Jamie Lee Curtis) comes in to play and some extremely hilarious scenes involving Simon (Bill Paxton). What follows from there is one of the most hilarious and exciting action/drama films to have come out of the nineties.

I highly recommend this film to any and all who are interested in seeing a great, fast paced, highly intriguing and hilarious action/drama movie and aren't interested in reading too much into the plot or the characters in the plot that are used as plot devices. {ssintrepid}

Special Features:

-Original Theatrical Trailer

Now might be a good time to check out "True Lies" once again, simply because most of the principles are in the news a lot these days. After all, Arnold Swarzenegger is running for governor of California, Jamie Lee Curtis is getting great reviews for her work in the new version of "Freaky Friday," a network has shown enough faith in Eliza Dushku to star her in a new television series "Tru Calling," and Tom Arnold is hosting a sports talk show on television while being dissed by ex-wife Roseanne Barr as she prepares for her new reality show. Of course, you have to wonder whatever happened to James Cameron, the director of this 1994 action comedy (my own guess is that the spirit of David O. Sleznick is whispering in Cameron's ear, "Okay, now that you're `King of the World' what are you going to do next?").

Arnold is Harry Tasker, a special agent for a super secret government organization, but his wife Helen (Curtis), thinks he is just a boring computer salesman. While he is dealing with cracking a ring of international terrorists, she is looking for a little more excitement in her life. Ironically, she thinks she has found this in a fast talking used car salesman who hits on lonely wives by pretending he is a secret agent. Of course, the irony gets a bit more intense as the movie progresses and the chief attraction is that Harry is trying to save his marriage along with the free world. If there is one lesson this film teaches, then it would clearly be the old adage that it takes two to tango.

This week my thinking is that "True Lies" is ultimate Arnold Swarzenegger film, combining the action of the "Terminator" films with the appealing comedy of "Kindergarten Cop." This is a film that is able to have it both ways when it comes to Arnold's cinematic persona, being faithful to his larger than life action sequences while also carrying off some tongue-in-cheek parody. Meanwhile, Curtis turns in the second best performance of her career, which I can now say because I just saw her best in "Freaky Friday" this afternoon. Tom Arnold has never been better an the second banana, which is something he probably knows, and Charlton Heston has a choice bit part as the head of the secret organization for which Harry works. I have heard there is supposed to be a sequel to this film, which might be derailed by Arnold's candidacy (especially if he gets elected), but that might be just as well because a sequel could not be better than the original in this case.

Schwarzenegger movies will be on hiatus, at least in California, for the next couple of months. Fortunately, the movies of actors running for political office are a lot more accessible today than they were went Ronald Reagan was running for president (Note: "Bedtime for Bonzo" is a very good B-comedy and primarily a joke to those who have not seen the film). If you are thinking of watching a Schwarzenegger movie to mull over his viability as a political candidate, then "True Lies" seems the obvious choice. As for me, I watched it again because I wanted to see more of the funny (and sexy) Jamie Lee Curtis, and Laurie Strode just does not suffice any more.

Wholesome entertainment: suspense, intrigue, romance, and some high octane action, all rolled into a thrilling *comedy* that's clearly meant to be a spoof of all the unrealistic, "filmy" stunts of Hollywood. Delectable.

Reviewers who complain about over-the-top action probably missed the telltale signs of this intended parody: the horse-motorcycle chase, or the scene with Arnie jostling with a terrier in the sky. That's the idea, Beavis. Others complain that the militants shown are Islamic. So? There are plenty of movies where the villians are not Islamic, should we sit and pull hairs about each ethnic group being mal-represented?

If you can live in the world without a hypersensitive political correctness radar, you'll love True Lies as a stylishly done popcorn piece that blends spectacular action with some pretty laconic wit. Recommended!

This is, IMO, the best Arnold film ever. It is non stop action and excitement from the beginning. Adventure, romance, suspense, comedy - it's got it all! Okay, now to the DVD review. The transfer is one of the best I've seen, the sound is superb in Dolby Digital 5.1, this is a THX enhanced video and audio DVD. The downfall, DVD features are extrememly lacking, how about behind the scenes footage, or director/actor commentary; maybe a SE version in the future? But if you want a great DVD for pure enjoyment and you like Arny, this is it! The transfer from layers is done at a dark spot which is nice, some DVD's do it in the middle of a scene making for a more disturbing transition as the audio and video pause for a couple seconds... The main menu is pretty nice though, but the features are seriously lacking. You must also go in and set up the dolby 5.1 channel as it will automatically go into 2 channel.

