Can you believe we have been waiting almost twenty-five friggen years for an upgrade on home media for this movie? Released in 1994, True Lies saw its last home media release in 1999 on DVD. Now, generations later, we get a new 4K scan of the flick from the camera negatives.

Harry Tasker (Arnold Schwarzenegger) is a family man in a low-key, boring, humdrum job, just doing his thing. A seemingly flighty man that bothers his loving wife (Jamie Lee-Curtis) and delinquent daughter (Eliza Dushku), he’s always preoccupied and always late. Helen Tasker happens upon Simon (the hilarious Bill Paxton), who claims to be a spy and starts helping him on his ‘latest mission.’ When Harry finds out, he goes off book at his ‘boring, humdrum job’ (ahem: the CIA) and starts tracking Simon—who is a used car salesman. But Harry has taken his eye off his mission, a radical group named Crimson Jihad, who have a nuclear bomb they plan to unleash on the US. Helen and Harry, preoccupied from the Simon debacle, get kidnapped by the terrorists and it’s up to Arnie—excuse me, Harry—to save the day, rescue everyone and stop the nuke.

Cameron decided to step into a pure action movie with his Terminator star and hits a home run again. Devoid of any high concepts, science fiction or post-apocalyptic stuff, this is a straight action-gasm with fantastic characters and roll on the floor funny humour. Arnold really comes into his own and shows off some amazing comedic timing with lines like “Yeah, but they were all bad.” Tom Arnold plays a hilarious machiavellian partner and has some of the funniest lines in the film: “She took the ice cube tray out of the refrigerator! What kind of sick bitch takes the ice cube tray out of the refrigerator?” Jamie Lee-Curtis is in top form and Bill Paxton is piss in your pants hilarious in every scene. For me he stole the movie. I would say the ‘bad guys’, depicted as hapless and disorganised, don’t deliver as effective a presence as the good guys, but the movie doesn’t need them beyond a catalyst function.

The effects, the stunts, the pacing, the music, all hit the mark. This is a fun time at the movies and one of my favourite Schwarzenegger films. Nigh on perfect in every way.

Ultimate Collector's Edition / 4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray + Digital 4K

Home Video Distributor: Disney/Buena Vista
Available on Blu-ray - March 12, 2024
Screen Formats: 2.39:1
Subtitles: English SDH, French, Spanish
Audio: English: Dolby Atmos; English: Dolby TrueHD 7.1; English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0; French: DTS-HD HR 5.1; Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1; Audio descriptive
Discs: 4K Ultra HD; Blu-ray Disc; Two-disc set
Region Encoding: 4K region-free; blu-ray region-free

VIDEO

Okay, again we are not getting an of the period, accurate presentation in this 4K transfer of the original camera negatives. Over the top and inconsistent would be my description of the picture. Once again, a heavy-handed and artificial end product mar the picture from beginning to end. This does not look bad! I want to say this here and now. It’s crisp, clean and full of dimension and vibrant colour, thanks to the Dolby Vision/HDR10+ enhancements. Grain is clumsily reduced and sanitised. Detail, due to this AI led application, is retained but inconsistently. There are some shots that look weak and others that call back to what once was. There’s a colder colour timing applied than I remember the film looking like back in the day. It’s the weakest of the four Cameron approved releases I have been sent to review, I’m afraid. But it’s still miles more detailed than the DVD!

AUDIO

7.1 Uptick thanks to Dolby ATMOS here folks, and its, predictably, the winning detail for an upgrade. This is a powerful and nuanced mix, handling dance halls and Harrier’s to dialogue and explosion with expert mixing. Directionality and environmental channels get a hefty workout and Brad Fiedel’s score soars through the speakers. Absolutely loved this.

Supplements:

Commentary:

• Commentary One
• Commentary Two

Special Features:

The DVD had bugger all on it (a trailer). This one actually has a 45-minute making of—Fear Is Not An Option; Looking Back—as a nice retrospective that was filmed for an unreleased blu-ray release a decade ago. A welcome surprise! You get a slip case and the requisite American use only digital copy (those of us in Australia, who Disney have forsaken, can’t utilise the code… or in fact buy the discs.)

• Fear is Not an Option: A Look Back at True Lies
• Archives: Script, Artwork, Marketing
  • Theatrical Trailer
  • Original Script
  • Storyboards
  • Blueprints
  • Tasker House
  • Omega Sector
  • Mall Bathroom
  • Trailer Park
  • Bridge
• Unit Photography
• Location Photography
• Poster Gallery

	Movie
	Video
	Audio
	Extras
Composite Blu-ray Grade

MPAA Rating: R.
Runtime: 141 mins
Director: James Cameron
Writer: James Cameron
Cast: Arnold Schwarzenegger; Jamie Lee Curtis; Tom Arnold
Genre: Horror | Thriller
Tagline: This Christmas there will be... Misery.
Memorable Movie Quote: "You know what? I'm sick of being in the van. You guys are going to be in the van next time. I've been in the van for 15 years, Harry."
Theatrical Distributor: 20th Century Fox
Official Site:
Release Date: July 15, 2024
DVD/Blu-ray Release Date: March 12, 2024.
Synopsis: 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.