Get to the Choppa! Arnold Schwarzenegger Top 10 Movies
In dedication to the greatest action star of the 1980′s and 1990′s who gave us so many hours of entertainment and became a big part of movie history, we have decided to make a top 10 of our favorite Arnold Schwarzenegger movies. Feel free to chime in with your own list or tell us why you love Arnie in the comments!
10. The Running Man (1987)
“Uplink underground, uplink underground. If you say that one more time, I’ll uplink your ass, and you’ll be underground!“
Based on a Stephen King novel, The Running Man manages to be a solid action film while making an insightful commentary on the media. It’s impressive to see that 30 years later, TV programming is flooded with reality shows that this movie foresaw. A wrongfully convicted felon, Arnold Schwarzenegger and other “players” are forced to play in a television game show where they can gain their freedom if they can stay alive while professional killers attempt to hunt them down and kill them mercilessly.
9. Eraser (1996)
“You’ve just been erased.“
Eraser is one of Arnie’s last action film and differs most from his other action flicks because of its darker overtone. Schwarzenegger stars as U.S. Marshall John “The Eraser” Kruger, a federal agent assigned to protect a high level executive of a top secret weapons company who has discovered an evil plot within her company and is planning to testify against them. The man involved with the plot wants her dead since without her, the FBI has no case against the company. Kruger soon begins to suspect his own friend and colleague played by James Caan.
8. Conan The Barbarian (1982)
“Valor pleases you, Crom… so grant me one request. Grant me revenge! And if you do not listen, then to HELL with you!”
A barbarian trained in the art of war joins with thieves in a quest to solve the riddle of steel and find the sorcerer responsible for the genocide of his people in this faithful adaptation of Robert E. Howard’s sword and sorcery adventures. This film briefly sparked a wave of fantasy films including the sequel, Conan the Destroyer, in the early 80s (IMDb). This is the movie that truly started Arnold’s career. Even though Schwarzenegger was barely able speak English at the time, the movie was a solid hit and became a cult classic.
7. Kindergarten Cop (1990)
“It’s not a Tuh-maaa“
Playing John Kimble, a grizzled city cop, Arnie goes under cover as a kindergarten teacher to track down a renowned drug dealer. Even though we remember Schwarzenegger most as an action star, it was definitely a breath of fresh air to see him try his hands in other genre such as the comedy Kindergarten Cop. Simply watching little kids innocently mess around the massive Schwarzenegger made for a ton of funny comedic situations and one-liners — “I’m a cop you idiot!” or “Boys have a penis and girls have a vagina”.
6. Commando (1985)
“Let off some steam, Bennett.“
A classic 80’s action flick that many including us remember fondly, Commando stars Schwarzenegger as a former special force soldier enjoying the peaceful civilian life with his daughter. He is forced out of retirement when his daughter is kidnapped by a bunch of rogue thugs who seem intent on killing all the members of his former Army unit. The film has a really simple structure that has been done over and over again, yet Commando stands out as one of the very best film of that formula. Action-packed, awesomely corny, and full of hilarious one-liners, Commando is the epitome of 80′s awesomeness.
5. Total Recall (1990)
“If I am not me, then who the hell am I?”
A surprisingly good and mind-bending science fiction film, Total Recall is based on Philip K. Dick’s sci-fi short-story and stars Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sharon Stone , and Michael Ironside. Schwarzenegger plays Douglas Quaid, a man who regularly dreams of a journey to the planet Mars. Douglas decides to buy false memories of ideal vacations but the procedure goes wrong and he finds himself in a life where his old friends and even his wife are out to kill him! He finds records his other self left him that tell him to get to Mars to join up with the underground resistance. Throughout the film, we are constantly questioning whether the situations are real or imagined. Who is he? Which version of reality is true? The beauty of it is that it can be interpreted in many ways and the movie mixes its high concept with ultra-violent action and special effects. The film came out 20 years ago but it still holds up very well on repeat viewings thanks to Verhoeven’s keen satirical eye.
