True Lies (1994)

USA Today
"...TRUE LIES explodes onscreen like a Molotov cocktail that's been shaken and stirred..." -- 3 out of 4 stars 07/15/1994 p.1D

Entertainment Weekly
"...An elaborately scaled comic suspense thriller....A likably disposable pop cocktail..." -- Rating: B 07/221994 pp.30-2

Chicago Sun-Times
"...The director, James Cameron, is a master of action, and when he's doing his thing, no one does it better....On the basis of stunts, special effects and pure action, it delivers sensationally..." 07/15/1994 p.35

Washington Post 0 of 10
Nuclear terrorists take on the nuclear family and live just long enough to rue the day in True Lies, a slick, sick espionage thriller featuring Arnold Schwarzenegger as the James Bond of the '90s. It's really the same old Arn-man, except that he defends traditional American values like misogyny and xenophobia while dressed in a tux. In addition, the lovable lummox speaks six languages fluently (English doesn't seem to be one of them) and scopes fabulous femmes fatales, though all the while remaining faithful to his mousy missis (Jamie Lee Curtis) back in the Washington 'burbs. Deceptively labeled a domestic epic by writer-director James Cameron, the $100 million movie is, in fact, a weird hybrid of action juggernaut, buddy cop caper and reactionary soft-core pornography. You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll exult in the blood of your enemies. But most of all, you'll marvel at Curtis's bountiful bazooms. - Rita Kempley
 
Chicago Sun-Times 0 of 10
It's stuff like [elaborate action sequences that] we go to Arnold Schwarzenegger movies for, and True Lies has a lot of it: Laugh-out-loud moments when the violence is so cartoonish we don't take it seriously, and yet are amazed at its inventiveness and audacity. Schwarzenegger has found himself in a lot of unlikely situations in his action-packed career, and True Lies seems determined to raise the ante - to go over the top with outlandish and extravagant special effects scenes... [Jamie Lee] Curtis earns some laughs... The physical humor is effective, and she's charmingly sexy and klutzy... The director, James Cameron, is a master of action (he worked with Schwarzenegger on Terminator 2), and when he's doing his thing, no one does it better... Cameron is credited with the screenplay (which is "based on" a French screenplay by three others), and keeps a nice undertone of humor going... One nice surprise is Tom Arnold, who has a major role - the equal of Curtis' - and fills it nicely. He has an everyman quality about him, and an ability to deliver an irreverent aside, which make him a good foil for Schwarzenegger. And when he gives advice on divorce and marriage, which he does frequently, he sounds as if he speaks from experience. True Lies doesn't rank as high as Terminator 2 and Total Recall among Schwarzenegger's action epics for a couple of reasons: The unconvincing interlude where the hero suspects adultery, and the perfunctory nature of the plot. Both earlier titles had tighter, more absorbing stories. But on the basis of stunts, special effects and pure action, it delivers sensationally. - Roger Ebert