Two heroes of the 80s can be seen today on Kabel eins. Arnold Schwarzenegger shows his funny side before Sylvester Stallone goes on an ice-cold revenge mission.
Ten years after director James Cameron brought a cult hero to the screen with Terminator, he worked with Arnold Schwarzenegger again in True Lies. In addition to the action, the muscleman is able to show off his comedic talent here.
Another action hero from the 80s can be seen on TV today. In the 2013 film Shootout on Fifth Avenue, Sylvester Stallone plays a hitman who reluctantly teams up with a cop.
True Lies on TV: secret agent with a double life
Harry Tasker (Schwarzenegger) leads a dangerous double life. To his family, he is a computer salesman who often has to travel, but in reality he works as a battle-hardened top agent against terrorism. Harry and his colleagues uncover a terrorist organization that plans to fire a stolen nuclear warhead at a major US city. Despite the dire threat, Harry also tries to get to the bottom of his wife Helen’s supposed affair.
True Lies caused protests as early as the 90s
Not only since Twilight has there been discussion about where the boundaries between romance and obsession lie. Harry also shamelessly exploits his power as an agent to monitor his wife, which the film tries to sell us as a romantic gesture. There is also criticism of the portrayal of Arabs as stereotypical terrorists, whose organization in the film is called “Crimson Jihad”.
Incidentally, the criticism did not only arise in the age of cancel culture, but was already present when the film was released in 1994. It was banned in 54 Arab and Muslim countries. In addition, protests took place in front of cinemas in ten US cities (via Cracked ).
Aside from the justified criticism, True Lies also scores with the chemistry between Schwarzenegger and Curtis. Likewise, Cameron pulls out all the action stops on a technical level and comes up with a plot that has some bizarre scenes in store.
TV shootout: Stallone as a hit man
In the second film Shootout, the aging hitman Jimmy Bobo (Stallone) reluctantly teams up with young cop Taylor Kwon (Sung Kang) to carry out an elaborate act of revenge. Both men want revenge for the murders of their partners. They stop at nothing and carry out a vendetta that takes them from the seedy corners of New Orleans to the stately corridors of Washington, D.C.
The reviews for Shootout were mixed. Our community rates the film with a good 6 out of 10 points, but Rotten Tomatoes only gives it 45 percent positive ratings. There it says that both Stallone and director Walter Hill fail to create more than a faint memory of their glorious successes. Philipp Stadelmaier from the Süddeutsche, on the other hand, takes a different view, writing in his short film review:
Walter Hill’s completely anti-academic film is not an homage to the eighties: it lets strength and age coincide and calmly and relaxed restores the essence of Stallone in the middle of the present.
When are True Lies and Shootout on TV?
On Kabel eins, True Lies starts today, Monday, March 24, 2025 at 8:15 p.m. Shootout will follow immediately at 11:10 p.m. The channel will also show the repeat in a double pack.
Arnie goes on a terrorist hunt again on March 25 at 11:00 p.m. and we see Stallone as a hit man on the night of March 26 at 1:40 a.m. Alternatively, the films are also available to stream on Prime and, in the case of True Lies, also on Disney+.
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