TRUE LIES: 4K UHD Blu-ray Combo (2oth Century-Fox/Lightstorm, 1994) Disney Home Video

When the last is written on the career of muscle-man/action hero, Arnold Schwarzenegger, let it not be said he left any stone unturned in maximizing his appeal as Hollywood’s he-hunk du jour. Despite some earlier forays to immortalize various members from the bodybuilding community on celluloid, and the near instant proliferation of muscle-heads who tried - mostly in vane - to tote Schwarzenegger’s dumbbells, there has never been, nor likely ever again to be, as towering a figure in the transmigration from bodybuilding legend into the annals of movieland lore. The trick was not in marketing Schwarzenegger’s girth – self-evident from the moment he entered – and filled – any room with rippling mounds of prime beefcake. Rather, it was Arnold’s ability to make light of the fact he possessed such an enviable physique. Also, his desire to do more with it than simply flex into the camera, and yes – that winning personality, adept at comedy as well as drama. All this leant his career its essential ballast. The proof, arguably, of how little it mattered Schwarzenegger had once hailed from bodybuilding royalty is in director, James Cameron’s True Lies (1994) – a powerhouse actioner with brains to compliment the brawn. Cameron, instrumental in elevating the stature of Arnold’s career with The Terminator (1984) – a watershed in sci-fi/action pics – had more recently, then, reteamed for its follow-up, Terminator II: Judgement Day (1991), but now turned to Schwarzenegger again, for an action spectacular not altogether to rely on his star’s physical prowess to sell the picture.

Ratcheting up the gamble, Arnold keeps his cloths on in this one. There is not a single gratuitous beefcake moment in which the audience is allowed to ogle Arnold’s musculature. Instead, Cameron’s screenplay, loosely based on the 1991 French comedy, La Totale!, weighs in on presenting a refined persona for Schwarzenegger – not, as the lone hulk, but rather, as Harry Tasker, the domesticated hubby of Helen (winningly realized by Jamie Lee Curtis) with a typical teenage daughter, Dana (Eliza Dushku) in tow. To both, Harry is just a good-natured, if slightly dull, middle-class tech salesman working for shoot-from-the-hip sidekick, Albert Gibson (Tom Arnold). Secretly, however, Harry and Al are American spies involved in some top secret, counterterrorist espionage to keep the world safe for democracy. But when Harry’s double lives suddenly collide, everything goes to hell.  True Lies marked a few ‘firsts’ in Hollywood. It was the first movie to be made by Cameron’s own company, Lightstorm, under a multi-million-dollar agreement with distributor, 2oth Century-Fox. It was also the first to utilize a litany of special effects created by Cameron’s other venture, Digital Domain. And last, it was the first flick in film history to cost a whopping $100 million to produce. Every dollar is up there on the screen, save the salaries afforded Cameron, his two aforementioned stars, and supporting players Bill Paxton, Art Malik, and Tia Carrere – the latter, excellent as ruthless viper, Juno Skinner.

True Lies is a lot of fun, with Cameron allowing Arnold much latitude for his comedic chops. We begin with Harry Tasker, or rather, the man we all believe Harry Tasker to be – just a successful software salesman, frequently called away on ‘business.’  Helen is pretty forgiving of Harry’s absences until she begins to incorrectly suspect he might be straying in his marital vows. But actually, Harry, along with best bud, Al Gibson, and, sidekick, Faisil (Grant Heslov) are U.S. spies working for Omega Sector, a counterterrorism agency. Together, they infiltrate a Swiss gala hosted by billionaire, Jamal Khaled (Marshall Manesh). In his white tux, Harry cuts a dashing figure, attracting the attentions of Juno Skinner, Khaled's art dealer. In reality, Juno is part of Crimson Jihad, a terrorist cell led by Salim Abu Aziz (Art Malik). Feigning interest in art, Harry entertains Juno, setting up the terrorists to plot his assassination. Victorious in warding off the attack, Harry loses sight of Aziz. On the home front, Harry also misses the surprise birthday party Helen and Dana had planned for him.

Endeavoring to smooth over matters, Harry instead overhears Helen making a clandestine rendezvous with someone named Simon (Bill Paxton). Suspecting his latest absence has pushed Helen into the arms of another man, Harry uses Omega Sector resources to unearth Simon is actually a used car salesman who feigns at being a covert agent to seduce women. In disguise, Harry and several Omega agents take Helen and Simon hostage. Reduced to tears, Simon agrees to keep away from Helen. But Harry discovers his wife is grappling with her own midlife crisis, desperate for some excitement to come into her humdrum life. To placate her, Harry arranges for Helen to partake in a staged spy mission for a mysterious figure.  Too bad for all concerned, Aziz’s henchmen take Harry and Helen hostage off the Florida Keys. Juno’s true intentions are now revealed, working for Crimson Jihad to smuggle nuclear warheads in antique statues. These will be detonated in various U.S. cities. Harry is administered a truth serum and confesses his double life to Helen. Learning the first warhead is set to explode in 90-minutes, Harry breaks free and skillfully wipes out most of Aziz’s men, though Aziz escapes with the warhead.

