This is the kind of film I think of when it comes to summer blockbusters. There’s an interesting mix going on here of the James Bond formula and typical, silly American action comedies from around the same time. I think it starts very well, the first act is pretty much Cameron doing his version of Bond. You get a couple of amazing set pieces, the horse chase in particular is something to behold and very fun to watch. For the second act, it temporarily drops the main plot and the movie takes a sharp, unpredictable turn. This is the section that gives the film a lot of its unique flavour, though there are some parts that haven’t aged well (however, from what I understand this was already pointed out by critics at the time). Some of the stuff Jamie Lee is put through here by Arnold and his crew can read as a little too crude, lowbrow or misogynistic, thereby unintentionally making our likeable protagonists a lot less likeable. During the third act, both storylines sync up nicely, we get this long, extended climax filled with a string of imaginative set pieces. It's the kind of ending most directors could only pull off in their dreams, yet Cameron brings everything together in a satisfying conclusion. Overall, it’s pretty entertaining and for an action comedy this long it moves along very well. The cinematography and editing are great, definitely a lot classier and comprehensive compared to what Michael Bay was putting out around the same time. Moreover, its infrequent use of close ups gives the film a larger scale. Sometimes it gets a little too silly and corny (for example the whole striptease scene should’ve been rethought, that got a little too dumb), but most of it is funny.

6.5/10