To me, this movie is perfection.

Redundant and unnecessary.

The movie is wonderful and true, an act of love in all its contradictions and complexity

The joyful confection is coated in a sparkly gloss, bright enough to gleam from the darkest, most cynical corners.

I often read other people's reviews and wonder if they watched the same film? I'm talking about the people who give this film poor reviews. True Lies is the best popcorn action film ever made, that's a bold statement but I believe it. there must be so many scenes that other filmmakers see and think damn, why didn't we think of that?? But the action is so well balanced out with the story, and humour it all just fits together perfectly. The cast is perfect, and James Cameron really pushes the action to the limit but it somehow just works! Probably the last great Schwarzenegger movie, and the last fun Cameron movie. Really should've made the sequels they planned, but would they have been able to hit such heights again?

James Cameron the Directro of Titanic, Avatar and The Terminator has a unique talent. He can Hack into Peoples Minds and Makes them Believe that his actualy a Brilliant Filmaker but he's not. Another Generic, full of Stupid Cliches movie made by James Cameron. All Arabs are Bad, all Americans are heroes and blah blah blah Yawn!

In effect, True Lies features every aspect you should expect from a Schwarzenegger film. The manic action sequences, extravagant special effects and strong doses of humour throughout. Where the film differs is in its audacity and creativity when pulling off the more overblown set-pieces and by being helmed by a director who is a master of action in the form of James Cameron. This is clearly Cameron's most relaxed and purely entertainment based film, something that makes it greatly accessible but lacking in the punch of his better works.It follows Harry Tasker, a top U.S spy who has successfully fooled his wife Helen into thinking that he is a computer salesman. Why she isn't suspicious of all the times he comes home late we'll never know. For the first and final thirds of the film Harry and his team are tracking an antiques dealer who has links to a terrorist group who they believe are sneaking weapons into the country. It's pretty much as basic a spy plot as you can get but it's perfectly serviceable for a film like this. Schwarzenegger is enjoyable here. He'd played these type of roles so much by this point that he slips into it with ease. It's also the closest we'll coming to seeing Arnie playing James Bond so that's something else I suppose. Tom Arnold also deserves credit as Arnie's partner Gib, providing a lot wisecracks and sarcasm that make him a fun foil.The films entire second act is what really sets the story apart. Harry believes his wife is having an affair with slimy car salesman Simon (brilliantly played by Bill Paxton) who is pretending to be a spy to add some excitement. Harry then cooks up the idea of having his wife complete an ''assignment''. This leads to a really strange sequence where Helen does a striptease and dances in front of him in a hotel suite. Firstly, how can she not tell it's him? Secondly, the entire scene is unpleasant when you take a step back. I understand Harry wanting to get some kind of revenge on his wife, but to degrade her like he does just feels wrong. Jamie Lee Curtis excels in these moments of physical comedy and the natural comedy that comes from her interactions with Paxton are very amusing, yet the eventual payoff ends up feeling forced and unnecessary to the plot. As you'd expect the action is wonderfully stylised and unrestrained in all the right areas. Take for instance the best action scene which involves Harry on a horse pursuing the head terrorist on a motorbike and the way in which the scene works is how it just keeps building. First they chase through a park, then a hotel lobby, then get elevators to the roof, where the terrorist escapes via free fall into a swimming pool and Arnie's horse refuses to follow in a funny payoff. There are no lengths the film won't got to in order to provide the most excitement it can. The climax is similar. At one point it features Arnie flying a jet with his daughter clinging onto the cockpit and the terrorist dangling from a missile. It's bordering on ridiculous. Yet one of the films strengths is that it knows these situations are far-fetched and it clearly has fun in seeing how far it can go.James Cameron's direction is as smooth as ever and there are not many directors who are as competent when it comes to action as he is. Cameron also wrote the screenplay which is fun and well-paced yet certainly lacking in something extra. Even though I enjoy the first the two-thirds of the film, the weird payoffs in all, the final act does feel a little contrived and the film loses a lot of steam as a result. The strength of the writing is definitely in the films humour. It mostly keeps its tone light and playful, leading to plenty of good one-liners and interaction, especially between Harry and his team. Elsewhere, Brad Fiedel provides a brilliant score, brimming with excitement and energy that fit the films tone perfectly. It's a nice move away from the more atmospheric work of his previous scores.True Lies doesn't quite hit the heights of much of either Cameron's or Schwarzenegger's other works, partly because of its simply trying to be fun entertainment and partly because of the limitations in its plotting. The plot itself is too simplistic for it to ever be that gripping and the tonal shifts do frequently feel unwarranted. Its approach is both an asset and a hindrance as a result. Yet, when it comes to big action, comedy and effects then you'll struggle to do better than here. When the film sticks to its strengths it is undeniable fun.

This is the Arnie movie you haven't watched, haven't heard of and should watch if you have any appreciation for 90's action flicks. They're often easy and fun to watch, well constructed, possibly have a bit of a worthwhile morality to it and contains lots of improbable, humorous moments. Well, this James Cameron forgotten flick does all of that, and does it very well. You'll forget it runs at over 2hrs20min because it never lets down and the plot continues to maintain a solid level, evolving and throwing new elements in smoothly as it goes. Of course Arnie is Arnie as ever, and Jamie Lee Curtis puts in a superb, surprisingly complex performance as her character is put through all sorts of awkward positions and situations. Good action scenes, and lots ! - genuinely good laughs, some good criticism about more identifiable issues (within couples, for instance), and a great climax at the end. Watch it, it's that enjoyable. Really a fun, worthwhile Cameron/Arnie flick.