Helen is captured by Juno and taken aboard a limousine in Aziz’s convoy. Gib and Omega agents rescue Harry but take out a portion of the Seven Mile Bridge. The limo careens over its decimated edge, though not before Helen is rescued by Harry. The warhead on the island detonates, harming no one. Now, Harry learns Aziz is holding Dana captive atop a Miami skyscraper. Commandeering a fighter jet, Harry launches a daring rescue. Posing as a news cameraman on the ground, Faisil assassinates Aziz’s guards while Dana steals the missile key and escapes to the rooftop, scaling a tower crane before being saved by her father. Predictably, Harry dispatches with Aziz and the remnants of Crimson Jihad. We fast track one year later. Helen has joined Omega, working with her husband on his next daring mission. The pair encounters Simon, now employed as a waiter, but still pretending to be a spy. Seeing Harry again, Simon flees in fear. Harry and Helen engage in the same tango Harry danced the year before with Juno as Gib pleads over Harry’s hidden earpiece for the couple to take their work more seriously.

All the pistons are firing on True Lies. James Cameron seems particularly engaged in this actioner with an attitude. His unrelenting work ethic bodes well with Schwarzenegger’s own slavish devotion to get the subtler nuances of his character just right. Arnold’s attributes aside, the joys to be had here involve Jamie Lee Curtis and Tom Arnold, each hamming it up for the camera with a joyous finesse for the absurdity in the exercise. Curtis is supremely entertaining as the milquetoast mom come hard-won crusader for her husband’s affections. Helen’s faux erotic pole dance, performed in half shadow for a man she is, as yet, unaware is actually her husband, is a hoot. Here, Curtis pulls out all the stops, writhing in simulated sweat, before accidentally failing to connect with the bed pole and, instead, landing on her ass in the middle of her erotic seduction. Helen’s immediate recovery is remarkable and hilarious. Tom Arnold’s usually glib persona is allowed its share of loaded barbs in Cameron’s screenplay, including Gib’s insistence Harry has lost control over Dana’s upbringing. In his absence, her new parents are “Alex Rose and Madonna.”

That True Lies has remained absent from public view for so long is a minor mystery, and frankly, a colossal insult to the creative talents that went into making it. It is, arguably, Schwarzenegger’s best movie to date – and likely to remain so. At the time, it raked in a cool $378 million at the box office, making it the third highest-grossing picture of the year. In addition to high praises for Schwarzenegger and Cameron, Jamie Lee Curtis was honored with a Golden Globe. Though True Lies did receive a thoroughly skin-flint DVD release in 1997, the events of 9-11, 2001 seemed to put a damper of Fox’s ability to reissue it with a straight face on any competing home video format in the intervening decades. Despite a rabid fanbase, eager to embrace the picture in all its former glory, Fox’s insistence that some of its contents was somehow, obtusely ‘offensive’ to Muslims, as well as Cameron’s prior commitments on other projects preventing him from personally supervising a new master, ensured True Lies would remain in limbo for decades to follow. Oddly enough, the ‘offensive’ argument has since fallen by the waste side as, indeed, it should. True Lies does lean rather heavily on the trope of terrorism coming from the Middle East (like, no kidding – it’s a patriotic, flag-waving actioner made in America, not Jakarta). However, that it declares its’ menace from afar does not infer all Muslims are terrorists. Enough said. Besides, True Lies was a monumental undertaking in its day, earning the fastidious Cameron newfound respect within the industry, as well as a Saturn for Best Director and Oscar nods besides.

Viewed today, True Lies remains a technically proficient, expertly executed and exhilarating actioner with guts, gusto and grit – the elementals of a true masterpiece in the genre. It owes something of a nod to the James Bond franchise – but does not go so far down that rabbit hole as to be considered a cheap knockoff. And now, thanks to Disney Inc., the custodians of the Fox catalog, True Lies arrives – not only on Blu-ray, but 4K UHD. The original theatrical release of True Lies was shot on 35mm film stock, later blown up to 70mm for limited engagements. The 4K is sourced from…well…likely 35mm original camera negatives. But you'd never guess it from this overly processed, heavily digitized, and digitally scrubbed home video presentation. Contrast? Blown out - extremely. Fine detail? In and out. Sometimes, it's there. Sometimes...   Colors? Cartoony instead of natural with flesh tones toggling between piggy pink and ruddy orange. And what's with the handful of shots, including a close-up of Charlton Heston, that appear to have been processed first through a meat grinder, with a residual softness that almost renders them out of focus?!? Occasionally, Russell Carpenter’s high-key-lit cinematography gets shown to its very best advantage. But grain is gone.  What is here looks waxy, overly sharp and digitally processed to the nth degree. The 5.1 DTS audio design fares significantly better. Some will poo-poo Disney did not go the extra mile for a reimagined Dolby Atmos. Fear not – this sounds about as immersive and earth-shattering as one might expect. Disney has shelled out – a bit – for a retrospective, and also included vintage featurettes as extras. So, nicely done. Bottom line: it’s taken far, far too long for True Lies to arrive on home video in a manner befitting its status and reputation. This 4K UHD still doesn't rise to the occasion. Regrets. 

FILM RATING (out of 5 – 5 being the best)

4.5

VIDEO/AUDIO

2

EXTRAS

3