- 08/07/2025
Charting the highs and lows of Hollywood's greatest-ever action star. We rank every single Arnold Schwarzenegger movie from worst to best.
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00:00Arnold Schwarzenegger is, quite simply, the best to ever do it. By it, I mean the action genre,
00:06starring in genre masterpieces both unheralded and otherwise, and leaving behind a truly unique
00:12screen presence and legacy in the process. There have been lows as well, but whether good or bad,
00:18Arnold is still unabashedly Arnold. So, I'm Ewan, this is WhatCulture, and here is every Arnold
00:24Schwarzenegger movie, ignoring uncredited cameos, ranked worst to best. 37. Hercules in New York
00:32Schwarzenegger's acting career was almost over before it even started, with his debut, Hercules
00:38in New York, remaining his worst outing to date. Here, Arnold portrayed the hero of Greek legend as
00:45Zeus sends him to man's world. What should make for novel viewing a day, at least, is still pretty
00:50cringe-inducing, I'm afraid, with all the humour landing and Arnie himself struggling with the
00:55dialogue. 36. The Villain
00:58Another early career outing for Schwarzenegger, 1979's The Villain was a Kirk Douglas-led
01:04western comedy that had Arnold in the fittingly titled role of Handsome Stranger. The film itself
01:10is not good or really that funny, no matter how much it tries to channel the spirit of Chuck
01:15Jones' Roadrunner shorts, was Schwarzenegger also enabled to really show the charisma that
01:20would propel him to Hollywood's summit in the following decade.
01:2335. Iron Mask
01:25The most upsetting thing about Iron Mask is that it brings together the two greatest action
01:31stars of all time, Jackie Chan and Arnold Schwarzenegger, and doesn't take the occasion seriously.
01:37Bonkers in premise but tedious to sit through, the first on-screen meeting of Chan and Schwarzenegger
01:43should have been something that played to their respective strengths. Instead, it came in a
01:47weird fantasy adventure film that refuses to engage with either star's lofty legacies.
01:5234. Killing Gunther
01:55Killing Gunther, released in 2017, is the least ambitious of Schwarzenegger's films' post-governorship
02:01comeback. A mockumentary centred around a team of experts who try to kill Schwarzenegger's
02:06eponymous assassin, the film boasts the occasional chuckle but doesn't hold a candle to some of
02:11the other well-known genre mockumentaries of the last decade. It's a kind of fun premise
02:14and Schwarzenegger is a delight as usual, getting to wear some fun outfits, but a heftier budget
02:20and a stronger supporting cast would have done it a huge favour.
02:2333. Terminator Genisys
02:26Ugh, we should have all known that Terminator Genisys would be bad based on its stupidly
02:30spelled title alone. But hey, the return of Schwarzenegger to the franchise promised great things
02:35and so we all showed up. And for his part, as is a running theme with even his lower tier
02:41works, he does really well with the material provided, slipping back into the metal endoskeleton
02:46for the first time since 2003's Terminator 3 Rise of the Machines.
02:51Where Genisys comes stuck is its messy plot, which relitigates the events of James Cameron's
02:56original film without providing a compelling reason as to why, and things only get more and
03:01more convoluted as it progresses. Truly the worst Terminator film to date, which is really
03:07saying something.
03:0832. Aftermath
03:10Probably the most frustrating of Schwarzenegger's recent efforts has to be 2017's Aftermath.
03:16The other dramatic role he took on alongside Maggie in the second part of the 2010s, Aftermath
03:22sees the actor in the role of a grieving father searching for answers after his wife and child
03:27die in a plane crash. This premise proves fertile for Schwarzenegger to spring
03:31compelling emotional shoots, but the execution is listless and plodding. Arnie is great at
03:36this stuff, but it would just be nice to see him utilized in a more deserving project.
03:4131. Stay Hungry
03:43The second leading role Schwarzenegger took on, and a damn sight better than Hercules in New
03:49York, 1976's Stay Hungry is a weird oddity of a film. Arnie stars here as Joe Santo, a bodybuilder
03:57with aspirations of becoming Mr. Universe, just like the real deal. He's joined this time
04:02by a young Jeff Bridges, who plays a southern socialite who ends up befriending Santo in
04:07getting involved in the bodybuilding scene. It's a real head-scratcher tone-wise though,
04:12with 1977 documentary Pumping Iron ultimately doing a much better job of relaying the world
04:18Schwarzenegger inhabited during his days as an athlete.
