Well the votes have been counted and the list is now complete. Thanks for voting everyone and now we can see what the 10 Best Arnold Schwarzenegger movies are as voted for by you. There isn’t much I’d argue with here but I would maybe have Eraser and Expendables 2 on there somewhere but those are just personal choices.
Anyway, without further ado here are your top Arnie movies. Enjoy!
10. Last Action Hero
Plot: Following the death of his father, young Danny Madigan (Austin O’Brien) takes comfort in watching action movies featuring the indestructible Los Angeles cop Jack Slater (Arnold Schwarzenegger). After being given a magic ticket by theater manager Nick (Robert Prosky), Danny is sucked into the screen and bonds with Slater. When evil fictional villain Benedict (Charles Dance) gets his hands on the ticket and enters the real world, Danny and Jack must follow and stop him.
Critically and commercially maligned at the time of release Last Action Hero has grown a massive cult following over the years and I’m pleased to see it got a spot on this list.
9. Kindergarten Cop
Plot: In this action-comedy, unusual circumstances find big, brawny cop John Kimble (Arnold Schwarzenegger) posing as a kindergarten teacher in order to apprehend major drug lord Cullen Crisp (Richard Tyson), as well as his ruthless accomplice and mother, Eleanor (Carroll Baker). While pretending to be a kid-friendly instructor, Kimble falls for pretty fellow teacher Joyce Palmieri (Penelope Ann Miller) as he battles both unruly children and dangerous bad guys.
I’m surprised this is on here but let’s face it, we all love watching Arnie say “It’s not a tumah” so I have no qualms with Kindergarten Cop getting so much love.
8. The Running Man
Plot: In the year 2019, America is a totalitarian state where the favorite television program is “The Running Man” — a game show in which prisoners must run to freedom to avoid a brutal death. Having been made a scapegoat by the government, an imprisoned Ben Richards (Arnold Schwarzenegger) has the opportunity to make it back to the outside again by being a contestant on the deadly show, although the twisted host, Damon Killian (Richard Dawson), has no intention of letting him escape.
This is one of my absolute favourite Arnold movies and would be replace True Lies at number 5 in my top 10. It’s got hilarious dialogue, great story and plenty of violent kills. The Running Man remains a sci-fi action classic.
7. Conan the Barbarian
Plot: Orphaned boy Conan (Arnold Schwarzenegger) is enslaved after his village is destroyed by the forces of vicious necromancer Thulsa Doom (James Earl Jones), and is compelled to push “The Wheel of Pain” for many years. Once he reaches adulthood, Conan sets off across the prehistoric landscape of the Hyborian Age in search of the man who killed his family and stole his father’s sword. With beautiful warrior Valeria (Sandahl Bergman) and archer Subotai (Gerry Lopez), he faces a supernatural evil.
I know several people who rate this as their favourite movie of all-time (looking at you J-Man) and it’s another movie that has grown a massive following over the years since its release.
6. Commando
Plot: Retired Special Forces soldier John Matrix (Arnold Schwarzenegger) lives with daughter Jenny (Alyssa Milano) in isolation, but his privacy is disturbed by former commander Franklin Kirby (James Olson), who warns him that his fellow soldiers are getting killed one by one. After Kirby leaves, Jenny is kidnapped by former Latin American dictator Arius (Dan Hedaya), who wants Matrix to restore him to power. Instead, Matrix sets out to take down the rogue leader and rescue his daughter.
Yasss! If you don’t like this movie then you ain’t no man. Commando delivers the action goods with a massive bodycount, flamboyant bad guy and Arnie with some of his best zingers to date.
5. True Lies
Plot: 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.
Here’s my confession; I never really liked this movie. I always thought it was too long and it’s not a movie I return to very often. It does have some spectacular set-pieces though and Jamie Lee Curtis is fantastic.
4. Total Recall
Plot: Douglas Quaid (Arnold Schwarzenegger) is a bored construction worker in the year 2084 who dreams of visiting the colonized Mars. He visits “Rekall,” a company that plants false memories into people’s brains, in order to experience the thrill of Mars without having to travel there. But something goes wrong during the procedure; Quaid discovers that his entire life is actually a false memory and that the people who implanted it in his head now want him dead.
What a classic movie this is; the headfuck story-line, the amazing score from Jerry Goldsmith and Michael Ironside at his villainous best. I’m happy Total Recall is just as popular with other Arnie fans.
3. The Terminator
Plot: Disguised as a human, a cyborg assassin known as a Terminator (Arnold Schwarzenegger) travels from 2029 to 1984 to kill Sarah Connor (Linda Hamilton). Sent to protect Sarah is Kyle Reese (Michael Biehn), who divulges the coming of Skynet, an artificial intelligence system that will spark a nuclear holocaust. Sarah is targeted because Skynet knows that her unborn son will lead the fight against them. With the virtually unstoppable Terminator in hot pursuit, she and Kyle attempt to escape.
The original Terminator still has plenty of fans and although the second movie is my favourite this is still amazing stuff with Arnie at his very best as a murderous cyborg and Michael Biehn as the broken and desperate Kyle Reese.
2. Predator
Plot: Dutch (Arnold Schwarzenegger), a soldier of fortune, is hired by the U.S. government to secretly rescue a group of politicians trapped in Guatemala. But when Dutch and his team, which includes weapons expert Blain (Jesse Ventura) and CIA agent George (Carl Weathers), land in Central America, something is gravely wrong. After finding a string of dead bodies, the crew discovers they are being hunted by a brutal creature with superhuman strength and the ability to disappear into its surroundings.
One of the most quotable action flicks of all time Predator still holds up due to the great script, expertly done tension building and a cast giving it their all. So many manly one-liners and a high bodycount makes this a true genre classic.
1. Terminator 2: Judgment Day
Plot: In this sequel set eleven years after “The Terminator,” young John Connor (Edward Furlong), the key to civilization’s victory over a future robot uprising, is the target of the shape-shifting T-1000 (Robert Patrick), a Terminator sent from the future to kill him. Another Terminator, the revamped T-800 (Arnold Schwarzenegger), has been sent back to protect the boy. As John and his mother (Linda Hamilton) go on the run with the T-800, the boy forms an unexpected bond with the robot.
Not only is T2 my top Arnie movie but it’s arguably my favourite movie of all-time; the music, the story, action and the incredible visual effects still hold up and the series has never matched it since. Here’s hoping this new entry next year is a return to basics.