4. Predator (1987)
“Get to the Choppa!“
One of the most awesome action/sci-fi cross of all-time, Predator has become a beloved cult classic that has spawned a franchise that is still going to this day. Dutch (Schwarzenegger) and his group of mercenaries are hired by the CIA to rescue downed airmen in a Central American jungle. The mission goes as planned but on their return they find that someone or something is hunting them. Nearly invisible, it blends in with the forest, taking trophies from the bodies of it’s victims as it goes along. Occasionally seeing through it’s eyes, the audience sees it is an intelligent alien hunter, hunting Dutch and his men for sport, picking them off one at a time. The final chapter is a classic confrontation with Dutch battling it out against the Predator. This film works on nearly all levels from the casting, which is so 80′s awesome, to the great one-liners and sweet action sequences. Most notably, the eerie atmosphere of the film keeps us on edge throughout the film and makes us feel the thrill and fear of being hunted by an unseen creature.
3. The Terminator (1984)
“Fuck you, asshole.“
Directed and co-written by James Cameron, The Terminator was a low budget film starring a rising action star named Arnold Schwarzenegger. How odd is it that this movie almost ended up in the trash because no studio would take a chance on it. Playing a nearly indestructible time-traveling cyborg, Arnie is after the mother of the future resistance leader that would lead humanity to defeat the robots in a post-apocalyptic war. This role was truly perfect for Schwarzenegger because he did not have to say many lines but yet, was able to be intimidating and charismatic. The scene where he goes through the police station, making a carnage and then saying “I’ll be back” is simply one of the great scenes in Hollywood history. Michael Biehn and Linda Hamilton also star as Kyle Reese and Sarah Connor in the film that launched one of the biggest and best movie franchise of all-time.
2. True Lies (1994)
“Make it quick because my horse is getting tired.“
James Cameron and Arnie team up for their third outing together in this gem called True Lies, one of the most entertaining film of the 90′s. Schwarzenegger plays Harry Tasker, a secret agent running major covert operations around the world while pretending to be a dull computer salesman to his wife (Jamie Lee Curtis) and daughter. The movie is extravagant and action-packed from beginning to end as you would expect from the premise. However, True Lies shines because it doesn’t take itself too seriously and has more than its fair share of straight comedy thanks in great part to the casting of the hilarious Bill Paxton and Tom Arnold. One of those movies that can be watched over and over again, I probably have seen it more than 30 times…
1. Terminator 2 (1991)
“Come with me if you want to live.”
Without question one of the greatest movie of all-time, Terminator 2 picks up ten years after the first episode. Schwarzenegger reprises his role as a cyborg from the future except he has been reprogrammed to protect John Connor. A deadlier, more advanced robot made of liquid metal is now after the future leader of the resistance, John Connor (Edward Furlong). The beauty of this movie is that it transcends its summer blockbuster origins. The story is such great fodder for extensive wandering of the imagination and highlights key existentialist issues at the heart of humanity. The character are well developed and Cameron is able to make us feel a connection between an emotionless robot and young John Connor. The movie is filled with truly classic moments of cinema and features one of the scariest yet totally awesome villains to ever hit the silver screen. There is something about a villain that is relentless and bleeds evil that makes them more memorable but Cameron used cutting edge CGI to make T-1000 truly mind-blowing. Even to this day, the FX on T-1000 looks cool and not that outdated.
So that’s it, you have just read our top 10 Arnold Schwarzenegger movies! Did we omit a movie? What are your favorite Arnie movies and scenes? Let us know in the comments!
Bonus:
46 Comments
I absolutely love Twins, Arnie and DeVito = comedy gold so that would have to be on my list. I’d probably bump T1, Predator, and Total Recall ahead of True Lies but keep that same order. Arnie’s one of those actors I think whose definitely more famous for his persona than for his films. Once you get outside the top 5ish you start getting into some icky territory.
Proof: Jingle all the Way and Batman & Robin have to be near tops on any “so horrible I can’t stop laughing at it” list.
Jingle All The Way is funny for tons of wrong reasons, but I still watch it every single Christmas because it is so bad it’s funny.
Jingle all the way is so underrated! Its gonna be my new x-mas tradition. I just recently discovered it.
