"What did you expect, Harry? Helen's a flesh and blood woman and you're never there. It's just a matter of time." I love how sincerely Tom Arnold delivers that line. Which has to be one of the few times he's done that in his career. It's kind of the theme of this movie. People pretending to be something else but taking off the mask when they need to. Gib is a goofball, but when his friend needs to hear something serious he drops the act. Helen is a meek, nondescript housewife, but when she has to act sexy or badass she steps up to the role. Dana is an ill tempered teen with an "I don't care" attitude, but when the time comes she stands up to a dangerous terrorist and saves an entire city. In the end Harry has to learn to drop his mask and become a husband and father instead of just pretending.
Far and away his best film role. I was surprised by a very good performance he turned in as a guest star on Franklin & Bash as a reality tv dad who’s an idiot, but realizes what he’s doing is setting his kids up for failure and will do anything to stop it. Not what I expect from a guy who usually is competing with Rob Schneider for “Most Annoying Character” awards.
@@caldodge if I split with my partner I'm taking the ice cub trays. It took me 20 years to find ice cube trays of EXACTLY the right size and I'm not losing them now. She can have the dog.
Yep! Not only is it good to see a woman not talk and shut up for a second and just act and dance like we've been telling every Hollywood celebrity actor for years, it's great to watch this scene! I love it! It's Jamie's best role and she get's to shine here! Also, this is her first time in a James Cameron movie! What a time and a fitting scene for this movie! It's great!
One of the best action comedies ever made and it holds up super well. It's never not a good time to watch this movie and that Cameron seems ashamed of it is disappointing. You can't get it digitally, can't get it on Blu-ray, it's a miracle they're making a TV show based on this but my hopes aren't high. True Lies is a real classic.
I watched this in the cinema when it came out and the action setpieces looked spectacular. I then rented the VHS when it came out and watched it on a 24-inch and I felt like it had lost something...
This movie was so underrated to be honest ..... James Cameron's comedic timing was and is, so much better than what James Bay tries tondo in all his movies. I wish we had more movies like these nowadays...... The 90s movies were treasure, compared to what we get now..... Sir Drinker, pls do some reviews of 90s teenage comedy movies ..... Maybe American Pie, Lock Stock and Smoking Barrels or Step Brothers. Would love to hear your critical thoughts on those slapstick comedy movies we used to have back in the days
Saw michael biehn in Adelaide last month at supanova and he said true lies was based on a french comedy movie didn't know that awesome movie Got his autograph too awesome guy the one and only kyle reese 😎
What i didn't really get was "she's got an ass like a 10YO boy".....Saw this in the theater and still don't quite get it. I mean why boy? Why when I would imagine that there isn't much overall difference. That being said, loved this movie and rarely hear it referenced. And Tom Arnold was great considering anything I've seen him in....I mean, when he hid "behind" the light pole he was wider than, he pulled off the "how did that not hit me?" reaction pretty well. :P
I think as movies try to appeal to a larger demographic to pay for the larger budgets. It just has created superficial bloated stories. If you look at A24 and Blumhouse they make movies on a significantly less budget. In general those movies are some of the best financially and critically. So cut the budgets and let people be creative for niche audiences. True Lies was made for 100 million in 94 or 200 million in 2022. The box office was about *4 the budget.
That scene absolutely creeped out my female cousins. They said that it was awful how a husband tricks his wife into doing all these things out of fear of death. I never saw it that way when I watched it at the cinema as I imagined that it was a misogynistic case of the ends justifying the means.
@OZTutoh Sounds like you were woke ahead of your time. In reality, James Cameron actually showed that Helen (a woman) could transform from housewife to secret agent with ease. That's what you should take away from it. Unless you're just looking for an excuss to hate men.
I watched this film years ago with my son when he was technically a tad too young to see it. I remember how enthralled he was throughout, then during the action packed chase at the point when Arnold took the horse into the elevator my son turned to me wide eyed and said "every film should be like this". Nearly 15 years later and I still can't disagree.
Arnold, while under the effects of the truth serum, telling the terrorist doctor how he's going to kill him and the guard, and then doing it exactly as described is one of my favorite moments of cinema.
Oh that's a very clever "double-up" of two disparate movies. You're right, you get back late at night (well when you were younger anyway) and in a slight stupor of booze and good times flick on the late-night tv while guzzling something edible from the fridge and perhaps rehydrating in a mild panic... you catch Big Trouble In Little China or True Lies on, and have to sit down and enjoy watching the rest of the movie to the end before stumbling off to bed in the wee hours... knowing tomorrow will be that much worse!
My favorite Schwarzenegger movie hands down. His comedic instinct is wonderful here. And Jamie Lee, that scene in front of the mirror has that epic, silent-movie-comedy-quality panache. As she sees herself anew...strong and sexy, then she falls off her heel. The way JLC uses her naturally long limbs to get all-gangly is pure Carol Burnett. I guffawed out loud in the theater. That moment she takes you deep inside the self-effacing quality in the character, and you love her for it. You ever notice that with every Jamie Lee Curtis movie, you get the feeling the cast is having a really great time and enjoying each other?
It was definitely meant to be a funny scene with her trying to get over her awkwardness while simultaneously fulfilling her fake mission, as well as Arnold's character bungling the tape recorder a bit and becoming shocked by her releasing her self-suppressed sexiness, but at the same time you can't help but find the whole scene arousing as hell. At least that is my opinion.
Absolutely, the way he was a deeply flawed man with serious character issues, no real family and his only friends being his forced co-workers, yet so overly confident and yappy as a character made him very relatable in the sense that is exactly how you would picture him and made for so much comedy relief.
The scene with Tom Arnold getting shot at outside the mall, hiding behind a lamppost, checking himself for bullet holes (including his balls) afterwards, then kissing his hand and slapping the lamppost in thanks always kills me. It was the highlight of his career.
Had the pleasure of working with Bill Paxton on a small film called The Colony. He said that his charachter in True Lies was 100% based on his father. Even the jokes and quips were improvised from things his father would say.
That must have been awesome. Remember watching "The Colony" Cracking horror/action film. Laurence Fishburne and Paxton if I recall, along with the Canadian actor from "Dawn of the Dead" How were you involved? 🙂
True Lies is one of the absolute best action movies ever. It was filmed at the end of the practical effects era, before everything went CGI. There is no replacement for REAL special effects. 10/10
@@dickenstom I think that's a bit unfair to CGI and the effects industry as a whole. CGI is pretty old having first started being used in the 1970s and the first entirely CGI character appeared in Young Sherlock Homes in 1985 so there have been loads of good films that used. Some of the more famous examples are the original Star Wars Trilogy and the first six Star Trek films - the Genesis planet sequence from Wrath of Khan (1982) was the first ever all-CGI sequence in a feature film and was created by the Computer Graphics Project team at Lucasfilm who were later spun off as a separate company which became Pixar. When done right, CGI often goes unnoticed and it has enabled films to be made that would have been impossible without it or would have looked jarringly unrealistic. The problem is overuse: There's too much CGI in films/not enough time and money given to those creating it so they don't have the time to make it look as good as it needs to be Directors are using it to create scenes that would be impossible to film using practical effects, but they're so over the top that they're obviously fake and it destroys suspension of disbelief CGI gets used where practical effects would do a better job because it's often cheaper, especially when there's a lot of re-shoots or footage that doesn't make it into the final edit.
