Poster © 20th Century Fox. Shown at reduced size for review and commentary.
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GenreAction, Comedy & Thriller
RatedR
Runtime2 hr 21 mins
ReleasedJuly 15, 1994
StreamingSee Where to Watch
DirectorJames Cameron
StarringArnold Schwarzenegger, Jamie Lee Curtis, Tom Arnold
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True Lies (1994)
| ▶Stream It | ★The Numbers |
| 🎫Get Tickets | ✎Edit History |
| iIMDb Profile | %Rotten Tomatoes |
| WWikipedia | LLetterboxd |
| TTMDB | +Add to Top 8 |
| True Lies's Details | |
| Genre | Action, Comedy & Thriller |
| Rated | R |
| Released | 07/12/1994 (Regency Village Theatre); 07/15/1994 (United States) |
| Streaming | See Where to Watch on this page. |
| Running Time | 2 hr 21 mins |
| Budget | $100–120M (reported) |
| Box Office | Updated daily from Box Office Mojo. See the numbers below. |
| Based On | La Totale! (1991 film) by Claude Zidi Simon Michaël Didier Kaminka Émilie (1981 screenplay) by Lucien Lambert |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| True Lies's Interests | |
| General | Tuxedos, Swiss mansion parties, the tango, horseback chases through fancy hotels, secret double lives. |
| Music | Brad Fiedel, the same composer behind the Terminator theme. Arnold brought his own band. |
| Movies | Mr. & Mrs. Smith (2005). Same marriage problem, except both spouses are packing. |
| Television | Chuck. Another guy with a boring cover job and a very exciting real one. |
| Heroes | Gib. Delivers every wisecrack in the middle of an active mission. |
| True Lies's Crew | |
| Director | James Cameron |
| Writers | James Cameron |
| Producers | James Cameron, Stephanie Austin |
| Cinematography | Russell Carpenter |
| Music | Brad Fiedel |
| Edited By | Conrad Buff IV, Mark Goldblatt, Richard A. Harris |
| Production | Lightstorm Entertainment |
| Distributed By | 20th Century Fox (United States, Canada, France and Italy), Universal Pictures (through United International Pictures, international) |
James Cameron put a police horse in a hotel elevator, and that’s only the warm-up in True Lies. The setup has Arnold Schwarzenegger as a spy who tells his family he sells computers, and the action is massive: a bridge chase, a helicopter rescue and a fighter jet hovering over downtown Miami. Jamie Lee Curtis is the secret weapon. Helen goes from bored legal secretary to accidental field agent, and her panic is the funniest stuff on screen. Tom Arnold is a great wisecracking sidekick. Then the middle sours. Harry uses his agency’s toys to spy on and scare his own wife, and the movie plays it as a romantic prank. The villains are loud, lazy stereotypes, and they’ve aged badly. It also runs 141 minutes. It made $378.9 million worldwide on a reported $100M to $120M. A 6.8 because the stunts still rule and the marriage plot is a little creepy. $884 says a relative mentions their boring job this holiday season and you start wondering what they’re really up to.
What works: The set pieces are huge and easy to follow, and Jamie Lee Curtis turns Helen’s panic into the funniest part of the movie.
What doesn’t: The plot where Harry spies on and frightens his own wife plays as a cute prank, and the villains are tired stereotypes.
Who it’s for: Action fans who want old-school stunt work at full volume and can wince through the dated parts.
Spoilers
Helen ends up deep in the mission, Aziz grabs Dana and hauls her to the top of a skyscraper, and Harry rescues her in a jet over the city. The epilogue finds the couple working side by side as spies, and their next mission puts them on a dance floor.
Harry Tasker (Arnold Schwarzenegger) tells his wife Helen (Jamie Lee Curtis) and teenage daughter Dana (Eliza Dushku) that he sells computer systems and travels a lot. The travel part is true. Harry is really a top agent for a secret outfit called Omega Sector, working with his wisecracking partner Gib (Tom Arnold) to track a terror group led by Aziz (Art Malik) through a glamorous art dealer, Juno Skinner (Tia Carrere). Then Harry starts to wonder whether Helen has a secret life of her own. James Cameron directs. One hundred forty-one minutes, and the tango is the safest thing he does.
Anyone whose spouse travels for work a suspicious amount. Ask about the tango lessons.
| Arnold Schwarzenegger | Harry Tasker |
| Jamie Lee Curtis | Helen Tasker |
| Tia Carrere | Juno Skinner |
| Tom Arnold | Albert "Gib" Gibson |
| Bill Paxton | Simon |
| Art Malik | Salim Abu Aziz |
| Eliza Dushku | Dana Tasker |
| Grant Heslov | Faisil |
| Charlton Heston | Spencer Trilby |
| Marshall Manesh | Jamal Khaled |
| Ofer Samra | Yusif |
| John Bruno | High-Rise Custodian |
- (cur | prev) 14:30, 18 October 2026 DataBot +40 Numbers refreshed: IMDb users 7.3 / 10 (304,227 votes) → 7.3 / 10 (304,243 votes).
- (cur | prev) 14:30, 17 October 2026 DataBot +480 Numbers refreshed: Worldwide box office $378.9M; Domestic box office $146.3M; Opening weekend $25.9M; Profit / loss (est.) +$24.4M; Rotten Tomatoes 77%; CinemaScore A; box office chart updated; Rotten Tomatoes critics 77% (135 reviews); Metacritic 63 / 100; CinemaScore A; IMDb users 7.3 / 10 (304,227 votes); movie.guru score 7.3.
- (cur | prev) 12:00, 17 October 2026 DataBot +2,000 Profile created from Wikipedia and Box Office Mojo: cast, crew, release dates, budget.