Out of the list, I recall nothing of “The Running Man”; I’ve seen it waaaay back as a kid, so I pretty much forgot everything about it. If I had to pick ten flicks off the top of my head, the list would currently include the following:
COMMANDO
PREDATOR
THE TERMINATOR
CONAN THE BARBARIAN
TOTAL RECALL
ERASER
LAST ACTION HERO
END OF DAYS
TRUE LIES
END OF DAYS
I don’t like him in comedies. And I picked “End of Days” because Arnie kills the goddamn Devil in that film! Arrrghrgghhhhhh!!!! As for the top favorites, spots #1 to #3 usually rotate between COMMANDO, PREDATOR and THE TERMINATOR.
I still have yet to see Last Action Hero so this makes me happy there is still one Arnie movie I can look forward to.
The only titles I’ve yet to see are “The 6th Day” and “T3″.
Although I actually prefer Sly over Arnie, Arnie probably has the most quotable flicks ever. His one-liners are immortal!
The 6th Day wasn’t bad, but it was forgettable, and I actually enjoyed End Of Days, and Arnies acting wasn’t half bad in it either, I mean for Arnie.
No one should ever see T3. In my world we pretend like it doesn’t exist.
Totally Agree T3 doesn’t exist. Sarah Connor Chronicles does.
I over-watched Total Recall on tv when I was a kid, that scene with the opening of the face always freaked me out.
I frickin’ love Arnie films
YOU SHOULDN’T DRINK AND BAKE!
Seriously though, True Lies is amazing (kiss whilst a nuke goes off anyone?!) and predator, commando and last action hero all tick the ridiculous action box. Total Recall and The 6th Day satisfy from an intriguing sci-fi point of view and the Terminators… what else can I say?!
Except…
PUT THAT COOKIE DOWN! NOW!
This was such an integral part of my teenage years. A great set of picks, with the clear nod to James Cameron’s vital role in his career. Personally, I don’t think Eraser has any business on a list like this, but when you’re going with 10 films, the pickings get slim.
And PS:
Yeah! The Running Man made the list!!!!! If I can add my favorite Arnie quote, years ago on HBO my husband and I stumbled across some documentary about Rio or something and it was hosted by Arnold(?). At one point they showed a montage of lady butts in thong bikinis and he said, “Da ass is the most erotic part of the body.” Man, we still say that one!
Houston, we have a problem
Oddly enough I just introduced my wife to Terminator 2 for the first time this evening before reading this post. She had never seen it and was rather skeptical at the whole premise but by the end she was hooked. Now I have work on getting her to watch the first Terminator.
Also, Eraser?? Come on, how did that awful film make the list? That is same as putting Jingle All The Way on the list. Last Action Hero should have taken the 9th spot.
That’s the one I was trying to remember! Last Action Hero totally could have taken spot #9! It wasn’t great, but it beats the heck out of Arnold shooting crocodiles at the zoo.
ahah as I said to Ventilation Shaft earlier today, I have yet to see Last Action Hero
Looking forward to it though.
Take it with a grain of salt, it’s like a spoof/satire and a Shane Black screenplay to boot. Enjoy:)
Okay! Thank you! I knew someone else would be in the Last Action Hero camp with me. It was silly and fun. Solid Arnie goodness.
Wow I’m surprised by the Last Action Hero love. I saw it the day it came out as a kid and it completely crushed the infallibility of Arnold as a movie star for me. Up to that point, I had seen nothing with him that I didn’t flat out love. So when I hated Last Action Hero it was the beginning of the end of my childhood. I’ve avoided it since because of this, but maybe I should give it another shot.
I prefer Terminator to T2 so would bump Terminator to the top. I’d also include Last Action Hero, and I’m also a fan of Twins, but I’m not sure which ones I’d take out. Good to see Junior didn’t make the top 10 (one of the first films I went to see at the cinema without my Mum – I enjoyed it as a kid but not now)!
I may have rearranged the order of your top five, but that would more than likely be my top five as well! Epic list Castor. Also, I would probably replace Eraser with Twins, though Eraser wasn’t half bad……………
And am I the only person who actually liked Last Action Hero? I figure maybe Red will be with me on this one.
Haha, haven’t seen it quite yet. Castor asked me my take on a Top 10, and I was only able to list off about 6 movies…didn’t think movies like Jingle All the Way or Arnie were even worth mentioning.
Its an ok flick but had potential to be so much moore with that brilliant setup!
