Arnold Schwarzenegger is one of the biggest names in Hollywood. And that is because he had some pretty iconic movies that took over the cultural zeitgeist. And now that a remake of one of his classics is happening, people are talking about his filmography!
You either grew up watching Schwarzenegger movies or get the “YOU’VE NEVER SEEN THAT MOVIE?” response any time everyone talks about him. That’s kind of the deal with the Governator. But what makes Schwarzenegger’s filmography so fun is that, despite being one of the biggest action stars around, he has done quite a few different genres. And they’re fun to see.
So whether it is watching Arnold Schwarzenegger and Danny DeVito convince us they’re twins or watching him barely play a Stephen King character, let’s talk about some Schwarzenegger movies!
Junior (1994)
Have you ever wanted to see Arnold Schwarzenegger as a research scientist? Boy do I have the movie for you: Junior. The 1994 film follows Dr. Alex Hesse (Schwarzenegger) as he works on a new drug for expectant mothers. Deciding to try it on himself, he doesn’t think that he’d be able to carry a baby to full term. Except…that he does. It is yet another collaboration between Schwarzenegger and DeVito and the kind of comedies I do miss.
Junior is described as follows: “A research scientist becomes the world’s first pregnant man in order to test a drug he and a colleague have designed for expectant women. To carry out the trial, he has an embryo implant, believing that he will only carry the baby for three months – hardly expecting to face the prospect of giving birth.”
The Expendables movies
Think about all of your favorite action stars from the 80s. Now think about them in one movie. Congrats, you have thought about the Expendables movies. Basically every actor who is known for his action roles has made an appearance in this franchise. Even Glen Powell is in one before ever stepping foot in Schwarzenegger’s shoes in The Running Man.
But these movies are just a way to blow things up with actors we know and love. Sure, there is plot but barely and you can’t really blame the movies for that. We just want to see Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone with guns.
Jingle All the Way (1996)
Growing up, I assumed that Jingle All the Way is how my dad got me most of the Spice Girls Barbie dolls that one Christmas. Howard (Schwarzenegger) is a dad who is trying his best but when his son wants the hottest toy around this Christmas, he does whatever it takes to get there. Even if that means fighting another dad (Phil Hartman) along the way.
It is a holiday classic for a reason and one of Schwarzenegger’s funnier roles.
The Terminator franchise
For all of Arnold Schwarzenegger’s work, the role that is probably his most iconic is the Terminator. You know he’s got to be tired of saying “I’ll be back” to people. Schwarzenegger was both Conan the Barbarian and the Terminator within a few years of each other and the rest is movie making history.
It is hard to pinpoint what makes this franchise so fun. Mainly because I have seen these movies so much throughout my life, our wi-fi growing up was quite literally “Skynet.” But when you think of Schwarzenegger, chances are that you think of the Terminator first.
True Lies (1994)
Have you ever wanted to see Jamie Lee Curtis and Arnold Schwarzenegger in love? Then you should watch True Lies. It’s not the best “aged” movie of all time, it does have some themes within it that are racist, but the relationship between Curtis and Schwarzenegger and the action sequences are what make this a “classic” to many.
The synopsis for True Lies is as follows: “Secretly a spy but thought by his family to be a dull salesman, Harry Tasker (Arnold Schwarzenegger) is tracking down nuclear missiles in the possession of Islamic jihadist Aziz (Art Malik). Harry’s mission is complicated when he realizes his neglected wife, Helen (Jamie Lee Curtis), is contemplating an affair with Simon (Bill Paxton), a used-car salesman who claims he’s a spy. When Aziz kidnaps Harry and Helen, the secret agent must save the world and patch up his marriage at the same time.”
Predator (1987)
Another film that started an entire franchise, led by Schwarzenegger, was 1987’s Predator. You probably know the handshake meme very well. But it was one of the first action franchises to have an alien as the villain and has spawned off into some pretty amazing sequel films. Like the upcoming Predator: Badlands where Predator is maybe a good guy?!
The movie is Schwarzenegger doing his thing but fighting off an alien with Carl Weathers. What else do you need to know about it? Maybe that Shane Black is in it?
Twins (1988)
Julius (Arnold Schwarzenegger) and Vincent Benedict (Danny DeVito) are fraternal twin brothers and became so because of an experiment. What is with Schwarzenegger and DeVito and movies about experiments on babies? But basically Julius is a “perfect child” while Vincent is the trash traits left over. And it is basically a movie where we see two brothers trying to navigate the world as Arnold Schwarzenegger and Danny DeVito.
Look, we used to be a proper society because what do you mean we got this fun comedy in the height of Schwarzenegger’s career?!
Total Recall (1990)
Arnold Schwarzenegger was part of two “classics” that barely touch on the book. While one is The Running Man, the other was the Phillip K. Dick novel Total Recall. Schwarzenegger plays Douglas Quaid, a construction worker who gets a memory implanted in his mind. The memory is of an adventure on Mars but when it takes over his reality, he has to figure out how to stop the “tyrannical regime of the planet’s dictator Vilos Cohaagen (Cox).”
Yes, the Schwarzenegger movie is great and yes, it is very different from the book but hey, that’s okay. They both can exist!
Kindergarten Cop (1990)
John Kimble (Arnold Schwarzenegger) has to go undercover and his cover? A kindergarten teacher. Is most of this movie just jokes about how large of a man Schwarzenegger is and seeing him in scenes with small children? Yes but it is funny!
Schwarzenegger as a fascinating career of mixing his action roles with oddball comedies and it is one of the reasons why I think he is still a legend. You mean to tell me this movie came out the same year as Total Recall? Talk about cinematic whiplash.
The Running Man (1987)
One of the reasons that people are talking about Schwarzenegger movies right now is because of the Edgar Wright adaptation of The Running Man. The 1987 film starred Schwarzenegger as Ben Richards, a man running for his life on a show called “The Running Man.” That is about the only connection this adaptation has to the actual book, written by Stephen King.
In the book, Ben Richards volunteers for the game because his family needs money but in the Schwarzenegger movie, he’s thrown into the ring as a “criminal” and the rest is kind of all just made up. It is a good movie and fun, if you haven’t read the book. But reading the book makes this movie feel like they just wanted to make their own version of it.
In Wright’s version of The Running Man, we get to see Schwarzenegger on the money that Colman Domingo’s host holds up. But Schwarzenegger’s take on Richards and Glen Powell’s take on the character are going to be two different things and hey, that’s okay!
_____________________
What is your favorite Arnold Schwarzenegger movie? Let us know in the comments below!
(featured image: Ernesto Ruscio/WireImage)
Have a tip we should know? [email protected]