It's interesting because you can increase a films scale with cgi however I like it when its mixed effectively with practical effects like Mad Max Fury Road
Okay, so how would Sky Captain and The World of Tomorrow have been made with "REAL special effects?" Or the Star Wars prequel trilogy? Or Hostiles? Or The Lord of the Rings trilogy? Or the Stephen Sommers Mummy movies? Or the Harry Potter series? Or Sam Raimi's Spider-Man trilogy? Or Gladiator? Or Hollow Man? Or O Brother, Where Art Thou? The X-Men movies? The Blade trilogy? Or Evolution? Or A.I. Artificial Intelligence? Or the Jurassic Park movies? Or DUNE? Black Hawk Down? Or Kung Pow Enter the First? Or Starship Troopers? Or The Time Machine? Or Minority Report? The Men In Black movies? Or Reign of Fire? Or the Stuart Little movies? Or S1M0̸NE? Or Adaptation? Or Equilibrium? The Dark Knight trilogy? Guy Ritchie's Sherlock Holmes movies? The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus? Drag Me to Hell? The Hurt Locker? Public Enemies? District 9? Inglorious Basterds? Mongol? Tropic Thunder? Where the Wild Things Are? Saving Private Ryan? Valkyrie? Shall I go on?
Such a banger of a film. I'm surprised he didn't mention that it was based on the French original 'La Totale'. Also, how can you not mention Tia carrere?
Mate the best bit is where the horse won't jump off the building and he starts having ago at the horse and questioning what type of police officer it is, absolutely fantastic writing.
I love this film. Its Jamie-Lee Curtis' progression from a bored housewife to thinking she's an agent and her husband is a simple computer salesman to a frikkin nuke going off and finally becoming the agent she wanted to be... It was so sublime. Definitely one of my favourite films of all time.
Cameron wrote the book on how to develop strong female characters in movies in a credible manner and the idiot woke crowd should be taking notes. Do it right and everyone loves it, do it wrong and its a sh-tshow
@@chazzmccloud36 That's a great example of how the film pokes fun at its characters (Arnie's not very imaginative choice of codenames) without demeaning or belittling them.
A better "James Bond after he got married and had a kid" movie than "No Time to Die" could ever hope to be. Also, the mix of clever humor with fun, bombastic action has always somehow reminded me of the 80s GI Joe cartoon. Definitely Cameron's last great movie.
I remember at the time Arnie was saying Bond was over now. Who needed him when True Lies existed. Bond was a relic. He was right then. As to now....what the fuck even is Bond these days?
I recently rewatched this with my friends and there are lots of little touches I missed the first time around. For instance when Simon takes Helen back to his shitty trailer he pours wine into plastic wine glasses and they tap them together to say cheers and the cheap clack noise they made had me laughing way more than I thought it would.
Dude, this Bill Paxton's most underrated role and in my opinion is his best. His acting was on point and he was funny as hell. I can't recall him doing any other comedic roles besides this one, which is a shame since he was so great at it. I haven't seen this movie in years and never noticed the plastic wine glasses. I'll be on the lookout for it if I get to see it again.
So much to love about this film! Tom checking himself after the light post scene, still cracks me up. The harriers and the bridge miniature sequence is a study unto itself--fantastic work. Arnold, Bill (RIP), Jamie... hell everyone in this put in great performances. Jaw dropping in the theater all those years ago and highly rewatchable today. Thank you Drinker. Cheers!
This movie was so well written that it even managed to make Tom Arnold funny Edit: Drinker makes almost the exact same comment later in the video. Have I been watching too much?!
That is based on a very real conversation Tom had with Schwarzenegger that Schwarzenegger than relayed to Cameron. Tom Arnold was going through, or had just been through, his very public and tumultuous divorce with Rosanne at the time and he said she literally took the ice trays. “What kind of sick bitch takes the ice cube trays.”
@@revpembroke3082 The swell of the musical score as they both realize they're only going to get one more chance to grab hold of each other before the limo hits the breach gives me fucking goosebumps every time.
"I know what this is. This is an espresso machine. No, no. It's a snow cone maker. That's what it is. Is it a water heater?" True Lies is a family favourite that just never gets old.
I will die on this hill but Last Action Hero is a severely underrated GEM of a film! It was ahead of it's times it's brilliantly self aware the whole point of it is being self aware and showing that in the real world "the bad guys can win" it's amazing 🙌🙌🙌🙌
agreed. Audiences just weren't ready for that Scary Movie style of film. But i think now people can appreciate what they were trying to do a lot more (hopefully)
I don't know why it gets so much flack. I like it, and it doesn't hurt that one of my favorite Megadeth songs was written for that soundtrack, originally.
My brother was part of the filmmaking process for this one. He was a USMC airframe specialist, attached to a squadron of AV8B Harrier jumpjets. When they needed his squadron to send a couple jumpjets down to Key West for filming, my brother was part of the maintenance crew. His "work" pretty much equated to being on vacation (leave, as they call it in the military), and he even got the chance to rub elbows with the stars. He has pictures with Arnold, Tom, and Jaimie Lee, including one where Jaimie Lee was asleep on his shoulder. He also had a story about how Jaimie Lee and her husband, Christopher Guest, watched a crewmember's baby during an emergency. Hell, his name was even in the credits of the film (alongside everyone else in his crew). It was a great feeling to watch it opening night, seeing the laughably-impossible shots they did with the Harrier (the closeup action scenes used a mockup on a crane), and seeing his name in the credits. I guess it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for him. Something to be cherished and remembered. It certainly didn't hurt to have it be an actually good movie as well.
That must have been so much fun for him... as if being an airframe specialist looking after USMC Harriers wasn't cool enough already! Please pass on my thanks for helping create some of the coolest film sequences I've ever seen. The scenes with the Harriers were easily my favourite in the whole film - I was blown away by them and coming out of the cinema they were all I wanted to talk about.
This is my absolute favourite Bill Paxton performance… and that’s saying something. He’s so goddamn funny in this movie… god it makes me genuinely sad we didn’t get more comedy work from him.
One of the few movies my family of very diverse tastes can watch together and genuinely enjoy. Action, comedy, romance, wit, schlock, drama. Despite not being ground-breaking in any one area, it's got a bit of it all and manages to balance them fairly well. It certainly deserved a Drinker review.
@@GamezGuru1 Bootleg I think, not an official release. It's been on cable and streaming in HD, so they put that version on blu-ray. It's not really a polished HD release, I think they just scanned a 35 mm print, there's a lot of scratches and other issues that haven't been fixed on the print.
Classic Arnold action movie that definitely still holds up. Fun behind the scenes fact: when Jamie Lee falls off the bedpost during the dance scene that was legitimately an accident. Arnold's 'oh sh*t!' expression was genuine as he was concerned that Jamie Lee fell and hurt herself. She was unharmed and the comedic timing of it all was perfect so Cameron kept it in the movie.
Saw this when my Dad brought it home on VHS, absolute blast of a movie. 14yo me had no idea this wasn't just a normal action movie, it's played so perfectly - truly we had no idea how we were spoiled for quality movies and TV shows back then.
Saw this in the movie theater. When Helen drops her weapon down the stairs and shoots the bad guys had me crying in laughter. Another banger was the scene where the bad guy get hung up on the missile and is launched at the helicopter.
I loved this movie as a kid and I appreciate you for highlighting these sometimes forgotten gems. I just happened to show this to my girlfriend this weekend who just turned 30 and feels like she hasn't done much with her life and she was on the edge of her seat when Jamie Lee Curtis had her meltdown in the interrogation room. She was so invested after that. Btw the terrorists on the bridge were hilarious 😂
Go back and look at the best movies and biggest movies from the 1990s there are lots of gems to watch from that period. The new hip directors from that period Tarantino, Singer, Coens, Fincher and Darabont made some fantastic movies. LA confidential is a movie from that period that got 9 academy nominations but today it is not really recognised or spoken about and has a brilliant cast as well.
That's what I did. It's so good that if Cameron ever gets around to making it available in 4K I'm not sure I would "upgrade". The video is just that crisp.
Must be mentioned that True Lies is a remake of a 1991 french movie called "La Totale" by Claude Zidi. And in Arnolds' own words, it had to be a bit more "americanized" meaning more explosion and bombastic moments. But it's a french movie originaly. Just sayin...