04:2130. Red Sonja
04:23Jokingly referred to as a threat of punishment by Schwarzenegger to his own children, 1986's
04:29Red Sonja is not as diabolical as its reputation would lead you to believe, but it still isn't
04:35exactly a stellar entry in the actor's filmography. While all the material was there to make a decent
04:40addition to the Conan series, this one's still pretty patchy compared to both Conan the
04:44Barbarian and Conan the Destroyer. Not Schwarzenegger's worst, and directed Richard Fleischer does
04:49provide a couple of enjoyable furnishings along the way, but Sonya, and not Conan here because
04:54there were some weird copyright snafus going on, deserved a stronger adaptation.
04:5929. Collateral Damage
05:01A throwback to the kind of action film Schwarzenegger was making a decade before, 2002's Collateral
05:07Damage was directed by The Fugitive's Andrew Davis, but never once comes close to exhibiting the
05:12same kind of verb and momentum as the Harrison Ford starring masterpiece. Here, Schwarzenegger
05:17plays firefighter Captain Gordy Brewer, a man out for revenge against a Colombian drug ring,
05:23whose attack on a consulate in Los Angeles resulted in the deaths of Brewer's wife and child.
05:28It's parved the course as far as early 2000's action films go, and while it's interesting to see
05:32Schwarzenegger take on more of a John McClane-esque character, he ultimately proves unsuited to,
05:38and poorly served by, the material in question.
05:4228. The Sixth Day
05:44Potentially the most forgotten of Arnie's immediate pre-governorship excursions,
05:49sci-fi actioner The Sixth Day was directed by Tomorrow Never Dies' Roger Spottiswood,
05:54and was a notable box office disappointment at the time of its release,
05:57all but confirming Schwarzenegger's then diminishing audience draw.
06:01Centered around a sinister clone conspiracy, sorry Spider-Man fans, that's trauma for you there,
06:05orchestrated by an evil tech CEO, the movie is surprisingly prescient in moments, but unremarkable
06:12on the whole. 27. Dark Fate
06:15Dark Fate had plenty of promise, with Linda Hamilton returning as an aged Sarah Connor to
06:21do battle with the forces of Skynet once again. Sadly, like the preceding two sequels, Tim Miller's
06:26film got mired in the weeds of retroactive continuity, adding further insult to the injury
06:31inflicted by Terminator 3 Rise of the Machines by going back again to Terminator 2 Judgment Day
06:37and killing off John Connor. While unfortunate, the killing of Connor isn't what sinks Dark Fate.
06:42The film struggles to justify that opening gambit, but its biggest shortcomings emerge at a technical
06:48level. It simply isn't particularly interesting to look at, and while Hamilton and Schwarzenegger
06:53ooze gravitas, the action never rises to the occasion.
06:5626. Maggie
06:58Preceding Aftermath as one of two dramatic roles Schwarzenegger took in the latter half of the
07:032010s, Maggie saw the actor in the role of a father struggling to come to terms with the
07:08coming death of his daughter, the eponymous Maggie in question, portrayed by Abigail Breslin,
07:13following her infection in a zombie outbreak. Schwarzenegger takes to the material with ease,
07:18emanating sadness and regret to an affecting degree. It isn't exceptional as far as zombie dramas go,
07:23but it may leave you wishing that more studios sat up and took note of what he was accomplishing
07:28with this dramatic detour.
07:2925. End of Days
07:31End of Days isn't exactly what you'd call Pete Arnold, coming just a few years before his run
07:37for governor, but it is quite fascinating in that, while still rooted in the action genre,
07:42it's far bleaker than the actor's other efforts from the time. Directed by Peter Hyams, End of Days is
07:48dark, bleak and typically apocalyptic, following in the footsteps of his existential 90s brethren by having
07:54Arnie and Earth a satanic conspiracy that threatens to bring about Armageddon. Not typical fare for
07:59Schwarzenegger, but a competent and surprisingly atmospheric entry in his filmography all the same.
08:0524. Sabotage
08:07Of all the films Schwarzenegger has starred in following his return to acting,
08:11Sabotage might just be the strangest. Unexpectedly, this isn't your typical Arnold action film, with
08:17director David Ayer instead bringing all his nasty proclivities to the frame in what ends up being
08:22a gritty, gory and totally aberrant example in Schwarzenegger's career, despite all of its action
08:29credentials. This isn't me saying Sabotage is bad, but rather that its tone marks a huge contrast from
08:35most other Arnie movies. It's not particularly fun, everyone's an asshole, and Ayer revels in the guts and
08:42mud of it all, as he would later do to more success with 2017's Fury. It's not a perfect formula, but
08:48Schwarzenegger at least takes to it with a real energy, mixing bravado with world weariness and
08:53in turn becoming the film's biggest highlight. Sabotage is grim and gross, and your mileage with
08:58it will probably vary based on what you want out of an Arnie movie. Even so, despite its bleakness,
09:03there remain glimmers of value. 23. Terminator 3 – Rise of the Machines
09:09Terminator 3 – Rise of the Machines is a film that really should not exist, with James Cameron's
09:15Terminator 2 Judgment Day still perfectly capping the entire story of Skynet off. However, Schwarzenegger
09:21had wanted to pursue a third Terminator for years with the time that Rise of the Machines was made,
09:25and as a sequel that exists just for the sake of it, it could honestly be a lot worse.
