True Lies

Half the time, this hi-tech action movie delivers, in a mindless kind of way: it's fast, crude and has enough explosions and cartoon-style violence to satisfy our baser instincts. Harry Tasker (Schwarzenegger) is a special agent up against a terrorist group (led by wild-eyed Malik) out to show the world it means business by stealing a nuclear warhead. So far, so traditional. But what's meant to give the film its emotional edge is that Harry hasn't told his wife Helen (Curtis) what he does. The crunch comes when a predatory used-car salesman (Paxton) looks like worming his way into her pants by pretending to be an international spy. When Harry finds out, colleagues and agency gizmos are all pressed into service. The film's entire middle section is devoted to this marital 'crisis' which, thanks to Curtis' enthusiastic if barely plausible turn, is quite amusing, despite the offensive take on male-female relationships. Happily, the last 40 minutes pick up with a feast of neck-breaking, torso-blasting violence.