True Lies, Bad Boys, Speed, The Rock, Metro, The Negotiator, In The Line of Fire, Crimson Tide, Kiss The Girls, Cliffhanger, Terminator 2, Eraser, Rush Hour, Passenger 57, Lethal Weapon 3, Enemy of The State etc. Just a few of the greatest action films of the 90's! Grew up loving all these films as a kid and love em even more now.
I'm am so glad you like this movie Critical Drinker! My dad was a Marine and one of the fighter pilots that flew in the movie. He was active duty and tasked to support it when I was just a kid. He has passed away since but his birthday was two days ago and this is a family classic that my family and I watch to remember him. I love your videos and critiques, and I am really happy that you like this movie. I am a former US Army Special Forces Officer and I would love to talk to you sometime and share a few stories about my dad and the military. Regardless of whether that ever happens, cheers and thank you for your excellent content!
Back then my dad had a friend who was really deep into audiophile stuff and expensive TVs. He had a dedicated cinema room an 80" back projection TV, like a million speakers all around and those giant Laserdiscs that were all the rage in the 90s. The movie that he used to showcase us his whole setup was True Lies.
@@ericgonzalez8382 One of my friends ran a business selling top end audio visual equipment in the 90's, his showroom too had True Lies running with a laserdisc hooked up to a huge 56" back projection TV and surround system, the opening scene with the ski chase used to shake the floor
Like @Eric Gonzalez says, the Laserdisc was used as reference material in audiophile shops. I attended an industry pr gathering at a very high end shop in NY, and met Dr. David Wilson who founded Wilson Audio; very smart and a true gentleman. The main room had the three centerl chanels connected to Wilson's $60,000 speakers and the subwoofer was an insane coffee table with a granite top. When they played the harrier jets roaring into action, my pant leg flapped like a flag in the wind. Overall, the setup with Krell amplifiers and a whole bunch of other things was about a quarter of a million dollars (in the 90s) and I marveled at how it was the best sounding system that I had ever heard. Then, of course, I stopped myself and though, "For a quarter of a million, it better be!"
True Lies will always be special to me, I remember watching it a bunch growing up. It doesn’t take itself too seriously and it just feels really slick and well put together by a talented director and actors that all looked like they had a blast doing it. Soundtrack was great too!
For the longest time I wanted a sequel to this movie cause I wanted to see Harry and Helen again but as times gone on, Im happy and content this movie is a stand alone film. It really is just a fun yet smart film that just never takes itself too seriously, and as you said Drinker, making Tom Arnold likable that in itself is a massive achievement.
Be very afraid. A TV version will be broadcast next year, and the preview video doesn't impress me. The only possible saving grace is the fact that at least the first episode was written by Matt Nix (creator of "Burn Notice")
This film is legendary for so many different reasons it’s hard to pick a scene but for me that bridge chase/rescue scene was and still is mind blowing, especially the look of utter disbelief on Jamie Lee Curtis’ face as she’s dangling by one hand from a helicopter. Then The kiss just as a nuclear bomb goes off behind them. The interrogation scene is brilliant too. Damn I love this fillum. Might watch it tonight…. Oh yeah, me and my rigging crew all use two way radios to communicate on the job and we still regularly use the phrase “do it slowly, do it … sexy” in a mock French accent when calling a lift lol
the best in the world using great movie lines in real life for the rest of your life. the opportunity presents itself and you hit it, and it just feels great. mega bonus points if another catches it and "knows"
It is not a great movie in terms of art but it is a thrill ride and should be how a lot of big budget movies should be made. Definitely a sort of movie a kid or teen would like as would an adult.
Yeah, Cameron was at the peak of his powers during this period. From 1986-1993, he delivered a cutting edge special effects fest, two sci-fi action summer blockbusters that became cultural milestones in their own right, and a fun popcorn spy flick, and made it look effortless.
Arnold is surprisingly good at comedy. Reminds me a little of Tommy Lee Jones in Men in Black; you don't expect him to be funny, but somehow, he is. Granted, Jones is funny only in the juxtaposition to Will Smith and the situations they are in.
I believe Leslie Nielsen and the other stars of Airplane were chosen in large part because they were so well known for playing very serious and deadpan roles.
Perfect Saturday night movie. Lost track of how many times I watched it as a kid. Tom Arnold and Bill Paxton add such a great comedic tone to proceedings. Just think back in 94, True Lies and Speed were in the cinema at the same time. People were truly spoiled back then!
Delighted to see this explosive gem get a Drinker shout out! Ive brilliant memories of watching it in a mates house in early 95. Huge huge Arnie fan, especially back then and this really was a proper "back on top" moment from him after the underrated Last Action Hero. True Lies is a blast, and yet as you said it seems to have slipped thru peoples sights over the years. I dont know if it ever got a deserved Blue Ray release, or if its streaming online, but it really deserves time in spotlight again.
It's been released in HD on cable and streaming, currently I think it's only available on Hulu. It's funny seeing it in HD at home, in a lot of shots you can clearly see it's a stunt man and not Arnold. You could get away with it at the time with it going by so fast in the cinema, and on VHS/DVD low resolution at home, but in HD at home it's very obvious. Maybe they will do a CGI faceswap like was done for T2, once it comes out on 4K.
This movie has a lot of great moments, like when Harry translates Aziz to Helen... "No force can stop us now, we're cool, we're badasses, blah, blah, blah" I always LOL
It’s such a shame how I almost never hear anyone talk about this movie, especially when it comes to Cameron’s filmography as a whole. It’s simply one of the best action comedies I’ve ever seen.
How much fun can a movie be.. One of my all time favourites. Everything about it is just SO enjoyable. One of the few perfect movies I can rewatch again and again and it's just as good every single time.
One of my all-time fave movies. "Want to take at guess at Samir's speciality?" "Is it oral hygiene?" So many great one-liners, yet also packed with action and a number of emotional moments. Although the VFX are showing their age now, the bridge chase still holds up well.
1994 is probably my favorite year for movies. True Lies Shawshank Pulp Fiction Forest Gump New Nightmare Interview with the Vampire The Lion King Ed Wood Dumb and Dumber The Mask Ace Ventura The Crow Speed Airheads The Ref The Shadow
Glad you reviewed this Drinker, True Lies is one of my favorite hidden gem movies. My wife and I still re watch it from time to time, the action is great and it’s just funny enough without straying into parody. Sometimes I honestly forget that Cameron directed this one.
I still watch this movie at least quarterly. Theix of comedy and action was perfectly balanced. Sad that we will probably not see movies of this quality ever again.
I remember watching this with my family back in the day. The scene where they were intimidating Bill Paxton had my Dad laughing so hard we had to pause the movie. He left the room to collect himself. This was one of my favorites when I was a kid. Definitely one of the best action comedies around.
"But Drinker!" I say, "You roguishly handsome and devilishly charming pinnacle of manhood, True Lies is a "no-no" movie. Do you not recall how Captain Marvel put the world right when she shot the head off the movie display?" Seriously this movie kicks ass. Where is the 4K bluray eh?? Last I checked you couldn't even stream this in Australia
This was my dad's absolute favorite movie. This and Cliffhanger, also excellent. I miss him terribly. Thanks for giving this movie the love it deserves.
Still one of my favourites, top marks on everything. I remember this was was the first film to cost 100 million dollars, redefining the summer blockbuster.
@@jrd33 The scene of the bridge being destroyed by the Harriers is incredible even today. Apparently it's model work, but it's so well done that I (and quite a lot of other people) thought they'd blown up a section of bridge for real.
@@jrd33 Really convincing particle and water effects that you'd need to get a shot like that right still seem to be difficult to perfect even today, possibly because it's so complex and computationally intensive. What's maybe sadder is that studios and directors often seem to be so wedded to using CGI that they don't use more practical effects that could do the job better (but might cost more or be less amenable to endless reshoots).