09:31The biggest criticism against Rise of the Machines is that it undoes the happy ending of Cameron's
09:36saga, concluding with the activation of Skynet and the commencement of nuclear Armageddon.
09:41It's a familiar story for a Cameron sequel, but while Alien 3 at least had the pageantry of David
09:47Fincher to fall back on, Rise of the Machines isn't so lucky. As it stands, it's a perfectly okay
09:53action film elevated by Schwarzenegger's presence and that of Kristana Loken as the TX. Otherwise,
10:00it's pretty disposable. 22. Batman and Robin
10:04Okay, I know I'm gonna get a lot of flack with this, but hear me out.
10:06Although there's no denying the fact it killed Batman on screen for about a decade,
10:11the reputation of Joel Schumacher's Batman and Robin is way harsher than it deserves. Viewed to
10:16the lens of it being a neon-soaped update of the 60s TV show, it just about almost succeeds.
10:23Everything that was laudable about Batman Forever is dialed up to an almost obnoxious degree in Batman
10:28and Robin, with Schumacher famously remarking to his cast and crew that they were there to quote
10:33unquote, shoot a toy commercial. Look, I don't care what anyone else says, Schwarzenegger looks
10:39great as Mr Freeze here, stokey in hand. The character then only recently off the heels of his
10:44reimagining in Batman animated series Heart of Ice, and he hams it up perfectly in the absence of any
10:50focus pathos. Had Schumacher dialed more into that element of the character, I kind of think Arnie would
10:56have nailed it even more. So yeah, Batman and Robin is not the abomination it's been made out to be,
11:03and also entirely worth it just from that Oscar's 2024 bit with Danny DeVito and Michael Keaton.
11:0921. Raw Deal Contradicting its gorgeous looking poster by the great John Alvin,
11:15Raw Deal is maybe the most lethargic offering from Schwarzenegger's heyday, albeit one not without
11:21its fun moments. Here, Arnold portrays a small town sheriff and former FBI agent out for revenge
11:26against a criminal outfit. Undercover shenanigans ensue, and slowly but surely, Schwarzenegger takes
11:31down the organization he's infiltrated. Sadly, director John Alvin doesn't really add much color
11:36to the proceedings. The film plays out in shades of brown and gray, while the action scenes themselves
11:42are shot in a stulted manner. It takes a lot to bury Schwarzenegger's charisma, but ultimately,
11:47Raw Deal does just that by saddling him with a humorless protagonist. It's not bad, but also,
11:53we know there's been much better. 20. Red Heat
11:56Walter Hill was the granddaddy of the buddy cop genre. The writer and director kickstarted the
12:01entire trend with 48 Hours, the film that launched Eddie Murphy's film career, and returned to the
12:06niche with 1988's Red Heat, a Cold War action comedy that paired a Soviet cop with a Chicago detective.
12:12The former role was inhabited by Arnold Schwarzenegger, while the latter was brought to life
12:16by James Belushi. While thoroughly watchable and replete with some all-timer Arnold moments,
12:22especially the Cocainum bit, because that moment is legendary, Red Heat is no 48 Hours,
12:28with Hill deploying all the expected trappings of an East meets West story without the chemistry
12:33or action to mitigate the lack of invention. Ivan Danko is certainly one of Schwarzenegger's more
12:38memorable characters, and it's entertaining in a way you'd expect any 80's Arnie film to be,
12:43but Red Heat itself is far from his top tier. 19. Junior
12:47Uh, yeah, so not much needs to be said about Junior that little Arnold's face can't convey
12:53in this image, but let's give it a shot anyway. The third, and arguably least successful collaboration
12:58between Schwarzenegger, DeVito, and director Ivan Reitman, Junior isn't quite as cursed as you may
13:03have been led to believe. In fact, like Twins in Kindergarten Cop, it's heartfelt in moments,
13:09and Schwarzenegger again shows that he's great at comedy. However, unlike those aforementioned films,
13:15it doesn't quite sustain its premise so well, with Schwarzenegger and DeVito's partnership lacking
13:19the same energy and charm that it did in Twins. Plus, you know, cursed Arnie baby. Kind of terrifying.
