Schwarzenegger Answered James Bond's Biggest What If Before NTTD
Arnold Schwarzenegger's True Lies explored an interesting «what if» scenario for James Bond many years before No Time To Die answered the same question. True Lies was James Cameron's follow-up to Terminator 2: Judgment Day, and reunited him with Schwarzenegger. True Lies is a spy comedy where Schwarzenegger plays Harry Tasker, a suave secret agent for a U.S. counterterrorism unit dubbed Omega Sector. He's basically an American James Bond, but unlike 007, Tasker is also a happily married husband and father — though his family believes he's a dull computer salesman.
True Lies is based on the French comedy La Totale!, and played to Schwarzenegger's strengths in terms of comedy and action. True Lies — which features a scene-stealing Bill Paxton — also gave Cameron the chance to stage some outrageous setpieces, though it's not considered one of his best works. The film's portrayal of Islamic fundamentalists as bumbling fools hasn't aged particularly well either, and a planned sequel was canceled following 9/11, with co-star Jamie Lee Curtis stating to Business Times in 2019 that “I don’t think we could ever do another ‘True Lies’ after 9/11.”
Related: The Eiger Sanction Is Eastwood's Swing At A Bond Film (& Why He Passed On 007)
True Lies gave Schwarzenegger a chance to flex his Bond impression, and 007's tendency to make dry quips after dispatching foes — especially during the Roger Moore era — was something that greatly influenced Arnold's own screen persona. True Lies also came during the long hiatus between 1989 Bond outing License To Kill and 1995's GoldenEye, which left Bond fans starved for big-screen spy adventures. Schwarzenegger — who feuded with Stallone during the '80s — is having a great time melding his 007
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