So many great lines in True Lies.
Curtis: 'Have you ever killed anyone?'
Arnold: 'Yeah, but they were all bad.'
"Would a spy pee himself!?"
_“And a pair of titties, makes you want to stand up and beg for buttermilk.”_
You’re fired!
"My horse is getting tired"
*confused look*
That, her setting off the MAC-11 killing terrorists, and “I married Rambo” had me laughing.
"What did you expect, Harry? Helen's a flesh and blood woman and you're never there. It's just a matter of time." I love how sincerely Tom Arnold delivers that line. Which has to be one of the few times he's done that in his career.
It's kind of the theme of this movie. People pretending to be something else but taking off the mask when they need to. Gib is a goofball, but when his friend needs to hear something serious he drops the act. Helen is a meek, nondescript housewife, but when she has to act sexy or badass she steps up to the role. Dana is an ill tempered teen with an "I don't care" attitude, but when the time comes she stands up to a dangerous terrorist and saves an entire city. In the end Harry has to learn to drop his mask and become a husband and father instead of just pretending.
It was alleged that "what kind of sick bitch takes the ice cube trays?" (not a verbatim quote) was based on the end of his marriage to Roseanne
@@caldodge: I've seen that, too.
Far and away his best film role. I was surprised by a very good performance he turned in as a guest star on Franklin & Bash as a reality tv dad who’s an idiot, but realizes what he’s doing is setting his kids up for failure and will do anything to stop it. Not what I expect from a guy who usually is competing with Rob Schneider for “Most Annoying Character” awards.
"Get lost dipshit" hes got so many great lines in this film
@@caldodge if I split with my partner I'm taking the ice cub trays. It took me 20 years to find ice cube trays of EXACTLY the right size and I'm not losing them now. She can have the dog.
You've mentioned Last Action Hero. It's one of the best parodies of the action genre ever filmed. It's a crime that this movie isn't more popular.
It was a success for the period at the box office but was not a smash hit.
It had the misfortune to come out around the same time as Jurassic Park as well as being a bit misunderstood at the time.
@@jimmyboy7817 Americans don't take very kindly to any parody of what they consider their own culture.
Exactly - I never understand the negativity about the movie. It's a classic.
Hey, you wanna be a farmer? Here's a couple of acres.
I always loved the “dance” scene Jamie Lee Curtis does! Best part: she doesn’t talk
..she missed the 'pole' though... +1 for getting UP faster than "french" Harry/Arnold!
@@dallesamllhals9161 One of the best unscripted/goof moments ever left in a motion picture.
Sir you have won the comment section. 🏆
I certainly saw her in a new light after that.
Yep! Not only is it good to see a woman not talk and shut up for a second and just act and dance like we've been telling every Hollywood celebrity actor for years, it's great to watch this scene! I love it! It's Jamie's best role and she get's to shine here! Also, this is her first time in a James Cameron movie! What a time and a fitting scene for this movie! It's great!
I'll never forget that punch to the face that Paxton gets.
“It’s not like I tied people up and made them watch; and I could ‘cause I’m a big guy and I’m good with knots!”
One of the best action comedies ever made and it holds up super well. It's never not a good time to watch this movie and that Cameron seems ashamed of it is disappointing. You can't get it digitally, can't get it on Blu-ray, it's a miracle they're making a TV show based on this but my hopes aren't high. True Lies is a real classic.
I watched this in the cinema when it came out and the action setpieces looked spectacular. I then rented the VHS when it came out and watched it on a 24-inch and I felt like it had lost something...
This is definitely a favorite. To this day, I quote this movie often. It is great for all the reasons you stated and probably more!
I'm surprised he didn't PRAISE this one much sooner. It was such a classic
This movie was so underrated to be honest ..... James Cameron's comedic timing was and is, so much better than what James Bay tries tondo in all his movies. I wish we had more movies like these nowadays...... The 90s movies were treasure, compared to what we get now..... Sir Drinker, pls do some reviews of 90s teenage comedy movies ..... Maybe American Pie, Lock Stock and Smoking Barrels or Step Brothers. Would love to hear your critical thoughts on those slapstick comedy movies we used to have back in the days
well, I'll watch it again as soon as the bluray is available
Saw michael biehn in Adelaide last month at supanova and he said true lies was based on a french comedy movie didn't know that awesome movie
Got his autograph too awesome guy the one and only kyle reese 😎
I know it wouldn't fly today but one of my favorites scenes is when Aziz slaps Tia Carrere and calls her a stupid undisciplined bitch🤣🤣😭
Bill effing Paxton was great
Loved True Lies
yeah dude. this is a classic.
That scene where in the car he is fantasising killing Bill Paxton always had me in stitches.
“Ass like a 10 year old boy. HaHaHaHa!”
What i didn't really get was "she's got an ass like a 10YO boy".....Saw this in the theater and still don't quite get it. I mean why boy? Why when I would imagine that there isn't much overall difference.
That being said, loved this movie and rarely hear it referenced. And Tom Arnold was great considering anything I've seen him in....I mean, when he hid "behind" the light pole he was wider than, he pulled off the "how did that not hit me?" reaction pretty well. :P
Bill Paxton stole every scene he is in the movies.
Omg yes!
I feel this is Bill Paxton funniest performance I’ve seen, god I wish we’d gotten more of his comedy work.
We were so spoiled for movies during the 90s, and we didn't even realize how good we had it.
We think we had it good because the standard for a quality movie nowadays is so low.
Such truth. I miss those days :(
I had never noticed the callback to Alien. Tom Arnold telling Bill Paxton that "it's game over" /Chefs kiss
I think as movies try to appeal to a larger demographic to pay for the larger budgets. It just has created superficial bloated stories.
If you look at A24 and Blumhouse they make movies on a significantly less budget. In general those movies are some of the best financially and critically.
So cut the budgets and let people be creative for niche audiences. True Lies was made for 100 million in 94 or 200 million in 2022. The box office was about *4 the budget.
Love your profile name.
"13 year old me thanks you for filming this scene James Cameron" had me dying.
Before you die, would you like to make love to Drinker?
That scene absolutely creeped out my female cousins. They said that it was awful how a husband tricks his wife into doing all these things out of fear of death. I never saw it that way when I watched it at the cinema as I imagined that it was a misogynistic case of the ends justifying the means.
Heck, 27-year old me thanked him....
@OZTutoh Sounds like you were woke ahead of your time. In reality, James Cameron actually showed that Helen (a woman) could transform from housewife to secret agent with ease. That's what you should take away from it. Unless you're just looking for an excuss to hate men.
I watched this film years ago with my son when he was technically a tad too young to see it. I remember how enthralled he was throughout, then during the action packed chase at the point when Arnold took the horse into the elevator my son turned to me wide eyed and said "every film should be like this". Nearly 15 years later and I still can't disagree.
You're a good dad, Mark!
Your son was right!
I'm toying with the idea of showing my eldest son this, he's 9. The dancing sexy wife bit might be a tad too much, I don't know. How old was yours?
@@smallbluemachine a little bit older but not much. Yes definitely that's the only qualm as the violence was cartoon and there was no language
@@markwoodhouse4284 Thanks very much.
Arnold, while under the effects of the truth serum, telling the terrorist doctor how he's going to kill him and the guard, and then doing it exactly as described is one of my favorite moments of cinema.
"and what makes you think you can do all that?"
"You know my handcuffs?'
"Mmm"
"I picked them..."
Yeah it was a brilliant fucking scene and one of my favorites in that movie
"Then we'll talk..."
Truth hurts
Cameron gets the absolute best out of actors. That was A+ scene from Arnold.
True Lies and Big Trouble in Little China are my two favorite action comedies. They never get old, and are ridiculously good.
Agreed.
Amen!
True Lies, Big Trouble in Little China, and Rush Hour 2.