13:2618. Escape Plan
13:28Back in the 80's and 90's, the thought of Schwarzenegger teaming up with Sylvester Stallone would have
13:32probably conjured the most epic-sounding movie ever. The duo were the action genre's two banner
13:38figures for much of those two decades, sharing an off-screen rivalry that drove each other to
13:43shoot for bigger, better, and often louder things on screen. Throw those two egos into one film,
13:49and the results should, at the very least, have been chaotic. Sadly, it took a bit too long for
13:54Sly and Arnie to lock horns in a film, and when it did happen, the results were pretty forgettable.
14:002013's Escape Plan marked the third of four movie meetings between the pair, all others of which came
14:05in the Expendables series, but it is the sole one dedicated to them as co-leads. While it functions
14:11fine as a low-stakes prison thriller, there's simply no excuse for it to be so grey and muted.
14:17What should have been a ballsy, daft meeting along the lines of what Stallone already accomplished
14:23with Kurt Russell in Tango and Cash instead plays out on autopilot, with Schwarzenegger and Sly straining
14:29against the confines with unimaginative script and listless direction. It's fine, honestly it is,
14:34but they both deserve better than a rote prison plot and Jim Caviezel.
14:3817. Conan the Destroyer
14:41While not as fondly remembered as Conan the Barbarian, 1984's Conan the Destroyer is still
14:47plenty entertaining, upping the high fantasy elements and comedy compared to the previous
14:51outing and resulting in a vibrant but flawed adaptation of Robert E. Howard's comics.
14:56Worth watching for the pairing of Grace Jones and Schwarzenegger alone, the comics fans will also
15:01glean value from the knowledge that Marvel scribes Jerry Conway and Roy Thomas wrote the story.
15:05One that producer Dino De Laurentiis sadly undermined, but even with that baggage in
15:10tow, there's still plenty to like about the finished product.
15:1316. The Expendables 3
15:16The Expendables 3 gets a harsher rap than it arguably deserves, though there's no disputing that
15:21Sylvester Stallone made a huge mistake in trying to usher in a quote unquote new generation of action
15:27stars with its story, as well as appealed to a wider audience by mellowing out the action.
15:32Seriously, Sly, we want the squibs. Gimme gimme gimme, more squibs.
15:36The third Expendables film remains the sole entry in the franchise to be given a PG-13 rating,
15:42and while it finds redemption in the additions of Antonio Banderas and Wesley Snipes, that rating
15:47unfortunately continues to hang around its neck like a big old albatross.
15:51Schwarzenegger does at least benefit from a slightly beefier role this time,
15:55assembling the remnants of Barney Ross's team to go get him out of a bind.
15:58Particularly fun are his exchanges with Jet Li Zhang, and for a time, especially in the film's
16:04entertaining climax, it really does feel like the film is delivering on the series' premise.
16:09The bad part is… there's also a lot of chaff to sift through to get there.
16:1315. Eraser
16:15The forgotten child of Schwarzenegger's mid-to-late 90s era, Chuck Russell's Eraser is a no-frills throwback
16:21to the actor's earlier action films with one or two welcome tricks up its sleeve. One of whom is
16:27James Caan, who I will always appreciate showing up in literally anything. More famous for pitting
16:32Arnie against the wayward alligator than anything else, the film is unremarkable and yet thoroughly
16:39watchable. Elevated by the performances of Schwarzenegger and co-lead Vanessa Williams,
16:43as well as Russell's direction, which exhibits much the same colour and flair that made his 1994 movie,
16:48The Mask, such a hit. 14. The Last Stand
16:52If Sabotage is one of Arnold's less crowd-pleasing post-governorship jaunts, then The Last Stand
16:58is the exact opposite. A nice, pleasant return to leading man status wherein he plays a small
17:04town sheriff forced to take on a drug lord fugitive and his band of cartel cronies.
17:08Kim Ji-Woon's film is fast and functional, while Arnold himself seems to be relishing his homecoming
17:14event, playing with his age and finding his footing as an action lead once more.
