True Lies (1994)

★ 7.1 2h 21m 4,513 votes IMDb
Sign in to rate this film

A fearless, globe-trotting, terrorist-battling secret agent has his life turned upside down when he discovers his wife might be having an affair with a used car salesman while terrorists smuggle nuclear war heads into the United States.

True Lies

Where to Watch

Netflix Netflix Watch
Amazon Prime Video Amazon Prime Video Watch
Disney Plus Disney Plus Watch
Max Max Watch
Hulu Hulu Watch
Paramount Plus Paramount Plus Watch
Apple TV Plus Apple TV Plus Watch
Peacock Peacock Watch
Crunchyroll Crunchyroll Watch
Tubi TV Tubi TV Watch
Pluto TV Pluto TV Watch
Plex Plex Watch

Rent / Buy

Rent

Apple TV Apple TV Rent
Google Play Movies Google Play Movies Rent
Amazon Video Amazon Video Rent
YouTube YouTube Rent
Vudu Vudu Rent
Fandango at Home Fandango at Home Rent

Buy

Apple TV Apple TV Buy
Google Play Movies Google Play Movies Buy
Amazon Video Amazon Video Buy
YouTube YouTube Buy
Vudu Vudu Buy
Fandango at Home Fandango at Home Buy

Cast

Arnold Schwarzenegger
Arnold Schwarzenegger as Harry Age 78 · Thal, Styria, Austria Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger (born July 30, 1947) is an Austrian and American actor, businessman, former politician, and former professional bodybuilder, known for his roles in high-profile action film...
Jamie Lee Curtis
Jamie Lee Curtis as Helen Age 67 · Los Angeles, California, USA Jamie Lee Curtis (born November 22, 1958) is an American actress, producer, and children's author. Known for her performances in the horror and slasher genres, as well as in multiple comedies, she is...
Tom Arnold
Tom Arnold as Gib Age 67 · Ottumwa, Iowa, USA Thomas Duane "Tom" Arnold (born March 6, 1959) is an American actor and comedian. He has appeared in many films, perhaps most notably True Lies (1994). He was the host of The Best Damn Sports Show Per...
Bill Paxton
Bill Paxton as Simon Died 2017 · Fort Worth, Texas, USA Bill Paxton (May 17, 1955 – February 25, 2017) was an American actor. He appeared in films including Aliens and Titanic and starred as practising polygamist Bill Henrickson in the HBO series Big Love....
Tia Carrere
Tia Carrere as Juno Age 59 · Honolulu, Hawaii, USA Tia Carrere  (born Althea Rae Janairo; January 2, 1967) is an American actress, model, and singer, perhaps most widely known for her role as Cassandra Wong in the feature films Wayne's World and Wayne...
Art Malik
Art Malik as Aziz Age 73 · Bahawalpur, Pakistan Athar ul-Haque Malik (born 13 November 1952), known professionally as Art Malik, is a Pakistani-born British actor who achieved international fame in the 1980s through his starring and subsidiary role...

Audience Reviews

Gimly 5/10 May 15, 2018
I seem to like **True Lies** a significant amount less than most people do. And it's not because it isn't my type of movie either, Schwarzeneggar as a secret agent in an explosive 90s action movie is absolutely my jam. But I don't love _True Lies_, maybe I saw it too late in life (I was 25 the first time I saw the whole movie) and either I aged out of it or the movie aged out of society, but whatever the case, I just can't really understand why it's so beloved. I would never take it away from anyone, and there's absolutely stuff I like, but I can't really recommend it based on personal taste.

_Final rating:★★½ - Had a lot that appealed to me, didn’t quite work as a whole._
John Chard 7/10 Jul 24, 2019
Cameron and Schwarzenegger team up again for a riot of an action movie.

True Lies sees Arnold Schwarzenegger play Harry Tasker, to his wife Helen (Jaimie Lee Curtis) and daughter Dana (Eliza Dushku) he's a safe husband and father working as a computer salesman. Away from the family home he's a top spy for one of America's highest secret services. When Harry is prompted to believe that Helen is having an affair, it signals the start of a sequence of events that will out Harry and lead them both to a confrontation with a deadly terrorist.

To hell with misogyny and stereotypical Arab terrorist (Art Malik so OTT he's off the chain man), Cameron's True Lies really isn't concerned for political correctness. His aim, aided by his on form cast, is to chase, caress and explode stuff whilst having a laugh at every turn. True Lies, if anyone was in doubt prior to its release, shows Cameron to be supremely gifted at action set pieces. No expense spared of course, but you still gotta utilise those Harrier Jets, helicopters and horse carrying elevators to great effect. And so it proves. Throw in a tremendously funny script that gives Tom Arnold & Bill Paxton comedy gold roles to revel in; and what you get is a Worldwide box office profit of nearly $264 million.