I'd add "Armor of God" to that list.
Oh that's a very clever "double-up" of two disparate movies. You're right, you get back late at night (well when you were younger anyway) and in a slight stupor of booze and good times flick on the late-night tv while guzzling something edible from the fridge and perhaps rehydrating in a mild panic... you catch Big Trouble In Little China or True Lies on, and have to sit down and enjoy watching the rest of the movie to the end before stumbling off to bed in the wee hours... knowing tomorrow will be that much worse!
My favorite Schwarzenegger movie hands down. His comedic instinct is wonderful here. And Jamie Lee, that scene in front of the mirror has that epic, silent-movie-comedy-quality panache. As she sees herself anew...strong and sexy, then she falls off her heel. The way JLC uses her naturally long limbs to get all-gangly is pure Carol Burnett. I guffawed out loud in the theater. That moment she takes you deep inside the self-effacing quality in the character, and you love her for it. You ever notice that with every Jamie Lee Curtis movie, you get the feeling the cast is having a really great time and enjoying each other?
It was definitely meant to be a funny scene with her trying to get over her awkwardness while simultaneously fulfilling her fake mission, as well as Arnold's character bungling the tape recorder a bit and becoming shocked by her releasing her self-suppressed sexiness, but at the same time you can't help but find the whole scene arousing as hell. At least that is my opinion.
@@kommisar. oh Yeah! Absolutely! That and that flash in Trading Places i saw at a tender age.
@@roberthoffhines5419 Yeah, she was underrated for sure in the looks department. I wish there were more boob shots of hers.
Tom Arnold was so absurdly funny in this. It's a shame he didn't get more roles after this. This was a great movie back in the day.
Women! Can't live with them... can't kill 'em.
Absolutely, the way he was a deeply flawed man with serious character issues, no real family and his only friends being his forced co-workers, yet so overly confident and yappy as a character made him very relatable in the sense that is exactly how you would picture him and made for so much comedy relief.
The scene with Tom Arnold getting shot at outside the mall, hiding behind a lamppost, checking himself for bullet holes (including his balls) afterwards, then kissing his hand and slapping the lamppost in thanks always kills me. It was the highlight of his career.
Of course, now had Cameron done it he would have his toxin producing balls shot off.
Genuinely funny moment. It's almost 4th wall breaking because we can't believe he got out of there unscathed and neither can he.
I think the Ice Cube trays line was improvised. Cause that what Rosanne really did.
@@brucechmiel7964 not exactly improvised, but he told Cameron that story, Cameron thought it was funny and put it into the script.
13 year old me thanking James Cameron for that Jamie Lee Curtis scene. Never a truer word was spoken 👍
I got sprung.
I would have preferred it be Tia Carrere doing the dance...
@@able34bravo37 Good god, wouldn't we all....
@@able34bravo37 sad thing is, she is the type of person that would have agreed to it. So we missed out on that.
@@able34bravo37 Tia is prettier, but I’d bet $100 that JLC had a way more bangin body at the time.
I just watched this with my wife the other day. She'd never seen it was laughing her ass off. Love it! Thanks Drinker!
I played this for my wife a few years ago. She got a good kick outta it too.
I watched it for the first time in years and I was laughing my ass off as well. Except I was thinking "wow this is bad"
So bad you love it? I was surprised at the number of jokes I just missed as a kid lol
@@ogrefreak5222 no just a bad movie I fell asleep around at the end of the first act.
@@seanjenkins5505 Let me guess, you're roughly 20 years younger than the rest of us?
Had the pleasure of working with Bill Paxton on a small film called The Colony. He said that his charachter in True Lies was 100% based on his father. Even the jokes and quips were improvised from things his father would say.
That must have been awesome. Remember watching "The Colony" Cracking horror/action film. Laurence Fishburne and Paxton if I recall, along with the Canadian actor from "Dawn of the Dead"
How were you involved? 🙂
@@willk1756 I was the on set visual effects supervisor.
I'm envious, he was always one of my favourite actors.
@@PetersonZF Worked with Arnold this year. He was totally professional but not nearly as chatty with the crew as Bill was.
True Lies is one of the absolute best action movies ever. It was filmed at the end of the practical effects era, before everything went CGI. There is no replacement for REAL special effects. 10/10
CGI is when movies started getting bad
@@dickenstom exactly. There was no more need to be creative.
@@dickenstom I think that's a bit unfair to CGI and the effects industry as a whole. CGI is pretty old having first started being used in the 1970s and the first entirely CGI character appeared in Young Sherlock Homes in 1985 so there have been loads of good films that used. Some of the more famous examples are the original Star Wars Trilogy and the first six Star Trek films - the Genesis planet sequence from Wrath of Khan (1982) was the first ever all-CGI sequence in a feature film and was created by the Computer Graphics Project team at Lucasfilm who were later spun off as a separate company which became Pixar. When done right, CGI often goes unnoticed and it has enabled films to be made that would have been impossible without it or would have looked jarringly unrealistic. The problem is overuse:
There's too much CGI in films/not enough time and money given to those creating it so they don't have the time to make it look as good as it needs to be
Directors are using it to create scenes that would be impossible to film using practical effects, but they're so over the top that they're obviously fake and it destroys suspension of disbelief
CGI gets used where practical effects would do a better job because it's often cheaper, especially when there's a lot of re-shoots or footage that doesn't make it into the final edit.
It's interesting because you can increase a films scale with cgi however I like it when its mixed effectively with practical effects like Mad Max Fury Road
Okay, so how would Sky Captain and The World of Tomorrow have been made with "REAL special effects?" Or the Star Wars prequel trilogy? Or Hostiles? Or The Lord of the Rings trilogy? Or the Stephen Sommers Mummy movies? Or the Harry Potter series? Or Sam Raimi's Spider-Man trilogy? Or Gladiator? Or Hollow Man? Or O Brother, Where Art Thou? The X-Men movies? The Blade trilogy? Or Evolution? Or A.I. Artificial Intelligence? Or the Jurassic Park movies? Or DUNE? Black Hawk Down? Or Kung Pow Enter the First? Or Starship Troopers? Or The Time Machine? Or Minority Report? The Men In Black movies? Or Reign of Fire? Or the Stuart Little movies? Or S1M0̸NE? Or Adaptation? Or Equilibrium? The Dark Knight trilogy? Guy Ritchie's Sherlock Holmes movies? The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus? Drag Me to Hell? The Hurt Locker? Public Enemies? District 9? Inglorious Basterds? Mongol? Tropic Thunder? Where the Wild Things Are? Saving Private Ryan? Valkyrie? Shall I go on?
The imaginary knockout of Simon that cuts back to his over the top laughter had me crying as a kid. Masterful editing!
It's the laugh that comes afterwards that cracks me up!
That wasn't a knockout. That was a kill of Saitama proportions.
“What are we talking about? Pussy right?”
“ABSOLUTELY!”
So funny
And ever since I can’t stop exclaiming “ass like a ten year old boy !!! “ while laughing like a maniac .
God I love that part especially where Arnold sinisterly squints his eyes at him 😂
Such a banger of a film. I'm surprised he didn't mention that it was based on the French original 'La Totale'. Also, how can you not mention Tia carrere?
Yes. Schwing!
Tia was so hot then. She was my Fantasy when I was an adolescent!
@@jfb.8746 Shaaaaaaa-wing!
If Tia Carrere was a president, she'd be Babe-raham Lincoln.
@@MrX-zz2vk: I thought she'd be Gorgeous Washington.
Mate the best bit is where the horse won't jump off the building and he starts having ago at the horse and questioning what type of police officer it is, absolutely fantastic writing.
(Wife)"Say something!!!!......"
(Husband)........''That's a magnificent animal "
I love this film. Its Jamie-Lee Curtis' progression from a bored housewife to thinking she's an agent and her husband is a simple computer salesman to a frikkin nuke going off and finally becoming the agent she wanted to be... It was so sublime. Definitely one of my favourite films of all time.