17:18It's not quite as expansive or as ceremonious as it arguably should have been, but The Last Stand
17:23still succeeds by bringing some always appreciated neo-western vibes to the table, and matching
17:28Schwarzenegger with a solid cast of supporting players. 13. Jingle All The Way
17:33Once considered one of the low points of Schwarzenegger's pivot to comedy, Jingle All The Way is
17:38today something of a festive cult favourite. That evolution should in no small part be credited
17:44directly to Arnie himself, whose unique screen presence elevates what could have otherwise been
17:49a generic holiday cartoon. It's appeal lies in the fact that Arnold, and let's be honest here,
17:55doesn't really belong in the scenario. He is simply too larger than life to play the part of an
18:00absent-minded middle-class dad. And yet, it's something that Jingle All The Way is all too aware of,
18:06as it constructs elaborate action-esque scenarios of Schwarzenegger's character, Howard Langston,
18:10to get caught up in. There's a cringe-inducing mall chase, a fight with a reindeer,
18:15and even a superhero battle to cab things off. It's dumb, it's nakedly cynical, but even so,
18:22there's something admirable in how the film offers no illusions about what Christmas has morphed into.
18:28Is it sad that holiday traditions can be boiled down to buy me Turbo Man or go to hell? Well, yeah,
18:34but that's kind of how it's been for a good long while now. The secret here is that it's better
18:38to just give in and embrace the chaos, which is also, coincidentally, the best way of enjoying
18:44Jingle All The Way. 12. The Expendables 2
18:47While Schwarzenegger did appear in the first Expendables film in 2010, it was only in a cameo,
18:53and thus not eligible for ranking. For what it's worth, The First Expendables is a perfectly acceptable
18:58piece of action cinema, it just failed to accomplish its main mission, that being to
19:03assemble an all-star cast of action legends in one film. Thankfully, the sequel delivered a much more
19:09competent and rousing adventure, not only upping the size of the cast to accommodate genre legends
19:14like Chuck Norris and Jean-Claude Van Damme, but actually utilizing them in fun and, at times,
19:20exciting ways. Schwarzenegger, then fresh off leaving the California Governorship in 2011,
19:25also had his role as rival mercenary trench upgraded, getting the flex as action shots
19:30properly for the first time in almost a decade. The novelty of seeing Arnold trade barbs and bullets
19:36with old time rival Sylvester Stallone and fellow genre legend Bruce Willis simply does not get old,
19:42and while his role is marginal compared to Sly's, it's substantial enough to leave an impact.
19:47The Expendables films themselves might not be on the level of what these guys accomplished decades ago,
19:52but the second entry certainly had its moments. 11. Kindergarten Cop
19:57The second of three collaborations with Ivan Reitman, 1990's Kindergarten Cop was another
20:03opportunity for Schwarzenegger to mix action with comedy, this time taking on the role of a hard-boiled
20:08detective, John Kimball, who was forced to go undercover at a kindergarten in hopes of taking down
20:13a drug dealer played by Richard Tyson. While nowhere near as great as Reitman and Schwarzenegger's first
20:18meeting, Kindergarten Cop is still a charming outing for the duo, one that delivers plenty of great
20:24one-liners and quotes as Kimball tries to wrangle his kindergarten class and balance his duties as
20:29a policeman and replacement teacher. Certainly not the high point of the actor's pivot to comedy,
20:34but still really entertaining when it counts. 10. Conan the Barbarian
20:39The Terminator may have cemented Arnold Schwarzenegger as an acting phenomenon, but it was John Milius'
20:44film that showed the world for the first time just how unique a screen presence he was.
20:50The first of several Schwarzenegger starring adaptations of Robert E. Howard's high fantasy
20:55Conan stories, Milius' film is fierce and brilliantly realized, relaying the story of
21:00Conan's rise to legend and his quest to avenge the death of his family at the hands of Tors of Doom,
21:05played brilliantly by James Earl Jones. Along the way he meets three notable allies,
21:11Supertai, played by Jerry Lopez, a thief and archer, Valeria, portrayed by Sandal Bergman,
21:16a fellow warrior who becomes Conan's lover, and Akiro the wizard, played by Mako, a mystic who also
21:22delivers the film's immortal ending narration. While far from perfect, Schwarzenegger's first
21:28leading role remains one of his most iconic, transfixed in a visually rich and suitably violent
21:34translation of Howard's comics. Fingers crossed that, as per the actor's own wishes, an old man
21:39Conan film may materialize in the coming years. 9. Commando
21:45One need only listen to the ridiculous genius that is James Horner's score for Commando to get a sense
21:51of just how brilliantly fun the movie actually is. A bouncy hodgepodge of steel drums, synth and then out
21:58of nowhere a saxophone, because why not, Horner's theme is the perfect embodiment of Schwarzenegger's
22:04most brand reflective action film, which remains to this day one of the actor's most enduring.
22:10Directed by Mark L Lester and written by 80s and 90s genre fixture Stephen E. D'Souza,
22:16Commando was, in many ways, the film that cemented Schwarzenegger's action bona fides.
