Highlights: Arnold Schwarzenegger
By Jason Barney
September 4, 2012
BoxOfficeProphets.com
Now that he has terminated his time in politics and worked with Sylvester Stallone on The Expendables 2, there are rumors he may be involved in a few more movie projects in the coming months. Let us revisit the career of Schwarzenegger and debate his top five films.
1. Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)
A lot of people love this film. I consider it to be an overrated movie, but T2 takes the top spot for Schwarzenegger because of its legacy. It has cross-genre appeal, which elevates it to classic status. Sometimes science fiction movies are seen as nerdy. Not this one. Also, as an action movie, there are some truly memorable scenes. It had the benefit of building on the work of the original and giving Arnold the chance to switch from the villain to the hero with his Terminator character. The stars were aligned for the actor and box office history.
The story moves the events of the 1984 original along a bit, and was successful in so many ways. First and foremost, Schwarzenegger’s terminator is now on a mission to help prevent the destruction of mankind, a nice expectation twist, considering he was the villain in the first movie. As a performer, it was a chance for Arnold to develop the unemotional machine, while at the same time provide subtle and touching changes to how he played the character. In developing the relationship with the young John Connor, he’s given the opportunity to act, even a little, and it works very well on screen.
This flick was a trendsetter with respect to special effects. When it came out in the early 1990s, people saw it because of the explosions, futuristic scenes, and computer technology. In science fiction circles, it is not uncommon for T2 to receive credit for the best opening sequence ever.
As far as what it accomplished during its run in theaters, Terminator 2 was an unqualified success. It opened to $54 million in the summer of 1991, an enormous total compared to today’s ticket price inflation. It earned $204 million in the United States and Canada alone, and garnered a mammoth $519 million worldwide. Another mark of its success, it was the highest grossing film of 1991.
Arnold worked with James Cameron on this one, another feather in his cap. When you are the lead actor in three films made by arguably the most influential filmmaker of this generation, it is a clear mark of status.
Finally, it is impossible to not talk about this film and its cultural influences. Arnold’s dawning of the black sunglasses has become iconic, and sometimes movie plots come up in casual discussions with friends. Who hasn’t heard of the John Connor struggle?
2. Predator (1987)
Of all of Arnold’s movies, this one is my personal favorite. It was made on the early side of his career, prior to his achieving super stardom, and it is the definitive 1980s action flick. Schwarzenegger plays Dutch, a member of an elite unit sent into a remote area of Central America to free hostages from an anti government faction.
The plot isn’t exactly rocket science. As soon as the Dutch and his men land, they become hunted by the alien - and audiences are exposed to an absolutely awesome action film. It appeals to all age groups. What young boy can’t remember being in the woods away from home, and letting their imaginations run wild? Daydreaming of aliens, creatures, or bad guys out in the forest? That is the key awesomeness in Predator. The military squad that is sent in has big guns, explosives, and specialized training, but the mysteriousness of the creature that hunts them is extremely well presented.
George Dillon, (Carl Weathers) the government-tag along for the mission, reveals motives beyond the original intent of getting to the hostages. As the carnage develops, and it becomes clear they are up against something other than a splinter group of the Guatemalan government, the team members realize they are fighting something that is able to cloak. Audiences are taken in as they are only provided glimpses, the physical characteristics of the predator are not given away through most of the film. This keeps folks on the edge of their seats, captivated, and wondering what is responsible for the path of death.
The end delivers in more ways than one. Viewers finally are exposed to the physical features of the Predator, and are given a truly unique and impressive alien design concept. Schwarzenegger was huge for this film, muscles bulging, biceps as big as tree trunks. He is dwarfed by the size of the Predator. There is a very good fight scene at the end, which leads to a sequel and a few cross-franchise movies with the Alien series.
Predator is a gem of a film and made some good coin at the box office. It cost only $12 million to make, but brought in nearly five times that much in the domestic box office alone. When overseas numbers were included, it made almost $100 million.
3. Total Recall (1990)
This one may not be a classic, but it is a damn good movie. It is complex, exploring many layers of deception and intrigue. From a science fiction perspective, the film is thought-provoking. The world presented is futuristic, unsettling, and extremely well developed. And as is a staple with Schwarzenegger movies, the action is first rate.
Arnold plays Douglas Quaid, a construction worker on Earth who has been suffering from dreams about Mars. His wife and a few of his fellow workers urge him to think nothing of them, but Quaid is disturbed and tries to investigate on his own. He visits a company that implants memories into people, and he chooses to have an experience on Mars. The effort goes poorly and his mind reacts to the effort in a very negative way.
Throughout much of the film, you don’t know the true motivation of the bad guys, but once they have discovered the mind meddling, one group decides to take Quaid out. The villains are wonderfully cast. Mike Ironside plays the aggressive enforcer for the powerful interests on Mars, and Ronny Cox plays the man pulling the strings, the guy with all of the power.