Cameron wrote the book on how to develop strong female characters in movies in a credible manner and the idiot woke crowd should be taking notes. Do it right and everyone loves it, do it wrong and its a sh-tshow
"The codename of your contact will be Boris. And your codename will be--"
--"Natasha?"
"No; Doris."
@@chazzmccloud36 That's a great example of how the film pokes fun at its characters (Arnie's not very imaginative choice of codenames) without demeaning or belittling them.
A better "James Bond after he got married and had a kid" movie than "No Time to Die" could ever hope to be. Also, the mix of clever humor with fun, bombastic action has always somehow reminded me of the 80s GI Joe cartoon. Definitely Cameron's last great movie.
No time to die is not a James Bond movie.
I'll never consider No Time To Die a James Bond movie.
I remember at the time Arnie was saying Bond was over now. Who needed him when True Lies existed. Bond was a relic. He was right then. As to now....what the fuck even is Bond these days?
@@jamesmaybrick2001 Dead isn't he? ;-)
True Lies is the best Bond film.
Galaxy Quest is the best Star Trek movie.
I always bring this movie up and I’m always surprised how many people have forgotten it. Easily one of the best action flicks of the 90’s
There were just so many good films then, we were spoiled
I remember at the time it was sometimes unfairly dismissed as Arnie trying to be Bond, rather than appreciating it for what it was.
I recently rewatched this with my friends and there are lots of little touches I missed the first time around. For instance when Simon takes Helen back to his shitty trailer he pours wine into plastic wine glasses and they tap them together to say cheers and the cheap clack noise they made had me laughing way more than I thought it would.
Dude, this Bill Paxton's most underrated role and in my opinion is his best. His acting was on point and he was funny as hell. I can't recall him doing any other comedic roles besides this one, which is a shame since he was so great at it.
I haven't seen this movie in years and never noticed the plastic wine glasses. I'll be on the lookout for it if I get to see it again.
@@kommisar. Aliens is a pretty serious movie but Hudson is great comic relief
So much to love about this film! Tom checking himself after the light post scene, still cracks me up. The harriers and the bridge miniature sequence is a study unto itself--fantastic work. Arnold, Bill (RIP), Jamie... hell everyone in this put in great performances. Jaw dropping in the theater all those years ago and highly rewatchable today. Thank you Drinker. Cheers!
The scene where he’s gonna jump the horse and it’s like “Not happening dude.” 😂
This movie was so well written that it even managed to make Tom Arnold funny
Edit: Drinker makes almost the exact same comment later in the video. Have I been watching too much?!
No such thing as too much Drinker. Just ask Tatiana.
Just shows you care about making a comment more than watching the clip.
I sometimes read comments in my head with Drinkers voice if my brain thinks its something he would actually say lol
@@mikcnmvedmsfonoteka I'm glad to see I'm not the only one with a Critical Drinker commentary in my head on occasion.
@@PhantomFilmAustralia or they just thought of it and wanted to mention it? How would they know he would say it?
"She even took the ice trays out of the freezer." That line cracks me up every time.
I always feel like Tom Arnold is just playing Tom Arnold in this movie. 😆
"What kind of sick bitch does that?"
"What kind of a sick bitch takes the ice cube trays out of the freezer?"
Who does that!?
That is based on a very real conversation Tom had with Schwarzenegger that Schwarzenegger than relayed to Cameron. Tom Arnold was going through, or had just been through, his very public and tumultuous divorce with Rosanne at the time and he said she literally took the ice trays. “What kind of sick bitch takes the ice cube trays.”
When Helen screams Harry when he saves her with the chopper is still one of the funniest moments in cinematic history. Cracks me up every time.
THE BRIDGE IS OUT!
HARRY! THE BRIDGE IS OUT!
one of my favourite arnold lines of all time in that scene. along with "GET TO DA CHOPPA!"
@@revpembroke3082 The swell of the musical score as they both realize they're only going to get one more chance to grab hold of each other before the limo hits the breach gives me fucking goosebumps every time.
This was (still is) one of my favorite movies ever. It's perfectly balanced between serious and comedy.
"I know what this is. This is an espresso machine. No, no. It's a snow cone maker. That's what it is. Is it a water heater?"
True Lies is a family favourite that just never gets old.
The limo crashing into the sea with Curtis screaming as she exits the moonroof still gives me exhilarating chills even 28 years later
Great visuals. I dont even care how they did it, just looks great!
Arnold: THE BRIDDDDG IS OUUUUU!
Helen: waatttt?
Another movie scene that hits me with similar feels is when Neo saves Trinity from the crashing helicopter in (obviously) The Matrix
Do you know she did that stunt in that scene ?
@@ashdoglsu She was in a harness but it was really her hanging from the helicopter. Respect!
Bill Paxton was such a treasure 😢
Game Over man! Game Over!
RIP Legend!
Amen to that.
100% ...if you haven't seen "Frailty", highly recommend
@@jdeez1401 Oh yeah, absolutely well done movie. Really too bad we didn't get more from him as a director.
Billy “The Extreme”
I will die on this hill but Last Action Hero is a severely underrated GEM of a film! It was ahead of it's times it's brilliantly self aware the whole point of it is being self aware and showing that in the real world "the bad guys can win" it's amazing 🙌🙌🙌🙌
Maybe if the concept was better executed, it may have been a success.
agreed. Audiences just weren't ready for that Scary Movie style of film. But i think now people can appreciate what they were trying to do a lot more (hopefully)
I don't know why it gets so much flack. I like it, and it doesn't hurt that one of my favorite Megadeth songs was written for that soundtrack, originally.
The failure of the movie can be almost entirely attributed to the fact that the kid was annoying AF.
Movie was just okay. That soundtrack though was awesome! I still listen to it.
RIP to Bill Paxton. He was always great to see in every movie he was in. Definitely added a certain type of element to the movies he was in
Hudson is my favorite movie character of all time thanks to that man. Great actor
Did Bill ever do a bad movie? I can't recall any.
Chet in Weird Science is still the go-to for me. Hudson was basically the same character but in space.
My brother was part of the filmmaking process for this one. He was a USMC airframe specialist, attached to a squadron of AV8B Harrier jumpjets. When they needed his squadron to send a couple jumpjets down to Key West for filming, my brother was part of the maintenance crew. His "work" pretty much equated to being on vacation (leave, as they call it in the military), and he even got the chance to rub elbows with the stars.
He has pictures with Arnold, Tom, and Jaimie Lee, including one where Jaimie Lee was asleep on his shoulder. He also had a story about how Jaimie Lee and her husband, Christopher Guest, watched a crewmember's baby during an emergency. Hell, his name was even in the credits of the film (alongside everyone else in his crew).
It was a great feeling to watch it opening night, seeing the laughably-impossible shots they did with the Harrier (the closeup action scenes used a mockup on a crane), and seeing his name in the credits.
I guess it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for him. Something to be cherished and remembered. It certainly didn't hurt to have it be an actually good movie as well.
Very cool.
Now that's the kind of wholesome IRL stories I need more of heh.
That’s pretty cool. I’m entertaining the idea of building one of those harriers used in the film. (Plastic model kit)
That must have been so much fun for him... as if being an airframe specialist looking after USMC Harriers wasn't cool enough already! Please pass on my thanks for helping create some of the coolest film sequences I've ever seen. The scenes with the Harriers were easily my favourite in the whole film - I was blown away by them and coming out of the cinema they were all I wanted to talk about.
That's pretty cool, a crewmember had their baby on set? That's bizarre.
Not to mention the "You're fired." line is one of, if not the best, delivered one-liners in the history of cinema.
Same thing happens to Dick Jones at the end of Robocop, another classic movie
The Apprentice is the made for TV remake of that moment.
