Dependent on who you believe, James Cameron’s TRUE LIES, released a year before Pierce Brosnan made his debut as 007 in GOLDENEYE, was the film that was either going to destroy Bond or be a replacement.
Well, given that it was a remake of a French film (LA TOTALE) – not a new idea considering other French to American remakes ie BOUDU SAVED FROM DROWNING remade as DOWN AND OUT IN BEVERLY HILLS (1986) or TROIS HOMMES ET UN COUFFIN remade as THREE MEN AND A BABY – TRUE LIES paid homage to Bond at the outset when Arnold Schwarzenegger removed his scuba gear to reveal a white tuxedo a la Sean Connery in GOLDFINGER (1964)
That is probably where the similarity ends, given also that unlike Arnie’s character in TRUE LIES, Harry Tasker, is seemingly married to Helen (Jamie Lee Curtis, HALLOWEEN, TRADING PLACES, KNIVES OUT) and in her eyes he’s your average, boring computer salesman, when in fact he’s a top agent working for the Omega Section of the US Government aka THE LAST LINE OF DEFENCE.
His partner, Gibson (Tom Arnold) and support Faisal (Grant Heslov, more of a producer now with George Clooney) suspect that foul play is afoot when Harry encounters Juno Skinner (Tia Carrere, WAYNE’S WORLD) on a mission in Switzerland). It appears her company is the front for a terrorist group, led by evil Aziz (Art Malik, THE LIVING DAYLIGHTS), who is more than keen to kill Tasker, sending over a couple of cronies to hunt him in a mall when he returns to Washington.
However, Tasker’s home life is not so good with Helen and daughter Dana (Eliza Dushku) and Helen senses she wants some fun, so she plays away herself with a mystery man called Simon (Bill Paxton, ALIENS, EDGE OF TOMORROW, TITANIC) which throws Harry when he calls on her at work on spec.
The two missions are about to get complicated.
Filmed with the energy of great action, great stunts and excellent visual effects, particularly during the last third of the film, TRUE LIES is a great example of bang-for-your-buck