True Lies (1994)

True Lies is a 1994 American action-comedy film directed by James Cameron and starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jamie Lee Curtis, Tom Arnold, Bill Paxton, Tia Carrere, Charlton Heston, and Art Malik. Eliza Dushku also appears in the film in one of her first major film roles. True Lies is an extended remake of the 1991 French film La Totale!, which was directed by Claude Zidi and starred Thierry Lhermitte and Miou-Miou. The film was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Visual Effects and Curtis won a Golden Globe for her comedic portrayal of Helen Tasker. True Lies was the first Lightstorm Entertainment project to be distributed under Cameron's multi-million dollar production deal with 20th Century Fox, as well as the first major production for the visual effects company Digital Domain, which was co-founded by Cameron. True Lies was the only feature film collaboration outside of the Terminator series to feature Cameron, Schwarzenegger, and Brad Fiedel as director, actor, and composer respectively. Upon its release, True Lies was one of the most expensive films ever made, costing anywhere from $100 to $120 million.

Harry Tasker (Arnold Schwarzenegger) leads a double life, performing covert missions for the United States Government under a counter-terrorism task force called The Omega Sector ("The last line of defense"). Albert "Gib" Gibson (Tom Arnold) and Faisil (Grant Heslov) assist him in these missions. Spencer Trilby, played by an eye-patched (Charlton Heston), is their boss. His wife Helen (Jamie Lee Curtis), and daughter Dana (Eliza Dushku), believe he is a boring computer salesman with Tektel Systems (the cover company for Omega Sector) doing a lot of "corporate" travel. Harry is unable to spend quality time with his family due to his secret identity, causing Helen to believe that he doesn't appreciate her. Harry's latest mission in Switzerland reveals the existence of an Islamic terrorist organization group known as "The Crimson Jihad", led by Salim Abu Aziz (Art Malik), AKA "The Sand Spider". Harry suspects that an antiques dealer named Juno Skinner (Tia Carrere) has ties to Aziz and after visiting her, he's chased by Aziz's men through the Georgetown Park shopping mall and a large hotel. Because of his frequent disappearances Helen starts to believe he is having an affair. When Harry goes to Helen's office the next day to surprise her and take her to lunch, he overhears a conversation with her coworker about "Simon" (Bill Paxton), a man she is seeing. This causes Harry to worry about their marriage. Using the Omega Sector's resources (including a GPS tracker and wireless microphone hidden in her purse), he tracks down Simon, who turns out to be a used car salesman posing as a spy to seduce Helen. Helen is kidnapped by Harry's agency friends from Simon's trailer and left in a bare concrete interrogation room with a one way mirror. Harry questions her using a voice distorter about her relationship with "Simon" and about their marriage. She says that she wanted to have adventure in her life for once, since Harry never gave her that. Harry realizes his cover as a boring salesman was too convincing and he needs to spice up Helen's life to make her happy. He gives Helen a choice, either go on a "mission" or be sent to prison. She chooses the "mission" and told that she will be contacted using the codename "Doris". Gib, using the voice distorter, calls Helen and tells her to pose as a prostitute named Michelle. She is sent to the Hotel Marquis to meet a suspected arms dealer. While there she's to plant a bug on his phone. Harry plays the arms dealer in a room frequently used by Omega Sector. As she's planting the bug Helen discovers Harry is playing the arms dealer. Suddenly Aziz's men burst into the room, taking both of them hostage. They are taken to Juno Skinner's private jet, given a tranquilizer and flown to the terrorist hideout somewhere in the Florida Keys. Aziz reveals he possesses small nuclear warheads hidden inside antique statues shipped by Juno, and plans to detonate one to demonstrate his power to the United States. Harry, under the effects of a truth serum, reveals his secret double life, much to Helen's shock. Harry then escapes, frees Helen and attacks the camp, trying to stop the planned detonation. While fighting Aziz' troops, Harry appears to die in an explosion. Helen is recaptured and is taken by Aziz, Juno and the terroristss as they escape the island before a nuclear warhead wipes out their camp and any evidence. Gib locates and rescues Harry using the GPS device in Helen's purse. Two Marine AV-8B Harrier jets are brought in to attack Aziz' convoy as they travel the Overseas Highway bridge. Harry, while hanging by his legs from a helicopter, is able to rescue Helen from Juno's limo before it plunges into the ocean through a missing part of the damaged bridge. After landing and meeting up with the other agents, Harry and Helen kiss deeply as the nuclear explosion lights up the horizon. Harry soon learns that Aziz was able to kidnap their daughter Dana after finding his home address in Helen's purse. The terrorists take over the top floor of an under construction office building in downtown Miami. They also have Dana and the remaining warhead. Harry comandeers a Harrier to rescue his daughter and stop the detonation. Faisil is also there as part of the requested news crew, and provides a distraction as Dana steals the arming key. While being chased by Aziz, Dana climbs up onto a crane at the top of the building. Faisil, meanwhile, is able to kill three terrorists with a hidden gun and Harry eliminates a number of others with the Harrier's machine guns. The rest of the terrorists decide to escape by helicopter. Harry sees Dana climbing the rigging and catches her after talking her into jumping onto the Harrier. Unfortunately, Aziz follows Dana and attacks Harry while he tries to pull his daughter to safety. Eventually, Aziz falls off the jet but gets his clothes get caught on a AIM-9 Sidewinder missile. Harry declares "You're fired!" and shoots the missile, with Aziz still attached, through the building's framework and into the terrorists' hovering helicopter, destroying them all. A year later, the happy and stronger Tasker family are seen enjoying dinner. A surprising difference is that Harry and Helen both now work for Omega Sector, Dana apparantly knowing what they do. On a mission at a dinner party that same evening they encounter the lying Simon trying to schmooze another woman with his spy persona. After scaring him enough to cry, wet his pants and run away, they decide to dance the tango. Meanwhile Gib complains over their earpieces about being stuck in the truck for fifteen years.