My Top 10: Arnold Schwarzenegger Films

The man, the legend that is Arnold Schwarzenegger has had quite the career, both in and out of the film industry.
After beginning as a highly successful bodybuilder from the mid 60's and throughout the 70's, his breakthrough in the early 80's saw him become the next big action film star. He might not have made many critically successful films. But he certainly brought in a certain type of audience to the theatres that can't get enough of his action blockbusters. He even dipped into some comedies that certain demographics grew fond of.
While now being more into politics and business, he still has time to be involved in a few upcoming features.

Before I give my top 10, just missing out are a couple of films that deserve an honorable mention. Jingle All The Way is a real guilty pleasure of mine, and not just during Christmas.
Despite the obvious silliness of it all, it's funny, it's exciting and has a great Christmas spirit to it.
Dont' forget, this is probably the only film people associate Jake Lloyd with, outside of Star Wars: The Phantom Menace. It also gives a great portrayal about consumerism during the holiday season.

Also missing out, is Conan The Barbarian. This was the breakthrough film for Schwarzenegger and one that is much loved by film lovers. It sees Arnie play a warrior on the path to avenge his parents deaths from an evil sorcerer. The action and look of it is solid and the music is much grander then you would originally think.

Out of his 45 films, I have seen 33 of them. I will rank all of the films that I have seen, and then give a short review of each of my top 10:

33) Batman & Robin
32) Around The World In 80 Days
31) Junior
30) Red Sonja
29) The Expendables 3
28) Raw Deal
27) The Expendables 2
26) The Last Stand
25) The Destroyer
24) Twins
23) Commando
22) Sabotage
21) Eraser
20) Terminator: Dark Fate
19) Collateral Damage
18) The 6th Day
17) Aftermath
16) Escape Plan
15) Red Heat
14) End Of Days
13) Jingle All The Way
12) Terminator Genisys

11) Conan The Barbarian

10) Kindergarten Cop - Surprisingly charming, and then some.

The premise sounds like it will fall into his other comedies. But this manages to work, and I think that is mainly thanks to the chemistry Arnie has with the kids and the directing of Ivan Reitman.

Still nothing exceptional. But it manages to work better than many others.

9) Last Action Hero - Really wish I saw this as a kid. A great concept that was a pretty good watch.

Arnie plays fictional character Jack Slater, who's world is turned upside when a boy from the real world gets transported into his latest film.

It's good fun with a surprising stellar cast list. I would certainly not say no to a modern re-make.

8) Terminator 3: Rise Of The Machines - A bit of an underrated installment in the Terminator franchise. While it is clearly inferior to its predecessors, it is still a solid fun time.

The action is great to watch, Kristanna Loken does an impressive job as the T-X and I think it has an exciting final act.

7) The Running Man - Based on the Stephen King novel, Schwarzenegger plays a wrongly convicted man who must survive a deadly game show.

The concept kept me interested and Arnie's one liners really worked.

It is interesting to see it now, especially as it's set between 2017 and 2019.

6) Maggie - Something out of Schwarzenegger's comfort zone and one that for me worked rather well.

In the midst of a zombie apocalypse, a father stays by the side of his infected daughter during her finals days before the transformation is complete.

The tone is slow-burn, sombre and one that Arnie managed to never feel out of place.

5) True Lies - A really fun and exciting action film that most people forget was directed by James Cameron.

While he fears his wife is having an affair, a secret agent must prevent nuclear warheads being smuggled into America by terrorists.

It also has a super sexy performance by Jaime Lee Curtis.

4) Total Recall - A gripping sci-fi action thriller based on the novel by Phillip K. Dick.

After going on a virtual vacation to Mars, a series of unexpected events force him to go the planet for real.

While the wonderful practical effects from director Paul Verhoeven steal the show, Schwarzenegger's performance adds to the charm of the first big hits of the 1990's.

3) Predator - The film that proved that Schwarzenegger was not a one-hit wonder. This terrifically tense sci-fi action thriller is so to watch and gave us one of the most iconic movie monsters.

With Carl Wethers, Bill Duke and Jesse Ventura having solid supporting roles, Arnold managed to hold and carry the film as the lead.
It was a real shame that the majority of critics did not praise this on its release.

2) The Terminator - The film that saw the birth of James Cameron and Schwarzenegger's as global successes within the film industry.

This action sci-fi with elements of slasher is gripping from the first minute. It is hard to imagine this being over 30 years old now.

It was the role Schwarzenegger was born to play, a big robot that shows no emotion.

1) Terminator 2: Judgment Day - After the first failed attempt of killing the mother of John Connor, a more advanced Terminator is sent back in time to kill John himself, but as a kid.

This film saw Arnie at the peak of his powers.
After the success of the first Terminator, Schwarzenegger is back. But this time, his character has his comedic moments and he delivers it beautifully to give this the edge over the original.