22:21Conan and the Terminator had come before, yeah, but this was the film that established Brand Arnold.
22:28Boisterous, endlessly quotable, and completely and utterly devoted to centering Schwarzenegger's
22:34whirlwind physicality. It isn't as technically proficient as many of the other films Schwarzenegger
22:38would star in afterwards, but it really remains a touchstone of 80s action cinema.
22:448. The Running Man
22:46As sci-fi satire, Paul Michael Glaze as The Running Man is weirdly prescient,
22:51as a colourfully pulpy action romp, it succeeds tenfold.
22:55Set in the near future, where the United States has elected an authoritarian and
22:59fascist government, The Running Man sees Schwarzenegger as Captain Ben Richards,
23:04a helicopter pilot who attempts to prevent a police sanctioned massacre of civilians,
23:09and is thusly accused of their killings as the authorities attempt to cover her.
23:12In this future though, criminals are entered into The Running Man competition,
23:16a televised, gladiators-inspired Bloodsport TV show that usually results in their execution.
23:23Richard's name may not be Schwarzenegger's most memorable, but the iconography of The Running Man,
23:28especially the actor in that yellow quilted jumpsuit, is among the most striking in his
23:34filmography. It also doubles as a strong Stephen King adaptation, which is a neat little bonus too.
23:40Number 7. Twins. Someone needs to say it. Twins does not get the credit it deserves.
23:47While a huge success at the 1988 box office and still fondly remembered,
23:52Ivan Reitman's Schwarzenegger and Danny DeVito starring comedy isn't simply a good movie,
23:58but a great one. Full of heart, laughs, and a real zest and colour, Reitman ensures that Twins
24:05never succumbs to the novelty of its premise, allowing plenty of room for DeVito to scamp it
24:10up as Vincent Benedict and for Schwarzenegger to riff on his action persona by playing a gentle giant
24:16Julius, who is unwise to the world and yet full of sage advice. In the process, Reitman's film ends
24:23up arriving at salient yet wholesome conclusions pertaining to nature and nurture, family, and romance.
24:29Like Vincent and Julius together, it's the complete package. An effortlessly breezy comfort watch that
24:35illustrates Arnold's comedic chops and sense of screen presence with aplomb. As the peaceful and
24:41learned Julius, Schwarzenegger is free to poke fun at his action persona. Actually, I hate violence,
24:47but never in a way that comes across as gimmicky. Reitman leaves these brief riffs to the early stages
24:53of the film, enabling Schwarzenegger to embrace Julius's earnest ways and match DeVito beat for
24:59beat, the peak of which comes in Twins' grin-inducing matching suit scene which just makes my day
25:06every time I see it. All in all, it's just the best time. Schwarzenegger and DeVito are a perfect
25:11duo, backed up all the way by the brilliant Chloe Webb and Kelly Preston as sisters Linda and Marnie
25:17respectively. Gorgeous, charming viewing from one of the 80's great comedy masters.
25:236. True Lies
25:26True Lies is a testament to how far one man will go to gas up their ride or die, with director James
25:32Cameron devoting every other frame of his 1994 action comedy blockbuster to reminding us all just
25:38how cool and unique a screen presence Arnold Schwarzenegger truly is. A comeback moment for the actor,
25:45as much as it was a false dawn for a post last action hero resurgence, True Lies is every bit
25:51the spirited all out adventure you'd expect from a Cameron blockbuster, albeit one not without some
25:57flaws. Based upon a French film called La Total, True Lies centered around Schwarzenegger as Harry
26:04Tasker, a spy for an ultra secret US agency who has kept his life a complete secret from his wife Helen,
26:11embodied brilliantly by Jamie Lee Curtis. As his double life leads to a marriage crisis,
26:16Harry has to save his relationship and the United States at the same time, resulting in some great
26:23interplay between the two actors as well as some of Cameron's most breathtaking action sequences today.
26:28A true lie stumbles is ironically in its lack of balance. Harry's suspicions of Helen's infidelity lead
26:35to an investigation involving the man she's seeing, Simon, played by a gloriously mustachioed Bill
26:40Paxton, and it's a detour that stymies the up until then brisk pace of the story. Cameron eventually
26:47reconciles these two converging narratives once Harry's double life is revealed to Helen, leading to
26:52the resumption of normal programming, in this case Arnold hosing down terrorists with an improvised
26:57flamethrower, but it stands out like an awkward filling sandwich between a brilliant second and third act.
27:03Then there are the movie's villains, who are essentially just bland terrorist caricatures
27:08for eyeing to shoot his way through. Schwarzenegger has tangled with far better over the years,
27:12and it remains True Lies' biggest shame that it's so unimaginative in this particular department.