You know, I gotta be one of the biggest action-flick geeks out there. How do I know this? Well, every time I fire one up on the DVD machine, I break out my two little analog hand-held clicker-counters (one for the heavies, which tends to overheat quickly, & one for the good guys, which usually collects more dust than digits) to keep track of the body count! Pretty extreme, huh? Sadly, most of my fanboy buds think my keeping track of the survival-challenged is kinda pathetic. But they're just jealous 'cause they don't know all the lines to every 'Dirty Harry' sequel like I do! Yeah, who's the pathetic one NOW, you posers?

Anyway, on with the review. I found 'True Lies' to be yet another memorable actioner from the mind of a guy who's no slouch when it comes to the action/adventure genre. His writing and/or producing and/or direction of such memorable shoot-em-up fare as 'Rambo II', 'Aliens', and the two 'Terminator' flicks will attest to this fact. When it comes to flyin' metal and/or energy-based projectiles, nukes goin' off, pioneering new computer-generated imagery techniques, blue-filtered night scenes, and utilizing spare-no-expense budgets to their maximum potential, James Cameron is a filmmaking god!

'True Lies' is one of the best examples of comic-book-style action cinema around, with a little bit of James Bond thrown in for good measure. It doesn't disappoint in providing those moments of pure implausible silliness that action flicks have in spades, and then some! The best example of this being the discharge of the MAC 10 (or was it a MAC 9? Uzi? I'm not sure) taking out a dozen Middle-Eastern terrorists as it rolls down a stairway. Talk about a hair trigger! Then there's our main baddie Aziz doin' the cross-skyscraper motorcycle jump. The pelican that literally tips the scales against the terrorists gained a pretty hearty guffaw from my ample belly. And when Aziz gets his-- well, you'll hafta see it for yourself. (Hee hee... 'You're fired'... I get it! Bwahhh-hah-hah-haaa!)

Now it's time for a little feature I try to include in all of my video reviews- the disclosure of the big flub. Although most of the CGI & matte work done here isn't as absolutely convincing as it could be, overall I found it to work fairly well. But there is one moment where the 'seams' in the magic can be perceived, albeit only very slightly with careful inspection. It happens following the opening at the Swiss lakeside mansion. When Arn's making his climb up to the top floor from the second-story terrace, there's a barely-perceivable shift in the height of the wall he's scaling. I never noticed this on VHS before; the superior picture clarity of DVD makes the moment a bit more apparent. Just goes to show you that the digital video format isn't all it's cracked up to be...

But, at least the movie has some pretty good comedic elements to get my mind off its shortcomings. Although I'm no big fan of Tom Arnold, I thought he did a pretty good job in his role as Arn's backup man. And of course Bill Paxton's at it again, playing the kind of part he's good at- a smarmy, oily, cowardly little git. Although I thought his character's posing-as-a-secret-agent-to-pick-up-chicks schtick was rather unconvincing, he definitely steals the show in the comedy department. His 'little' revelation at the aqueduct is one of those great comedic moments I like to rewind and watch three times in a row before I let the movie play on.

Aside from the myriad CGI renderings & bluescreen moments that didn't always fit, my only gripe with this disc is this: there's almost no extras or bonus material. Just one theatrical trailer's included, and that's it. Now normally this wouldn't bother me too much, but this is a James Cameron flick we're talking about here. When was the last time you recall one of his big-budget/big-studio films NOT getting the fully loaded treatment on DVD?

(brief pause)

Yeah, see what I mean? Oh sure, 'The Abyss', 'Aliens', 'Terminator 2', and-coming soon- the original 'Terminator'- all get their just respects on the digital format: restored footage, running commentary tracks, trailers, endless behind-the-scenes looks, ete., etc., ad nauseum. Heck, even 'Titanic' has more extras. But when it comes to loadin' up 'True Lies', does it get any consideration? No! What it gets is a swift kick to the curb! If ever there was a Rodney Dangerfield among the Jimmy-C blockbuster series, this is it!

Then again, it's highly likely that Fox is goin' for the DVD double-dip. You know the scene: they offer you this stripped-down model, and being one of those 'I-just-gotta-have-it!' type DVD nuts, naturally you buy it. Then a few months to a few years later, the studio rolls out the Super-Duper-Top-Of-The-Line 2-disc version with all the bells, whistles & assorted tchotchkes! Hey, it worked for the 'Die Hard' trilogy, right?

Anyway, I gotta go. I've a few other Arnie flicks cued up for viewing, & my clicker-counter's gettin' anxious...

'Late!