Before he took on the ambitious storytelling endeavor that is the Avatar franchise, James Cameron showed he had a unique eye for action. Sure, Titanic was the romantic film that would change cinema forever, but even that had a bit of action in it.
From the creation of groundbreaking special effects techniques to the design of massive set pieces, Cameron has never settled for less than epic. In one of October's new streaming arrivals, the director pushed the boundaries again, but instead of mashing up genres, he decided to go for a pure, no-holds-barred, shoot-'em-up adventure. Prepare to revisit one of the best action movies of the 20th century.
'True Lies' Features Arnold Schwarzenegger at the Top of His Game
True Lies tells the story of Harry Tasker (Arnold Schwarzenegger), an undercover agent posing as a family man. His wife Helen (Jamie Lee Curtis) believes Harry has lost his mojo, and gets involved with another man. While spying on Helen, Harry discovers that a terrorist is planning a nuclear attack on the country. Ultimately, his cover is blown, and Helen finds out that his apparently dull husband is actually trying to save the world in a mission that pulls her into the middle of a deadly operation.
True Lies was released one year after Last Action Hero, an infamous box-office bomb that put a dent in Schwarzenegger's career. It reunited him with Cameron for a film that was exactly the kind of release Schwarzenegger was expected to topline in his prime. His giant face on the poster was enough to send audiences flocking to theaters to catch his latest movie, which also starred Eliza Dushku, Bill Paxton, Tom Arnold, and Tia Carrere, among others.
The film offered state-of-the-art visual effects blended with practical sets, a groundbreaking approach that earned True Lies its sole Oscar nomination. After its box office and critical success, a sequel was planned, but Cameron chose to develop 1997's Titanic instead. After the events of 9/11, interest in a sequel waned until the project eventually vanished from the studio's slate.
True Lies originally arrived in theaters in July 1994. A remake of the French production La Totale!, the film grossed $378.9 million against a $120 million production budget and became one of the highest-grossing movies of the year. The reception from critics was positive, and today it holds a 77% score on Rotten Tomatoes – not bad, but also one of the lowest ratings of the director's career.
Famous critic Roger Ebert was among those who celebrated the film, giving it three out of four stars in his review. "The director, James Cameron, is a master of action, and when he's doing his thing, no one does it better," he wrote. "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."
True Lies is set to arrive on on October 1, alongside other titles such as Alita: Battle Angel, Ghostbusters, the Die Hard series, and the Night at the Museum series.