When you think about Arnold Schwarzenegger’s films, you probably think of lines like “Get to the chopper!” or “I’ll Be Back.” With good reason, in the span of his career, he made some of the biggest box office hits of the 1980s, 1990s, and into the 21st century. Except Pumping Iron, a 1970s documentary that introduced Schwarzenegger to the world and started the weightlifting craze of the 1980s, here are the Arnold Schwarzenegger movies that define his career.
Conan the Barbarian
It made sense that a former Mr. Olympia who had made inroads to an acting career would be chosen for the muscle-bound protagonist of the sword and sorcery film. It was the perfect fit for an action film, and Schwarzenegger’s onscreen charisma was undeniable. It was the first time the public at large had seen him since Pumping Iron and in more significant numbers. The film catapulted his status from bodybuilder to movie star. As the barbarian who would be king, he captivated movie audiences for most of the summer of 1982. It would be Schwarzenegger’s next role that would make him a superstar.
The Terminator
James Cameron’s tech-noir classic was the perfect vehicle for Schwarzenegger, who was trying to expand his acting resume to more than just muscular barbarians. In The Terminator, Schwarzenegger played the eponymous cyborg sent back from the future to kill Sarah Conner, the mother of the leader of human resistance against the machines. The film was like nothing audiences had seen before with Schwarzenegger’s hulking, emotionless presence in a nerve-wracking sci-fi thriller. It was destined to be one of the most popular futuristic films of all time.
Commando
After playing a villain Schwarzenegger was eager to play a hero again, and he did in the over the top action classic, Commando. In the movie, he played John Matrix, a former special forces commander who learns from a helicopter carrying his former commander landing on his front lawn that all the members of his former unit had been mysteriously killed. A former member of his unit with an axe to grind against Matrix kidnaps his daughter, and a gauntlet of action and quips ensue. Commando was an instant hit and further bolstered Schwarzenegger’s status as a movie star.
Predator
After a less successful movie, Red Heat, Schwarzenegger took on a role similar to the one in Commando, but this time in a science fiction film. Directed by John McTiernan of Die Hard fame, the film turned science fiction horror movies on its head. Schwarzenegger played Dutch Schafer, a former special forces operator (like Commando) leading a group of mercenaries in the steamy jungles of South America to rescue a cabinet member of an unspecified country and encounters the creature known as the Predator. With the ability to become nearly invisible, superior alien technology, and its own strength, it picks off the mercenaries, but not before it becomes injured, spawning another classic Schwarzenegger line: “If it bleeds, we can kill it.” As opposed to other extra-terrestrial horror films (perhaps with the exception of Aliens) instead of fleeing from the creature, Dutch seeks it out to destroy it in the finally where he dukes it out with the Predator and defeats him. It seemed that Schwarzenegger couldn’t ride any higher, but his star would continue to rise.
Hear T.J. and Jay review the top movies of the “Summer of ’94” and Arnold in “True Lies” from that year on the “We’ve Seen That!” podcast by clicking play below,
Kindergarten Cop
After a few additional box office hits like The Running Man and Total Recall, Schwarzenegger turned his attention to comedy and his first lead role in that genre (Hercules in New York notwithstanding). In the film directed by Ivan Reitman (Ghostbusters), Schwarzenegger plays John Kimble, a hardened police detective obsessed with catching the notorious drug dealer Cullen Crisp. Kimble gets a tip that Cullen’s ex-wife is the target of his ire for stealing millions of dollars from him (he mistakenly thinks). With his partner, who is an ex-teacher, Kimble goes undercover as a kindergarten teacher. It is a hilarious fish-out-of-water situation where the tough cop has to learn how to deal with a group of rambunctious children who he first terrifies and then wins over. The film gives us another classic line: “It’s not a tumor!” The movie showed a different side to Schwarzenegger and endeared him to the public even more.
Terminator 2
After nearly a decade, Schwarzenegger returned to the role of the unstoppable cyborg, but this time sent to protect Sarah Conner. Repurposed by John Conner in the future, the Terminator is tasked with defeating a more advanced model of terminator (Played by Robert Patrick) the T-1000. The movie cost a fortune to make at the time with its advanced special effects and colossal stunts, but it made it all back and more. The movie is a non-stop adrenaline-fuelled action from start to finish.
After Terminator 2, Schwarzenegger continued to have a string of hit movies into the 1990s and beyond. Such movies like True Lies and Jingle All the Way were additions to a well-defined movie career, not unlike Schwarzenegger’s muscles. Even today, he is still revered and continues to do television and movies well into his seventies.
