While thinking about action movies, Arnold Schwarzenegger is the first person to hit the mind. If you don’t agree; this article is sure to change your view point in the favor. Don’t believe it? Read on till the end!
Arnold Schwarzenegger Background
Arnold Alois was born on 30 July 1947. He is an Austrian-American producer, actor, retired bodybuilder, business, and a former politician.
As an actor, Arnold played a variety of roles in different genres and was considered a perfect fit for every character he enacted. From hero to villain and kindergarten cop to ruthless robot; the guy really showcased his true potentials through his remarkable acting skills.
His physical appearance and good looks also contributed a lot to his success. Arnold’s singularly bizarre presence and bulging muscles are enough to reveal his fitness enthusiasm. Once a bodybuilder, Schwarzenegger left his career to join the film industry, and it was definitely the best decision of his life. There are a lot more movie artists who switched their careers just like him.
How it Started?
Arnold Schwarzenegger first media appearance was in 1977 for a documentary related to bodybuilding Pumping Iron. His breakthrough film was released in 1982 named Conan the Barbarian. It was a box-office hit, and its sequel was launched in 1984.
The heartthrob also showed up in a commercially successful film The Terminator as a title character in 1984. Moreover, he played similar roles in its sequels: Terminator 2: Judgment, Terminator 3 Rise of the Machines, Terminator Genisys and Terminator: Dark Fate in 1991, 2003, 2015, 2019 respectively.
Arnold performed in several super hit action films as well, including Commando, Predator, The Running Man, True Lies, and Total Recall. Besides, he also entertained the viewers with his humor and wit in comedy films, like Twins, Junior, Kindergarten Cop, Jingle All the Way and an action/thriller comedy Red Heat. Moreover, Arnold Schwarzenegger was a CEO of a film production company named Oak production.
Here’s a chart showing the number of movies he worked in along with the year of release.
| Hercules in New York | 1970 | |
| Pumping Iron | 1977 | |
| The Comeback | 1980 | |
| Conan the Barbarian | 1982 | |
| Conan the Destroyer | 1984 | |
| The Terminator | 1984 | |
| Commando | 1985 | |
| Raw Deal | 1986 | |
| Predator | 1987 | |
| Twins | 1988 | |
| Total Recall | 1990 | |
| Kindergarten Cop | 1990 | |
| Terminator 2: Judgment Day | 1991 | |
| Last Action Hero | 1993 | |
| True Lies | 1994 | |
| Eraser | 1996 | |
| Jingle All the Way | 1996 | |
| Batman & Robin | 1997 | |
| End of Days | 1999 | |
| The 6th Day | 2000 | |
| Collateral Damage | 2002 | |
| Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines | 2003 | |
| The Expendables | 2010 | |
| The Expendables 2 | 2012 | |
| The Last Stand | 2013 | |
| Escape Plan | 2013 | |
| The Expendables 3 | 2014 | |
| Sabotage | 2014 | |
| Maggie | 2015 | |
| Terminator Genisys | 2015 | |
| Aftermath | 2017 | |
| Terminator: Dark Fate | 2019 | |
Must-watch Movies by Arnold Schwarzenegger
The list of Arnold Schwarzenegger flicks is long. It’s not easy to choose the best one out of these. However, we have listed down top 6 movies that you should definitely watch this weekend. So, grab your popcorns and enjoy the moment!
1. The Last Action Hero (1993)
This movie is great for those who like expected one-liners and self-aware jokes. Arnold Schwarzenegger seems like a perfect fit for his role in The Last Action Hero.
In this movie, a teenager wanted to watch the latest show by Jack Slater (Schwarzenegger), so he goes to the theater. Fortune for him, the movie launch ahead of the said schedule, and he gets a special ticket which becomes the entry ticket of the film universe.
The movie may not impress you in terms of actions or characters, but you are sure to enjoy a good laugh. Another highlight of this film is the Cameos appearances.