27:17Neither of these issues prove enough to derail the film of course, which remains one of Schwarzenegger's
27:22absolute best. With plenty of great action and a comedic sincerity only Arnold could embody,
27:28True Lies is a true action spectacle. A gloriously self-indulgent offering that'll have you punch in
27:35the air with glee that someone gave James Cameron access to two Harrier jumpjets. Seriously. God bless that person.
27:435. Total Recall
27:45Paul Verhoeven and Arnold Schwarzenegger were a match made in heaven. The former's maximalist satirical
27:51tendencies aligned perfectly with the larger-than-life aura of the latter, with their coming together
27:57resulting in one of the all-time great science fiction action films, 1990's Total Recall.
28:03Based on a story by Philip K. Dick, Verhoeven's film is a vibrant, humorous, and spirited offering
28:09that, while not quite on the same level as his masterpiece Robocop, nevertheless displayed the
28:15same qualities that made that film such a resounding success, tenorizing the banality of capitalism
28:21and the futility of escape. Total Recall also provided Schwarzenegger with ample room to stretch
28:26his acting chops, taking on the dual roles of Doug Quaid and Carl Hauser, a man either reliving
28:32a memory wiped past and reclaiming his destiny, or one who is just fulfilling the transactional
28:38escape he had always been hoping for, depending on your interpretation. Whichever way you slice
28:43Total Recall's ending though, it remains a high point for both Verhoeven and Schwarzenegger,
28:48the latter re-entering a similar satirical slice of sci-fi that he excelled in with The Running
28:53Man. Total Recall is less rough around the edges than that effort though, bolstered by formidable
28:59actors like Michael Ironside and Sharon Stone, as well as Verhoeven's exacting and cutting sense of
29:04humor. 4. Last Action Hero
29:08In a just world, Last Action Hero would never have been the flop it was when it premiered in 1993.
29:14Crushed by the weight of Bran Darnold and a little old movie called Jurassic Park, John McTiernan's
29:19underappreciated action send up and send off was dead on arrival, plagued by a chaotic production,
29:26and criticised for self-indulgence, tonal inconsistency, and studio arrogance.
29:32While the latter charge is fair enough against Jurassic Park Columbia, Last Action Hero remains
29:39Schwarzenegger and McTiernan's most underrated effort, a deeply introspective work of action
29:44brilliance that served as a post-mortem on the genre's 80s explosion and on Schwarzenegger's then
29:51unshakable screen legacy. These qualities have always been a part of McTiernan's film, which
29:56transcended its irreverent parody roots to become something altogether more sincere, heartfelt, and
30:03considered. The diagnosis for Last Action Hero's failure has long rested with the idea that its genre
30:08mockery was toothless. Brought together as it was by figures synonymous with action's box office
30:14dominance, who then had too much affection for it to rib it effectively. In actual fact, this very heart
30:21has always been the film's biggest weapon. Last Action Hero, and Schwarzenegger for that matter,
30:27is more conscious than anyone of the restorative power of cinema, an alliance between escape and
30:32reality. Here, Arnold and McTiernan reconcile myth with reality, celebrity with vulnerability,
30:39and artifice with authenticity. Pairing the monument-like Arnold with young Austin O'Brien,
30:45who plays a fatherless child who fills that void with the movies. For Schwarzenegger, whose own journey
30:52was sparked by childhood inspirations like Reg Park and John Wayne, it serves as a poignant moment of
30:58reflection. An indulgent one, maybe, but one no less earned. In any case, Last Action Hero balances its
31:05myriad and at times contradictory features remarkably well. It's one of McTiernan's most beautiful movies,
31:11features a ton of great action, an iconic turn from Charles Dance, and is legitimately funny. It's
31:18just a film that, unfortunately, had the odds stacked against it from the beginning.
31:223. The Terminator Given it was the first collaboration between
31:27Cameron and Schwarzenegger, it's remarkable just how fully formed and authoritative 1984's The
31:33Terminator actually is. Fresh off the heels of helming Piranha 2 this morning, The Terminator
31:39signaled the arrival of Cameron as a force in science fiction, with the director following his
31:44tech-noir thriller with several genre efforts Aliens, The Abyss, and Terminator 2 Judgment Day.
