Amazon.com Essentials:
From The
Terminator to Titanic, you can
always rely on writer-director James Cameron to show you something
you've never seen on the big screen before. The guy may not
consistently pen the most scintillating dialogue in the world (and,
especially in this movie, he doesn't seem to have a particularly high
regard for women), but as a director of kinetic, push-the-envelope
action sequences, he is in a class by himself. In True Lies,
the highlight is a breathtaking third-act jet and car chase through
the Florida Keys. Arnold Schwarzenegger plays a covert intelligence
agent whose wife of 15 years (Jamie Lee Curtis) finally finds out that
he's not really a computer salesman and who becomes mixed up in a case
involving nuclear arms smuggling. Tom Arnold is surprisingly funny and
engaging as Schwarzenegger's longtime spy partner, and Bill Paxton is
a smarmy used-car salesman (is that redundant?) whom Arnold thinks is
having an affair with his wife. Purely in terms of spectacular action
and high-tech hardware, True Lies is a blast. --Jim
Emerson
Amazon.com video review:
We know Arnold Schwarzenegger doesn't take himself too seriously--just see Twins and Jingle All the Way--but let's face it, Ah-nold is at his best when he's kicking butt and dropping cynical smart-ass quips. This set collects five of his most testosterone-driven classics: all action, all the time. The beefiest he-man to flex a bicep in Hollywood was never one for words, and he proved just what a strong, silent type could do as the tough, terse killing machine in The Terminator, the taut little low-budget sci-fi adventure that made his name. When he returned to the part in the high-gloss, effects-laden sequel Terminator 2: Judgment Day, he was too much a hero to go back to villain roles, but don't expect a kinder, gentler Arnold: the doomsday battle with his high-tech, quicksilver nemesis is a nonstop barrage of car wrecks, explosions, and knock-down, drag-out pummeling. In Predator he's the flesh-and-blood prey of an alien hunter, turning the tables with good-old-fashioned human ingenuity. Total Recall finds him a Joe Average worker of the future whose destiny brings him to the revolutionary struggle on Mars and unlocks a secret planted deep in his mind--after busting a few heads. In True Lies, Arnold's third film with action movie wunderkind James Cameron, he only pretends to be Joe Average, but under homebody attitude beats the heart of a superspy: James Bond with the physique of Mr. Universe. Together these films complete a portrait of the quintessential Schwarzenegger badass: tough, terse, take no prisoners. And just a hint of a self-effacing wink. --Sean Axmaker
