TRUE LIES
A film review by John M. Bozeman
Copyright 1994 John M. Bozeman
I love a good movie that skillfully unites a variety of genres. Indeed, the "Lethal Weapon" series, in the mind of this reviewer, is a modern classic as a result of its brilliant mixing of thriller, comic, and tragic elements. Achieving such a blend also appears to have been the goal of the makers of TRUE LIES, in which an agent for a super-secret government agency unintentionally finds his family involved as he fights a ring of crazed Muslim terrorists intent on setting off nuclear bombs in the United States.
Our hero, played by none other than Arnold Schwarzenegger, leads a double life. Supposedly, he is a mild-mannered computer salesman. In fact, he is so mild mannered that his wife (Jamie Lee Curtis) is about to have an affair with a used-car salesman posing as a secret agent, simply to give her life more purpose and pizazz. Before long, however, she finds herself involved in real life exploits, as she herself is accidentally vacuumed up along with her husband the terrorists.
TRUE LIES attempts to combine the elements of thriller and domestic comedy. While a number of reviewers have found the movie to be successful in this endeavor, this one is forced to take a much more moderate tone. It is true that there are some genuinely funny moments in the purposely overplayed scenes, as in the case of Arnie's initial encounter with his wife's would-be lover. And some of the chase scenes--such as a motorcycle-and-horse chase through an expensive hotel--are also quite entertaining. But there are also times when the action veers from the merely highly improbable into the simply impossible, such as when a dropped gun manages to kill a sizable number of bad guys while leaving the heros undamaged.
Also, some scenes dragged on too long, and could have used more editing. A couple of these were not only lengthy; they were also embarrassing and gave rise to a sense of moral outrage, as our "hero" uses his access to government facilities not merely to follow, but also to psychologically torture his wife on two occasions.
TRUE LIES is thus a mixed bag. Some aspects of the movie are excellent, but there are also substantial flaws. I would suggest it is good for a matinee or a "bargain" theater, but am less enthusiastic about it as a full price blockbuster.
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