True Lies

True Lies is James Cameron directing Arnold Schwarzenegger in a $100 million action comedy about a secret agent whose wife doesn’t know he’s a spy, and somehow the result is both a spectacular action film and a genuinely funny marital comedy. Jamie Lee Curtis’s transformation from frumpy housewife to action heroine is the film’s secret weapon — her tango scene and the limo stunt are career-best moments. The Harrier jet sequence, where Arnold flies a vertical-takeoff fighter through downtown Miami to rescue his daughter from a nuclear-armed terrorist on a bridge, is one of the most expensive and extravagant action finales ever filmed. Cameron’s mastery of escalation is unmatched: every set piece tops the last.