31:49It also intimated the unique screen presence and versatility of Schwarzenegger in a flash,
31:57with the actor making an effortless transition from mythic fantasy hero in Conan to what was,
32:02in essence, a robotic slasher villain. The Austrian had initially been optioned for the part
32:07of Kyle Reese, the kind of role that would become his bread and butter in later years,
32:12with Lance Henriksen the first choice as the T-800. However, fate intervened, and after a meeting
32:18between the duo, Cameron decided that Schwarzenegger should be the Terminator instead. It remains one
32:23of the most consequential casting decisions of all time. The Terminator made Arnie a phenomenon.
32:29His inimitable physicality, which Cameron instantly tapped into, now married with a then unseen range.
32:35Suddenly, he was no longer just a novelty. These qualities may have been conveyed by Milius in Conan
32:41the Barbarian, but the Terminator enshrined the modern myth of Arnold, from which flowed his
32:47amazing action legacy. Of course, off-screen narratives alone aren't what makes The Terminator
32:53one of the greatest Schwarzenegger films. It's a remarkable piece of cinema, as technically proficient
32:59as it is tense, romantic, and apocalyptically harrowing. Not just one of the best films of Arnold's
33:05career, but like the following entries, one of the greatest full stop.
33:092. Terminator 2 Judgment Day
33:13Terminator 2 Judgment Day is the apex of Arnold as an actor and as a star. The culmination of a decade
33:20of genre dominance that subverted his mainstream debut and yielded Schwarzenegger's most heartfelt
33:26and emotional performance to date. Undoubtedly one of the greatest action movies, sci-fi movies,
33:32and sequels ever made, James Cameron's Terminator follow-up recalibrated an AE cinema icon,
33:38turning one of the decade's greatest villains into the next one's hero.
33:42And while T2 is filled to the brim with immaculate players, including a career best Linda Hamilton,
33:49who marshals her own on-screen transformation just as shockingly and believably as Schwarzenegger,
33:55Arnold is its beating mechanical heart and soul. A death robot who is taught to love and live
34:01by a troubled boy whose shoulders the weight of the world has been placed.
34:05Cameron orchestrates the character's reintroduction and development perfectly,
34:10first playing with the expectation of the T-800's previous appearance and the arrival of Robert
34:14Patrick's cop-dressed T-1000, before slowly developing the emotional connection between
34:20the machine and John Connor in amongst some of the best action sequences of the decade.
34:24Slowly but surely, the Terminator becomes a reflection of humanity's best features,
34:30showing mercy, cracking jokes, and cementing an emotional bond with his protectee.
34:35Cameron builds this to a fittingly devastating conclusion, which in turn delivers the most
34:41affecting moments of screentime in Schwarzenegger's filmography, as the T-800 lays itself to rest
34:47and parts ways with his surrogate family. Out of tragedy springs hope, but the Terminator's loss
34:52is one of cinemas most profound, so well oiled as Cameron's direction and committed Schwarzenegger's
34:59performance. 1. Predator
35:02Predator is the greatest action film ever made, and one that, like Arnold, feels underestimated
35:09even with its undisputed place in the genre canon. It was the film that announced John
35:14McTiernan into the world, but also a new era for Schwarzenegger. With his action bonafides
35:19then well and truly cemented, Predator afforded a space for Arnold to subvert genre tropes and
35:25play with his physicality in a considered manner, rubbishing the notion of his perceived on-screen
35:30invulnerability in a genre-bending effort just as smart and gripping as Cameron's Terminator.
35:36And McTiernan's follow-up Die Hard as well. The genius of Predator lies in its interrogation of genre.
35:42While McTiernan would earn these plaudits on Die Hard for casting a lean and vulnerable Bruce
35:47Willis as New York cop John McClane, Predator, stacked for the gills with athletes and larger
35:52than life personalities, was no less introspective when it released in 1987. Its cast of immaculate
35:58badasses, headed up by Schwarzenegger and the late great Carl Weathers, enter the film with typical
36:04explosiveness, sharing arm shakes, trading macho dialogue, and laying waste to a compound of
36:10generically armed rebels with puns and squibs aplenty. And then they are picked off, one by one,
36:15by the Seven Foot Predator, a slasher villain from outside our solar system who,
36:20like Arnold in previous Ethic Commando, eats green berets for breakfast. In and amongst this genre
36:27interrogation is subtext on America's Latin American misadventures, the war on drugs and the Iran-Contra
36:33affair than at the forefront of the news cycle, and also just a rollicking good story. A sergeant
36:38rock adjacent sci-fi horror that fully understood Schwarzenegger's strengths and birthed what is,
36:44in my view, his most definitive performance. In short, Predator is Arnold Schwarzenegger.
36:50It's his strength, his humour, his sheer stogie smoking force of personality. Better individual
36:57performances there may have been, but none exemplify Brand Arnold like McTiernan's masterpiece.
Recommended
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