15 Films You Didn't Realise Were Remakes

15. True Lies

During the 1990s, Arnold Schwarzenegger met with James Cameron and asked him if he would be interested in working together on a remake of the 1991 spy comedy, La Totale! Cameron loved the idea and adapted it into the action-packed classic, True Lies.

Apart from putting a heavier focus on action, True Lies copies La Totale! verbatim. Both films centre around a man who, unbeknownst to his family, is a secret agent. While the lead character tries to stop a terrorist from smuggling missiles, he learns his wife has grown bored of her life. When a slimy car dealer tries to seduce her by pretending to be a spy, the husband "arrests" her and orders her to work for him to pay off her debt.

When phrased like that, it sounds like the two films are identical. However, the biggest difference between the two films is the original focuses on humour. Don't get me wrong. True Lies is hilarious but it's a blockbuster first and a comedy second.