Directed by: John McTiernan
Cast: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Art Carney, F. Murray Abraham
Duration: 130 minutes
IMDb Rating: 6.4
2. Commando (1985)
Next one is full-on 80s action film! In a nutshell, in this movie, Arnold guns down everyone who is not Rae Dawn Chong.
You will see a retired Special Forces Colonel’s daughter (Alyssa Milano) who went missing. The Commando has 11 hours to take down all the goons and his squad mates that the kidnappers have placed in his ways.
Basically, Schwarzenegger is enacting as a man who won’t stop until he gets his daughter back. You will see him swinging through the mall like a Tarzan while lifting a phone booth on his head.
Directed by: Mark L. Lester
Cast: Dan Hedaya, Rae Dawn Chong and of course Arnold Schwarzenegger
Duration: 90 minutes
IMDb Rating: 6.7
3. Twins (1988)
This movie showcase Arnold’s comedy skills and rewarded him fame of a versatile actor.
You will be seeing a team of scientists working together to make mentally, emotionally and physically perfect human being. As a result of their experiment, Julius was created along with another unexpected child DeVito. The twins get separated at birth and then Julius decides to go out into the real world to search his twin brother, but unpredictable things happened there.
Full of suspense, twists and humor; Arnold is sure to surprise you with his performance in a comedy movie, and it is far better than you might be expecting from him. Watch Twins and decide yourself.
Director by: Ivan Reitman
Cast: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Kelly Preston, Danny DeVito
Duration: 107 minutes
IMDb Rating: 6.1
4. Predator (1987)
A Sci-Fi thriller Predator is next on the list! In this flick, the action scenes are shot in a deep jungle.
A group of commandos suddenly sensed that something was not right, while winding up their mission in the Central American jungle. They saw remains of their enemies scattered everywhere and realized that they were hunted. What happened next? Did they make it to their ways out of the jungle? Watch out yourself.
The movie is full of thrills, suspense, action and intensity.
Director by: John McTiernan
Cast: Carl Weathers, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Kevin Peter Hall
Duration: 107 minutes
IMDb Rating: 7.8
5. The Terminator (1984)
This was the debut film of James Cameron. Schwarzenegger can be seen in a thrilling role as a cruel killing machine that destroys humans.
The Terminator was sent back to 1984 from 2029 to kill Sarah Connor whose unborn child will save mankind from hostile artificial intelligence. A soldier Michael Biehn was also sent back to protect Sarah and the baby.
Cold, terrifying, ruthless and emotionless are the words to portray the character of terminator played by Arnold, and it is absolutely unforgettable. He proved his amazingly intense acting skills with this one!
Directed by: James Cameron
Cast: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Michael Biehn, Linda Hamilton
Duration: 107 minutes
IMDb Rating: 8.0
6. Terminator 2: Judgement Day (1992)
There is no point of not discussing the sequel of The Terminator when its part 1 already made it to the chart. In this flick, Arnold was portrayed as a positive character who saves lives (totally opposite to what he played in the previous picture).
This Sci-fi story revolves around terminator who was not able to kill the Connor family, so he was reprogrammed to protect young John Connor from a forthcoming threat.
As soon as the announcement of releasing Terminator sequel was made; audiences got all excited about this one. However, due to some technical issues, the wait got longer but definitely fruitful.
Directed by: James Cameron
Cast: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Edward Furlong, Linda Hamilton
Duration: 137 minutes
IMDb Rating: 8.5
Arnold Schwarzenegger Really Did Justice To His Roles?
Arnold sacrificed his bodybuilding career to make it to the movies, and certainly it was worth it. During his acting career, he got a lot of opportunities to prove his true potentials, and he never failed to amaze the audience with his amazing acting skills and excellent dialogue delivery along with natural facial expressions. In fact, Arnold worked on several genres, and it will be hard to judge whether he can play better comedy roles or is he a perfect fit for sci-fi. What are your views on it?