True Lies

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True Lies

R

Released Jul 15, 1994

2h 21m

Action

Comedy

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

70%

Tomatometer

57 Reviews

76%

Popcornmeter

250,000+ Ratings

Secretly a spy but thought by his family to be a dull salesman, Harry Tasker (Arnold Schwarzenegger) is tracking down nuclear missiles in the possession of Islamic jihadist Aziz (Art Malik). Harry's mission is complicated when he realizes his neglected wife, Helen (Jamie Lee Curtis), is contemplating an affair with Simon (Bill Paxton), a used-car salesman who claims he's a spy. When Aziz kidnaps Harry and Helen, the secret agent must save the world and patch up his marriage at the same time.

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Critics Consensus

If it doesn't reach the heights of director James Cameron's and star Arnold Schwarzenegger's previous collaborations, True Lies still packs enough action and humor into its sometimes absurd plot to entertain.

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Duane Byrge

The Hollywood Reporter

Schwarzenegger's comic confidence and good-guy tenacity are a perfect balance, while Curtis wins our sympathy as his repressed wife, showing some deadpan drollery of her own.

Jul 16, 2019

Full Review

Caroline Westbrook

Empire Magazine

Proves that throwing everything at the camera sometimes works a treat.

Rated: 4/5

May 24, 2011

Full Review

Jonathan Rosenbaum

Chicago Reader

If the Gulf War gave you an insatiable taste for burning oil and burning Arabs, this extravaganza will tide you over for at least a couple of days.

Dec 11, 2009

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Matt Brunson

Film Frenzy

Even without a sociopolitical analysis, this bloated film isn’t as fleet-footed or perpetually exciting as the material warrants.

Rated: 2.5/4

Apr 22, 2024

Full Review

Preston Barta

Fresh Fiction

'True Lies' is a James Bond fantasy mixed with a genuine love story. It’s a seamless marriage between laugh-out-loud comedy and cartoonish violence.

Jan 16, 2024

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Douglas Davidson

Elements of Madness

Each of these moments and many others continue to generate laughs, as do the stunt work, the set pieces, and the general character work by the performers. In short, if you loved TRUE LIES before, the film ages well enough that one won’t regret a revisit.

Dec 20, 2023

Full Review

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Romas M

Greetings from Lithuania. "True Lies" (1994) is a pure movie magic. It grabs you, and entertains for the rest of it's running time. It's a superb entertainment all the way long. It's not the best film made by maestro J.Cameron but any other mainstream movies director would have declared this picture as his carrier achievement. That's how good "True Lies" is. It has amazing visual effects (no wonder here), great humor, terrific action scenes, and good plot for this kind of a movie. The ending with a jet is still one of those scenes where after 20 years you wonder: "how in the hell did they pulled that of"? If by any chance you still haven't see "True Lies" do your self a favor - take some friends, beer, turn you phones off and enjoy this slick classic, it's one to be seen again and again. Pure escapism. And a true classic action comedy.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

07/06/25

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Christian K

Bill Paxton GOAT with limited screen time. This is why i didn't get too tall or jacked, i would be unbelievable as a dull salesman.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

06/18/25

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Frans B

Cameron did good here. Whole cast excels in character, cinematography is great and story is made quite interesting. Lots of action, twists and turns and humor also thrown in for good measure. Always have a good time watching this, highly recommended

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

04/25/25

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M C

Thoroughly enjoyed it, cast did wonderful!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

03/23/25

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Rory M

Troubling Arab depictions aside, this is a fun series of action set pieces woven into a half baked plot undeserving of its talented production and performers. MILD SPOILERS: One thing that has always baffled me is Helen taking a back seat in the third act. The film is about her and Harry's relationship yes? I think it should have been her in the helicopter (somehow?), and that Harry could be telling her what to do through a radio system or something. As it is its weird she not there

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

11/16/24

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Fer S

A dumb movie, but you expect it to be dumb.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

10/05/24

Full Review

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James Cameron

Director

Arnold Schwarzenegger

Harry Tasker

Jamie Lee Curtis

Helen Tasker

Tom Arnold

Albert Gibson

Bill Paxton

Simon

Tia Carrere

Juno Skinner

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Synopsis

Secretly a spy but thought by his family to be a dull salesman, Harry Tasker (Arnold Schwarzenegger) is tracking down nuclear missiles in the possession of Islamic jihadist Aziz (Art Malik). Harry's mission is complicated when he realizes his neglected wife, Helen (Jamie Lee Curtis), is contemplating an affair with Simon (Bill Paxton), a used-car salesman who claims he's a spy. When Aziz kidnaps Harry and Helen, the secret agent must save the world and patch up his marriage at the same time.

Director: James Cameron
Producer: Stephanie Austin, James Cameron
Screenwriter: James Cameron
Distributor: Argentina Video Home, 20th Century Fox
Production Co: 20th Century Fox, Lightstorm Entertainment
Rating: R
Genre: Action, Comedy
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Jul 15, 1994, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Oct 7, 2016
Box Office (Gross USA): $146.3M
Runtime: 2h 21m
Sound Mix: Surround, Magnetic Stereo 6 Track, Dolby Digital, DTS, Stereo

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