The Top 5 films of Arnold Schwarzenegger

Arnold Schwarzenegger is the greatest action hero of all time. He blends a perfect mix of intimidating presence and charisma, all the while not taking himself too seriously. Stallone, Willis, Gibson, Cruise, and many others have some great action movies, yet Arnold has always stuck out to me as the best. Seriously, does any other actor have even close to the amount of classic one liners as Ah-nuld? One of his more famous is the title of this blog, and the movie it comes from has at least a few more great lines that might be better. While there are certainly MUCH better actors out there, Arnold is king of action films. Here are his top 5:

 NOTE: All clips may contain NSFW violence or language


1. The Terminator/Terminator 2: Judgment Day/ Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines

Arnold is perfect for the role of The Terminator. His strong suit has never been subtleties, so why not have him play an emotionless killing machine (literally)? Each of these three films are sci-fi action classics. The first two, both directed by James Cameron, were groundbreaking for their special effects. T2 still looks great to this day, 20 years later. The action is non-stop, and Schwarzenegger is in the middle of all of it. Many are put off by T3, but I strongly disagree. It is a tight action film, with a frantic pace that never quits. Yes the entire series is riddled with plot holes, but who cares? It's best to enjoy it for what it is. The series tried to go on with Arnold (minus his digital cameo) in Terminator: Salvation, but despite a competent director, a huge budget, and a bankable star (Christian Bale), this film was only so-so, and served to prove that Arnie makes the series. Even at his age, I would love to see him reprise his role in a 5th film. I understand it is a cheat to lump these three together, but they would be 1, 2 and 3 on this list, so this at least affords me the opportunity to mention some of his other greats.


Best lines:

"I'll be back."
"Hasta la vista, baby."
"Talk to the hand."
"He'll live."
"I know now why you cry. But it's something I can never do"

2. Predator

You know that you are in for a great movie when within the first ten minutes you get an extreme close up of Arnold Schwarzenegger and Carl Weathers flexing their biceps. Predator is the original action sci-fi masterpiece that has spawned many sequels, spin-offs and video games. Arnold leads a band of soldiers in the Central American jungle as they are picked off one by one by an alien who has come to earth to hunt man. This film has a great cast of characters that includes two future governors (Arnold Schwarzenegger and Jesse "The Body" Ventura"), and Apollo Creed. Schwarzenegger's Dutch is a super-ripped super-soldier, and the only match for the Predator. The final showdown between Arnie and the Predator is an extremely satisfying pay-off for the rest of the film building to it. It's not often that Arnold faces an adversary more physically daunting than himself, but Predator does so, and the result is one of the greatest action films ever made.

 Best lines:

"If it bleeds, we can kill it."
"You are one... ugly... m***********!"
 And without further adieu... "GET TO DA CHOPPAA!!!!"

3.  True Lies

Director James Cameron knows how to utilize Arnold's comedic and physical talents, and they really shine in True Lies. This film is about a bored housewife (Jamie Lee Curtis) who finds out that her seemingly mundane husband (Arnie) is actually a highly trained spy. Bill Paxton plays a sleazy car salesman who tries to seduce Curtis, and Arnold's revenge against him is absolutely hilarious. This movie never takes itself too seriously, and is full of one liners and action cliches. Arnold really has fun with this one, with some completely over the top action scenes that only he could pull off as believable. Well, maybe only believable for me. Schwarzenegger could definitely wreak havoc with a harrier jet, right?

Best lines:

"Helen Tasker: Have you ever killed anyone?
Harry: Yeah, but they were all bad."
"Cool off."

4. Total Recall

This is the original film to 2012's remake starring Colin Farrell, and while I have not seen that film, I can only guess that it suffers from some major lack of Arnold. Yet another sci-fi action flick, Total Recall is a mind bender that has Arnold searching for his true identity on a futuristic Mars. There are some great science fiction elements in the story, and the film was based off of a story by Philip K. Dick (who is also credited with providing the stories for Blade Runner and Minority Report, among others). The action is ultra-violent, narrowly escaping the dreaded NC-17 rating from the MPAA. Arnie does his thing in this one, creating another worthy Schwarzenegger action ride.


Best lines:

"Consider that a divorce"
"Relax. You'll live longer."

 

5. Commando

Before watching Commando, you have to ask yourself the following question: Do I take my action movies too seriously? If the answer is yes, don't watch Commando. But if the answer is a no, enjoy Commando with absolutely no shame. Here's how the IMDb plot summary reads:

A retired elite Black Ops Commando launches a one man war against a group of South American criminals who have kidnapped his daughter to blackmail him into starting a revolution and getting an exiled dictator back into power.

That sounds great, but honestly it could be condensed into one sentence: ARNOLD KILLS BAD GUYS. His character's name is John Matrix, how could he not be awesome? One of Arnold's earlier films, Commando is light on competent acting and story, and heavy on Arnold being a one man army. The scene below will perfectly describe what I mean. Arnold's total body count is 81, according to moviebodycounts.com, 74 of which are in the last scene.

Best lines:

"Let off some steam, Bennett"
"I eat Green Berets for breakfast. And right now, I'm very hungry!"
"Don't disturb my friend, he's dead tired"