While Quaid is fleeing, he discovers a message, recorded by himself at some point in the past, giving directions to get to Mars. Mystery abounds, Quaid follows the breadcrumbs, and he ends up on the red planet. This is where the film truly takes off. The culture of Mars is unique. Some humans have become mutants. Society is controlled based on who supplies the air flow, and Schwarzenegger’s character is right in the middle of it all. He uncovers that he has connections to a rebel group there, and they have heard rumors of alien technologies being discovered. More chase scenes, gun fights, and explosions follow, and audiences are provided with at least one “NO!” moment. Total Recall is full of great storytelling.
The end is an awesome mix of technological and scientific ideas.
Total Recall received an 84% fresh rating from Rotten Tomatoes, and movie-goers embraced the film while it was in theaters. Made on a budget of about $60 million, it grossed over $261 million worldwide.
4. The Terminator (1984)
The film which started one of the most recognizable movie franchises of the modern era took somewhat of a chance back in 1984 when they cast Schwarzenegger as the villain. At the time, he only had one true box office hit under his belt, Conan. The creative crew rolled the dice and, well, changed history.
While T2 may be the most recognizable film of the franchise, The Terminator was the one that started it all. Its opening scene is just a teaser compared to the sequel, but it lays the foundation for the rest of the series. In the future, the machines are working to destroy the human race. One of their efforts involves time travel, sending a human-looking machine back to kill Sarah Connor (Linda Hamilton), someone critical to the development of the resistance against the machines. The humans send their own agent, Kyle Reese (Michael Biehn), to protect Sarah Connor.
The arrival sequence of the Terminator sets the foundation for the rest of the film, and it is an eye opener. Schwarzenegger is deposited in a not-so-nice zone of Los Angles, in the nude, in the middle of the night. His chiseled, muscular form is impressive from the start, and his performance as an emotionless killer is dead on. The plot shifts to Reese’s arrival from the future, and the back and forth is a bridge to the rest of the film.
There are some very memorable scenes as the flick develops. The one where Schwarzenegger goes into the gun shop to purchase his arsenal is extremely well done. From there, he sets out to complete his mission, offing all of the Sarah Connors of 20th century Los Angles. He doesn’t know which Connor will give birth to future leader of the resistance. Kyle Reese is able to locate Sarah first and protect her, establishing the relationship which is the basis of the entire story. The scene where the Terminator tracks her down has everyone on the edge of their seats, as the confrontation between the human and the machine is a pretty nasty mismatch. It is great action and quite fun.
The climax of the film begins when the terminator attacks the police station where Reese and Connor have been detained, and the machine’s path of destruction is heartless and terrifying. His ability to take out those who keep law and order is a nice foreshadowing of things to come. There are a few memorable motorcycle/truck chase scenes, and the overall pacing is intense. With Schwarzenegger’s likeness burned away we accept his performance was as terrifying as the scary, skull faced, red-eyed killer we see at the end.
To mark its significance, the American Film Institute tagged the Terminator as the 22nd greatest villain of all time.
5. True Lies (1993)
This is an action/romantic comedy, and viewers have to accept the weaving of the chase scenes and marriage storyline. The truth is, though, much of the gunfighting, fast speed chases, and humor are so well done, going along for the ride isn’t much of an issue. Schwarzenegger teamed with Cameron again for this one, and it’s a treat.
This movie has him taking on the role of Harry Tasker, a counter terrorism agent by day, and a busy computer salesman as far as his family is concerned. The double life aspect of his character works really nicely, as he has been able to pull the wool over the eyes of his wife (Jamie Lee Curtis) and family for years. As the story develops, Tasker finds himself investigating the whereabouts of a number of nuclear missiles that have come up missing within the former Soviet Union. Through his investigation he becomes aware of a Middle Eastern terrorist group involved in transporting the missiles. As all of his time is devoted to catching the bad guys, the working dad part of his double life becomes more difficult to maintain.
This is wonderfully played out during a heart pumping but crazy enjoyable chase scene where one of the villains drives a motorcycle around fast moving cars onto the ground floor of a skyscraper. Schwarzenegger’s character pursues on a horse, into the building. What could have been senseless and overdone ends up lighthearted and enjoyable. After the chase is over, he must return home bruised and dirty, having missed his own birthday. It is surprisingly entertaining.
The humor turns a little risky when Mrs. Tasker is tempted by another man, and Mr. Tasker calls in all of his authority as a U.S. government agent to put a stop to it. Scenes that seem like they won’t work are pulled off amazingly well, partially because of Schwarzenegger’s ability to play anger and anguish at the same time. The film goes to great lengths to achieve interwoven plot lines of deception and comedy, and Bill Paxton as the used car salesman preying on bored house wives evokes cringes and laughter. The relationship arc between the Taskers takes a little long to develop, but it does bring out plenty of laughs.
Finally the end of the movie provides a one-of-a-kind action sequence on the back of a harrier jet. Viewers attempt to push away their own fear of heights as Arnold tries to save his daughter from falling and battling a religious fanatic at the same time - all on the back of a harrier jet, suspended just a few feet from the top of a skyscraper.
True Lies is good fun, and takes the final spot in Schwarzenegger’s Top Five.