Predator and T2 run neck and neck for the top spot…but I think Dutch would win in the long run.
True Lies is something people seem to forget how much they enjoy it. I know I do.
Also having recently seen Commando again that into (in typical 80′s fashion) was just a few musical notes away from being a Mentos commercial:P
I normally have a complaint or two about top whatever lists, but not here. You got them all, Castor!
When I was a kid I absolutely love Conan the Destroyer, not sure why but I could watch that one over and over. But my fave Arnie flick would probably the Terminator, True Lies, Eraser and Kindergarten Cop, I’m surprised how much I enjoyed that one. Fun list, Castor!
Yeah! Who doesn’t love a good Arnold movie! I’m not going to run down how I’d change your list because it’s all relative. Anyone that hasn’t seen these in is for a treat!
It really comes down to Total Recall, Predator, Commando, and T2. And out of those I have to stick to T2. That movie is just legendary in a way that many of his other movies aren’t; sure, TR, Predator, and Commando are classics of their genres, but T2 is so much more iconic. “Hasta la vista, baby” speaks to a generation more than “Remember when I said I’d kill you last?” does; it’s a movie that’s totally emblematic of the sensibilities of action movies of its day.
Pretty sweet list, Castor! I hate seeing The Running Man so low… especially behind Eraser???
I’d probably move Predator up to Top 3… but I LOVE that you put True Lies at #2. That movie is great but that’s a ballsy move on an Arnie list!
no Last action hero? that movie is really fun, it would made into my top 10 list.
I love Arnie more than Sly because He can turn into comedian. Twins gave me a good laugh.
Terminator is indeed the best of all his movies. The movie belongs to Arnie, I almost didn’t watch the 4th movie when I found out Arnie is not in it…but since Bale is in it, I ended up watching it. It was way better than the 3rd one
Arnie is the man, I grew up watching his movies.
My top list is:
1.Terminator
2.Predator
3.Total Recall
4.Terminator 2: Judgment Day
5.Commando
6.The Running Man
Hi Castor and everyone, great top ten Castor,I have to re-watch most of them again to see where I would place them. Does anyone know which movie Arnie starred in where he had an enemy that was a android head in a computer screen and it fed off of red Nuke Juice, I saw this movie back in the 80′s and I hope I am describing it correctly. Please help!!
Hi Kocoa! First of all, thank you for dropping by and welcome to AM. Your description most closely matches Total Recall (I think ahah)
Hi Castor, thank you
I have the movie Total Recall, and I didn’t see that part in there, I wish I could remember it correctly, but I would really like to re-watch, I do remember enjoying it greatly, Arnie is the best!!!
Actually Kocoa, the movie you’re thinking of isn’t an Arnie flick at all. Youre thinking of Robocop 2 starring Peter Weller. Same director as Total Recall if I’m not mistaken though.
No Irwin Kershner directed Robocop 2, Paul Verhoeven did Total Recall and Robocop.
Right! I knew Verhoeven fit in there somewhere…
Thank you Steve and Joel, I will check out Robocop 2, which is another one of my favorites, I could have sworn that Arnie was the one who got control of the Nuke capsule and was bribing the angry computer head to make a deal with him or else he wouldn’t give him the Nuke capsule, Oh well, I’ll keep searching, as you can see I love action/adventure/and sci fi…LOL!
Complete spot on list, i mean seriously, I wouldnt change a thing. Your top 2 are amazing films. Great list!
Thanks Marcello! You know what they say, great minds think alike
Great list! The only difference to my list is Total Recall definitly being a top 3-contender. And Predator has never been my cop of tea. But again, great list!
Agree with pretty much everything, though I would switch Terminator and True Lies. I adore the hell out of True Lies, but I think Terminator deserves the higher spot, if only because it so effortlessly launched the franchise. I would also put Predator higher, for the same reason. Nice to see somebody loves Eraser as much as I do. People I’ve talked to tend to despise it. Nicely done!
No Jingle All The Way? Couldn’t that have made the list>
Okay, I jest – great list man, and I don’t think I can argue with anything here….
Totally agree Jingle is the best of Arnolds comedies!
Nice list but I feel that “Total Recall” is a much better movie than “True Lies” and should be there in the second spot.
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