It knows it's nonsense, but it's the good kind of nonsense that Hollywood has to offer. Ever re-watchable, True Lies is undeniably great fun. 7.5/10
gricket Mar 07, 2021
The zenith of Arnold's career... "True Lies" not only represents the singular moment in the actor's pre-governor acting career where he played more than a one dimensional action hero. In an homage to the secret agent genre, the film opens with an action / glamour set-piece that is more James Bond than a 21st century 007 film. From there the story breaks into what would a few years later become the mold for numerous of Jackie Chan's "goofy secret agent" movies, although Chan would replace the cutting-edge CGI special effects set-pieces with a variety of more economical but just-as-exciting acrobatic, complex choreography hand-to-hand fights. There is one mano-a-mano beat down scene where Arnold takes down his enemy by flushing his head in a urinal, complete with his attempt at a trade-mark one-liner: "Cool Off". (It's a set piece worth comparing to the more recent scene in "Mission Impossible: Fallout".) Along with that, it shifts smoothly back and forth from a rather straightforward super-spy/terrorist story line and exploring the practical troubles of living of the life of a secret agent while having a wife and kids. This film also represents the movie that put Jamie Lee Curtis back on the map after a stint in a slew of flops following her role in "A Fish Called Wanda". "True Lies" put her acting range on display and put to rest any lingering question of whether she was anything more than a scream queen. One of the most hilarious moments she pulls off flawlessly is falling flat on her face while attempting to pole dance, and then getting getting back up and acting like it didn't happen. Without her screen presence, the film would be just another entry in the list of Arnold action films scotched with a twist of comedy. One could go so far as to conclude that the difference in the enduring appeal of "True Lies" vs. the mis-matched partner straight-man, funny-man film "Red Heat" is the degree to which Jamie Lee Curtis caries the fish-out-of-water funny-woman role in contrast to Jim Belushi's semi-funny, street-wise American cop. But, unlike the cold war, the regimented soviet style vs. the fast-and-lost American way, the contrast in "True Lies" derives from the ahead-of-it's time idea of adaptable, underrated woman and her somewhat over-inflated male counterpart. When the secret agents attempt to arrest Curtis's character, she fights back fiercely, with a well placed nut-shot that made women and men alike erupt with cheers and laughter in theaters, something not so likely contemporary Hollywood's constant browbeating with girl power - male buffoonery film after film.
CinemaSerf 7/10 Apr 21, 2025
A tale of double lives. “Harry” (Arnold Schwarzenegger) is a government agent embroiled in tracking down some nefarious Middle Eastern terrorists whilst presenting the façade of a meek computer salesmen to his wife. Meantime, “Helen” (Jamie Lee Curtis) is a bit bored with his timidity and so is seeking a bit of clandestine fun with the enigmatic “Simon” (Bill Paxton) who claims he is also something altogether more “007”. When the jihadist “Aziz” (Art Malik) kidnaps both wife and would-be lover, it falls to “Harry” to use all of his wiles to save the world from devastation and to save his own marriage from the doldrums. Though the story isn’t so new, it’s the engaging chemistry between Arnie, JLC and Paxton that really keeps this entertaining as the adventure kicks in and we have loads of action-packed scenarios; some typically daft buffoonery; lots of death-defying and the pyrotechnics go mad as the story races along. Perhaps, as he was in “The Living Daylights” (1987), Art Malik is a bit lightweight as a not terribly menacing baddie but all in all this is an enjoyable romp through the gadget driven espionage genre with a couple of stars who are clearly enjoying themselves towards a denouement that is a little long in coming, but the substance of which might even suggest a sequel.
misubisu 10/10 Jan 18, 2026
**Score: 10/10 — A Timeless, Flawless Blueprint for the Perfect mix of Action, Comedy and Drama**

Watching *True Lies* after twenty-five years is a revelation—a testament to its immaculate craftsmanship. It hasn't aged; it has been **preserved in cinematic amber as a perfect, high-octane joyride.** This film is James Cameron operating at the peak of his populist powers, blending espionage thriller, marital comedy, and globe-trotting spectacle into a single, wildly entertaining package that remains **as good today as it was on day one.**

**The Perfect Mix:**

The alchemy is precise and undeniable.
* **Action:** Cameron directs set-pieces with symphonic brilliance. From the breathtaking, practical-effects-driven Harrier jet dogfight over Miami to the climactic horseback chase, the action is both colossal and impeccably clear, a masterclass in blockbuster choreography that modern CGI often struggles to match for sheer visceral thrill.
* **Comedy:** The film is legitimately, consistently hilarious. The genius is how the humour springs directly from the premise—a bored housewife (Jamie Lee Curtis, in a career-best comedic performance) thrust into her spy husband's insane world. The "striptease" scene is a perfect cocktail of awkwardness, tension, and liberation.
* **Arnold's One-Liners:** Schwarzenegger delivers his iconic persona with brilliant self-awareness. Lines like **"You're fired"** and **"I married Rambo"** are delivered with a twinkle that makes him the ultimate, impossibly cool action hero. He’s a superhero, but also a believably smitten and panicked husband.

**Heart Amidst the Fireworks:**

This is where the film earns its perfect score. Beyond the explosions, it’s a surprisingly sweet story about rediscovering passion and partnership. The scenes of Arnold watching his wife transform, or the tender resolution of their fractured trust, are played with genuine warmth. It’s a film that can **make you tear up** with its emotional honesty just moments after making you gasp at a mid-air hijacking.

**The Perfect Ensemble:**

Every single role is cast to perfection. Tom Arnold is the ideal, motor-mouthed sidekick. Bill Paxton’s "Simon" is a sleazy, unforgettable weasel. The late, great Charlton Heston adds gravitas in a brief turn. And Eliza Dushku steals every scene she’s in as the sarcastic teen. They form a constellation of characters who are all memorable, funny, and vital to the machine.

**The Verdict:**

*True Lies* is **one of James Cameron's most entertaining movies** because it is his most complete. It is the textbook definition of a crowd-pleaser: smart enough for adults, thrilling enough for action fans, funny enough for everyone, and all wrapped around a heart of gold. It is a flawless, endlessly rewatchable monument to 90s blockbuster filmmaking. A genuine, undeniable **10/10** masterpiece. Welcome back to the party.

Similar Movies