@@centerfield6339 If only the contestants were sent on their way attached to a Sidewinder missile!
I absolutely loved the hotel scene with Jamie doing the moves and Arnold’s character swallowing his tongue while watching in the corner!
This is my absolute favourite Bill Paxton performance… and that’s saying something. He’s so goddamn funny in this movie… god it makes me genuinely sad we didn’t get more comedy work from him.
Shut your mouth…AIENS
100% agree.
Ooh. Even better than his performance as Hudson from Aliens?
@@reikun86 Chet, from Weird Science, takes some beating 🤣🤣
game over man.....game over !
One of the few movies my family of very diverse tastes can watch together and genuinely enjoy. Action, comedy, romance, wit, schlock, drama. Despite not being ground-breaking in any one area, it's got a bit of it all and manages to balance them fairly well. It certainly deserved a Drinker review.
A movie so polished and well executed, it really is a must for any DVD collection!
Even Charlton Heston makes an appearance!
And Tia looks so sexy 🔥🔥🔥
Get the Spanish edition Blu-Ray, and select the "angles" audio track. You'll want it for your collection.
@@caldodge why was it only released in Spain though?
@@GamezGuru1 Bootleg I think, not an official release. It's been on cable and streaming in HD, so they put that version on blu-ray. It's not really a polished HD release, I think they just scanned a 35 mm print, there's a lot of scratches and other issues that haven't been fixed on the print.
The "Yeah, but they were all bad" gets me every time
In all fairness, that is how it works for heroes in action films. :)
Classic Arnold action movie that definitely still holds up. Fun behind the scenes fact: when Jamie Lee falls off the bedpost during the dance scene that was legitimately an accident. Arnold's 'oh sh*t!' expression was genuine as he was concerned that Jamie Lee fell and hurt herself. She was unharmed and the comedic timing of it all was perfect so Cameron kept it in the movie.
Saw this when my Dad brought it home on VHS, absolute blast of a movie. 14yo me had no idea this wasn't just a normal action movie, it's played so perfectly - truly we had no idea how we were spoiled for quality movies and TV shows back then.
Saw this in the movie theater. When Helen drops her weapon down the stairs and shoots the bad guys had me crying in laughter. Another banger was the scene where the bad guy get hung up on the missile and is launched at the helicopter.
"You're fired."
Oh ya. That scene is awsome
I loved this movie as a kid and I appreciate you for highlighting these sometimes forgotten gems. I just happened to show this to my girlfriend this weekend who just turned 30 and feels like she hasn't done much with her life and she was on the edge of her seat when Jamie Lee Curtis had her meltdown in the interrogation room. She was so invested after that. Btw the terrorists on the bridge were hilarious 😂
That pelican was part of Harry's team.
Go back and look at the best movies and biggest movies from the 1990s there are lots of gems to watch from that period.
The new hip directors from that period Tarantino, Singer, Coens, Fincher and Darabont made some fantastic movies.
LA confidential is a movie from that period that got 9 academy nominations but today it is not really recognised or spoken about and has a brilliant cast as well.
- _Are we gonna die?_
- _... yup!_
I still use this _... yup!_ line on daily life situations. God, I miss my dear 90s...
This movie doesn't get enough recognition, the horse chase scene is hilarious. This reminds me of another great 90s movie, The Long Kiss Goodnight.
Terrorist: "Get out of my waaayyy!" *Engine revs*
Arnold: *Crashing and horse neighing* "Sorry!"
Drinker recently did one about The Long Kiss, I believe.
“And hurry up, my horse is getting tired.”
“Your horse?”
😆
Arnold scolds the horse. Great.
True Lies is my favorite movie, period. If you want an HD version, buy the Spanish language Blu-ray, and select the English audio track.
Can confirm. Took a chance and it's.. fine. Until Cameron finally (ever?) gets around to approving a new transfer, it'll do.
THIS is good lookin out.. Thx
That's what I did. It's so good that if Cameron ever gets around to making it available in 4K I'm not sure I would "upgrade". The video is just that crisp.
I heard the Spanish copy is not an official BR but a pirate copy.
yep yep
Must be mentioned that True Lies is a remake of a 1991 french movie called "La Totale" by Claude Zidi. And in Arnolds' own words, it had to be a bit more "americanized" meaning more explosion and bombastic moments. But it's a french movie originaly. Just sayin...
True Lies, Bad Boys, Speed, The Rock, Metro, The Negotiator, In The Line of Fire, Crimson Tide, Kiss The Girls, Cliffhanger, Terminator 2, Eraser, Rush Hour, Passenger 57, Lethal Weapon 3, Enemy of The State etc. Just a few of the greatest action films of the 90's! Grew up loving all these films as a kid and love em even more now.
I'm am so glad you like this movie Critical Drinker! My dad was a Marine and one of the fighter pilots that flew in the movie. He was active duty and tasked to support it when I was just a kid. He has passed away since but his birthday was two days ago and this is a family classic that my family and I watch to remember him. I love your videos and critiques, and I am really happy that you like this movie. I am a former US Army Special Forces Officer and I would love to talk to you sometime and share a few stories about my dad and the military. Regardless of whether that ever happens, cheers and thank you for your excellent content!
Your dad has been immortalized. What a way to remember a loved one. Most of us will die, and be forgotten. Your dad won’t.
Back in the days, this movie was the one you used to test your sound system on.
Back then my dad had a friend who was really deep into audiophile stuff and expensive TVs. He had a dedicated cinema room an 80" back projection TV, like a million speakers all around and those giant Laserdiscs that were all the rage in the 90s. The movie that he used to showcase us his whole setup was True Lies.
@@ericgonzalez8382 One of my friends ran a business selling top end audio visual equipment in the 90's, his showroom too had True Lies running with a laserdisc hooked up to a huge 56" back projection TV and surround system, the opening scene with the ski chase used to shake the floor
Like @Eric Gonzalez says, the Laserdisc was used as reference material in audiophile shops.
I attended an industry pr gathering at a very high end shop in NY, and met Dr. David Wilson who founded Wilson Audio; very smart and a true gentleman. The main room had the three centerl chanels connected to Wilson's $60,000 speakers and the subwoofer was an insane coffee table with a granite top. When they played the harrier jets roaring into action, my pant leg flapped like a flag in the wind.
Overall, the setup with Krell amplifiers and a whole bunch of other things was about a quarter of a million dollars (in the 90s) and I marveled at how it was the best sounding system that I had ever heard. Then, of course, I stopped myself and though, "For a quarter of a million, it better be!"
Of all the things in the world to test, why this particular film?
Is it because of the wide range of soundscapes in the film?
@@ekscalybur i remember the ski chase the bullets would ping all around from different speakers, it was the best 6 channel demo i had ever heard
This is one movie I never skip watching whenever I stumble upon it on TV. What a treat!
My mom was an extra in this movie. Still one of the coolest things she’s ever done!
Have you found her in the movie?
I've often wondered who was the body double for the sexy dance scene
@@MrCdnBeef Savage compliment.
So, I doubt she was, you haven't responded to this.comment defending her... hmmm. 🙄
@@BleachDemon707 no one cares what you think.
True Lies will always be special to me, I remember watching it a bunch growing up. It doesn’t take itself too seriously and it just feels really slick and well put together by a talented director and actors that all looked like they had a blast doing it. Soundtrack was great too!
The sub plot with bill Paxton is some of the best comedy gold in history !
For the longest time I wanted a sequel to this movie cause I wanted to see Harry and Helen again but as times gone on, Im happy and content this movie is a stand alone film.
It really is just a fun yet smart film that just never takes itself too seriously, and as you said Drinker, making Tom Arnold likable that in itself is a massive achievement.
A sequel would have worked if it was made two or three years later.
The Wokesters would just ruin a sequel now anyways.
Be very afraid. A TV version will be broadcast next year, and the preview video doesn't impress me. The only possible saving grace is the fact that at least the first episode was written by Matt Nix (creator of "Burn Notice")
They tried to make a sequel starring Eliza Dushku as Dana Tasker, but I don't know that it ever got released.
@@caldodge I liked Burn Notice, so that gives me some comfort. Other than that...I hope they don't butcher it.
This film is legendary for so many different reasons it’s hard to pick a scene but for me that bridge chase/rescue scene was and still is mind blowing, especially the look of utter disbelief on Jamie Lee Curtis’ face as she’s dangling by one hand from a helicopter. Then The kiss just as a nuclear bomb goes off behind them. The interrogation scene is brilliant too. Damn I love this fillum. Might watch it tonight….
Oh yeah, me and my rigging crew all use two way radios to communicate on the job and we still regularly use the phrase “do it slowly, do it … sexy” in a mock French accent when calling a lift lol
the best in the world using great movie lines in real life for the rest of your life. the opportunity presents itself and you hit it, and it just feels great. mega bonus points if another catches it and "knows"
That's funny lol.
Since my dad died a couple of weeks ago, I've been revisiting movies that we saw in the cinema together
This was one of the best
It is not a great movie in terms of art but it is a thrill ride and should be how a lot of big budget movies should be made. Definitely a sort of movie a kid or teen would like as would an adult.
@@bighands69 100%, it was an awesome popcorn action spectacular
Too fun not to enjoy
Loved when they dangled JLC from the helicopter for real and the genuine look of pure freakout on her face.
True Lies is such and underrated gem. This movie and The Abyss are both amazing.
Yeah, Cameron was at the peak of his powers during this period. From 1986-1993, he delivered a cutting edge special effects fest, two sci-fi action summer blockbusters that became cultural milestones in their own right, and a fun popcorn spy flick, and made it look effortless.
Arnold is surprisingly good at comedy. Reminds me a little of Tommy Lee Jones in Men in Black; you don't expect him to be funny, but somehow, he is. Granted, Jones is funny only in the juxtaposition to Will Smith and the situations they are in.
I believe Leslie Nielsen and the other stars of Airplane were chosen in large part because they were so well known for playing very serious and deadpan roles.
Where the holy hell is the Blu-ray and 4K release of this gem
Cameron has been stalling on a high definition release, he regrets that he portrayed muslims as terrorists in this movie.
@@TheRocco96 Every non-English-speaking country has played the villain at one time or another. Cameron's balls dropped off when he sank that ship.
Get the Spanish edition Blu-Ray. It has an English audio track.
No mention of a young Eliza Dushku? She nailed it.
I still enjoy the Last Action Hero. Movie was so meta when I was a kid.
Perfect Saturday night movie. Lost track of how many times I watched it as a kid. Tom Arnold and Bill Paxton add such a great comedic tone to proceedings.
Just think back in 94, True Lies and Speed were in the cinema at the same time. People were truly spoiled back then!
Delighted to see this explosive gem get a Drinker shout out! Ive brilliant memories of watching it in a mates house in early 95. Huge huge Arnie fan, especially back then and this really was a proper "back on top" moment from him after the underrated Last Action Hero. True Lies is a blast, and yet as you said it seems to have slipped thru peoples sights over the years. I dont know if it ever got a deserved Blue Ray release, or if its streaming online, but it really deserves time in spotlight again.
It's been released in HD on cable and streaming, currently I think it's only available on Hulu. It's funny seeing it in HD at home, in a lot of shots you can clearly see it's a stunt man and not Arnold. You could get away with it at the time with it going by so fast in the cinema, and on VHS/DVD low resolution at home, but in HD at home it's very obvious. Maybe they will do a CGI faceswap like was done for T2, once it comes out on 4K.
This movie has a lot of great moments, like when Harry translates Aziz to Helen... "No force can stop us now, we're cool, we're badasses, blah, blah, blah" I always LOL
JLC kicked the shit out of this movie. Her greatest role.
It’s such a shame how I almost never hear anyone talk about this movie, especially when it comes to Cameron’s filmography as a whole. It’s simply one of the best action comedies I’ve ever seen.
How much fun can a movie be.. One of my all time favourites. Everything about it is just SO enjoyable. One of the few perfect movies I can rewatch again and again and it's just as good every single time.
One of my all-time fave movies.
"Want to take at guess at Samir's speciality?"
"Is it oral hygiene?"
So many great one-liners, yet also packed with action and a number of emotional moments. Although the VFX are showing their age now, the bridge chase still holds up well.
"Do you know what this is?"
"I know what dis is. Dis is a snowcone makah."
"..."
"...is it an espresso machine?"
That "Yup!" when she asks if they're going to die is a priceless gem
80's and 90's movies have such a rewatch value. I watched that movie DOZEN of times. Just awesome little side plots
1994 is probably my favorite year for movies.
True Lies
Shawshank
Pulp Fiction
Forest Gump
New Nightmare
Interview with the Vampire
The Lion King
Ed Wood
Dumb and Dumber
The Mask
Ace Ventura
The Crow
Speed
Airheads
The Ref
The Shadow
Glad you reviewed this Drinker, True Lies is one of my favorite hidden gem movies. My wife and I still re watch it from time to time, the action is great and it’s just funny enough without straying into parody. Sometimes I honestly forget that Cameron directed this one.
I still watch this movie at least quarterly. Theix of comedy and action was perfectly balanced. Sad that we will probably not see movies of this quality ever again.
I remember watching this with my family back in the day. The scene where they were intimidating Bill Paxton had my Dad laughing so hard we had to pause the movie. He left the room to collect himself.
This was one of my favorites when I was a kid. Definitely one of the best action comedies around.
I watched this movie no less than 30 times when I was teen. And I watched the dancing scene no less than 150 times!
I know right
True Lies is a masterpiece. A shame world events made the sequel impossible.
I can confirm what the Drinker has stated. The 12yo me also thanks James Cameron for that one scene we all know and love 😘
Pedo-♀s FTW why?
As does my 13 year old self, who spent many nice moments watching the scene 😂
this movie is the reason that every time i see a missile fired a small voice in my head says: you're fired.
"But Drinker!" I say, "You roguishly handsome and devilishly charming pinnacle of manhood, True Lies is a "no-no" movie. Do you not recall how Captain Marvel put the world right when she shot the head off the movie display?"
Seriously this movie kicks ass. Where is the 4K bluray eh?? Last I checked you couldn't even stream this in Australia
“13-year-old me thanks you for building this scene, James Cameron.” Now dammit. That’s funny.
This was my dad's absolute favorite movie. This and Cliffhanger, also excellent. I miss him terribly. Thanks for giving this movie the love it deserves.
Still one of my favourites, top marks on everything. I remember this was was the first film to cost 100 million dollars, redefining the summer blockbuster.
And all those dollars are visible on the screen. It looks like it cost 100 million dollars, unlike most modern CGI-heavy spectaculars.
@@jrd33 The scene of the bridge being destroyed by the Harriers is incredible even today. Apparently it's model work, but it's so well done that I (and quite a lot of other people) thought they'd blown up a section of bridge for real.
@@trolleriffic It's kinda sad that high-budget CGI still isn't as convincing as model work from 25 years ago!
@@jrd33 Really convincing particle and water effects that you'd need to get a shot like that right still seem to be difficult to perfect even today, possibly because it's so complex and computationally intensive. What's maybe sadder is that studios and directors often seem to be so wedded to using CGI that they don't use more practical effects that could do the job better (but might cost more or be less amenable to endless reshoots).
The line "the guys a fucking used car salseman" is a great line!!
His joy at how fucked up Harrys marriage is makes me laugh so hard 😂 he’s like ‘this just keeps getting better and better!’ 🤣
"True Lies" (1994) is a remake of the French movie "La Totale" (1991). The original one is good and funny too! You see....!