Me being the 80s child that I am, I feel like I grew up with Arnold Schwarzenegger. I listened to the Conan the Barbarian LP when I was too young to see the movie. I marveled over the weapons employed in Commando. My VHS tape of the first Terminator was one of my favorite things. Like Sylvester Stallone, Schwarzenegger was one of the big action heroes of the 1980s, and any boy who grew up during that decade probably loved his movies as much as I did.
If nothing else, Arnold Schwarzenegger's career is a testament to willpower. The guy came from nothing, worked his way up through the bodybuilding world, and went on to be someone with one foot in Hollywood and one foot in Washington D.C. He is, in other words, a uniquely American creation, and he reflects many of the qualities we Americans both like and dislike about our own country.
1970s
1. Hercules in New York (a.k.a. Hercules Goes Bananas (1969 or 1970)
Super low budget movie featuring Greek gods in New York City. Schwarzenegger of course plays Hercules, an appropriately arrogant demigod who's been banished to the Big Apple after angering his father Zeus. "Arnold Strong" (as he's billed in the credits) suffers the indignity of a voiceover for the duration of this movie, and it has little to recommend it aside from pure cheesiness.
2. Stay Hungry (1976)
A young Jeff Bridges is the star of this movie, with Sally Field as his love interest. Schwarzenegger however appears throughout, and this time he's speaking in his own voice. Stay Hungry isn't great by any stretch of the imagination, but it's much better than Hercules in New York. The "posing in the street" part near the end is genuinely charming.
3. The Villain (1979)
I haven't seen this movie in ages. I can remember Schwarzenegger sitting in a wagon next to a pretty woman (Ann-Margret?) and Kirk Douglas falling victim to various calamities.
1980s
1. Conan the Barbarian (1982)
The film that made Schwarzenegger a movie star. John Milius' direction, Basil Pouledoris' soundtrack, Oliver Stone's take on Nietzsche, James Earl Jones' Thulsa Doom and Schwarzenegger's emotionally wounded Cimmerian are all highlights. It's no surprise that this movie catapulted him to the big time.
2. Conan the Destroyer (1984)
Disappointing sequel to the 1982 classic. The monster at the end is kind of cool though. Conan the Destroyer waters down the character quite a bit, and obviously aims for younger audiences. Grace Jones, who plays Zuta, would go on to star in the James Bond movie A View to a Kill the following year.
3. The Terminator (1984)
The other movie upon which Schwarzenegger cemented his early cinematic success, though its popularity was slower in building. It didn't actually do that well in theaters (during its third week it was knocked out of the #1 spot at theaters by Oh God! You Devil of all movies), but the emerging VHS market meant that this R-rated movie found a newer and younger audience in American homes later on.
In all honesty I don't think this movie has aged that well, partly because T2 puts it to shame. I have a deep sense of nostalgia for it, but I think that at times the lower budget shows. I'll always be a fan of Michael Biehn and Linda Hamilton, even though they don't seem to have managed their careers as successfully as Schwarzenegger has.
4. Red Sonja (1985)
Remember when Bridgitte Nielson was married to Sylvester Stallone? This movie would have entered production not long before that, and during production Nielson was conducting an affair with Schwarzenegger while he was engaged to Maria Shriver. Whether Nielson was engaged or romantically involved with Stallone at the same time is a cause for speculation. Hollywood can be a sexually confusing place.
Anyway, Red Sonja isn't very good. One of the few things in its favor is Sandahl Bergman, who plays the villain and who also played Valeria in Conan the Barbarian three years before. She was initially offered the role of Red Sonja as well, but (wisely perhaps) turned it down.
Schwarzenegger, by the way, isn't playing Conan in this movie. He's "Lord Kalidor."
5. Commando (1985)
Even in the 80s we KNEW this movie was cheesy as all hell and we didn't care. The one-liners, the ridiculous villains and the even more ridiculous weapons were just what the doctor ordered. To this day my dad, who saw it with us in the theater at the time, quotes Commando on a regular basis.
6. Raw Deal (1986)
I never liked this movie. Even in 1986, as rabid as I was for anything Schwarzenegger or Stallone-adjacent, this movie did nothing for me. Raw Deal has always seemed like an odd choice for Schwarzenegger. He was on firm footing when it came to the sword and sorcery, ex-solider out for revenge or science fiction, but this crime movie hit all the wrong notes.
7. Predator (1987)
Still one of the best sci-fi/action movies ever made. It's damn near perfect from beginning to end. I'd be hard-pressed to say which is better, Aliens or Predator, but both are outstanding examples of science fiction concepts imported into genres where they weren't often seen -- at least at the time.
8. The Running Man (1987)
Is it just me or is this movie kind of forgotten now? I've seen it mentioned a couple times in the context of Schwarzenegger's career, but most people seem to skip over it when discussing his "classic" films. This seems like a shame, because The Running Man is still a fun movie that has, like the original Robocop, a lot to say about the time in which it was made. Schwarzenegger himself wasn't that happy with the final product, but I think it's solid.
9. Red Heat (1988)
As with Raw Deal above I just wasn't feeling this one. Jim Belushi, who at the time seemed to be riding on his father John Belushi's coattails, made it much worse. Director Walter Hill is also hit and miss for me. I like some of the movies he's directed, produced or written over the years, but a lot of his stuff falls firmly into the realm of macho nonsense.
10. Twins (1988)
Eh, it's OK. I never understood all the love this movie received.
_poster.jpg)
1990s
1. Total Recall (1990)
Forget the reboot, the original is the one you want. For most Hollywood stars this would have been the pinnacle of a career, but Schwarzenegger still had T2 waiting in the wings. Director Paul Verhoeven did this between Robocop and Starship Troopers, and while I don't think Total Recall is as good as those two other films it's still excellent.
2. Kindergarten Cop (1990)
I have a soft spot for any movie set in Astoria, Oregon. I grew up between Seattle and Bay City, Oregon, and I have many memories of visiting Astoria as a child.
This said, I never thought Kindergarten Cop was very good. Schwarzenegger was obviously trying to soften his image, obviously trying to broaden his range as an actor, and obviously trying to build on what he'd done in Twins, but this movie is only passable at best.
3. Terminator 2: Judgement Day (1991)
Probably the height of Schwarzenegger's popularity. Where Stallone's career had more ups and downs (for every Cliffhanger there's a Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot), Schwarzenegger's career was a steadier ascent, building from Conan the Barbarian to T2.
4. Last Action Hero (1993)
In a way this movie made perfect sense in 1993 -- an action movie making fun of action movies, but yeah, the execution left something to be desired. It's a cult film now, and I'm not even sure if it deserves that kind of status. I think they might have done better if they'd gone slightly lower budget, hired a comedy dire tor, and cast someone less famous in the lead. I'm speculating of course, but at the time I felt that Schwarzenegger's fame was more of an impediment to this film's success than an asset.
5. True Lies (1994)
Schwarzenegger reunited with James Cameron for this spy movie that doesn't take itself too seriously. I liked it but I didn't love it.
6. Junior (1994)
One of the cringiest movies ever made. Schwarzenegger carries a baby to term. Just typing that last sentence brought back painful memories.
7. Eraser (1996)
I'm sure I've seen it but I can't remember a single thing about it.
8. Jingle All The Way (1996)
Not as cringey as Junior but definitely not good. Whatever happened to Sinbad?
9. Batman & Robin (1997)
Yeah... let's skip over this one.
10. End of Days (1999)
A return to form? In some ways it's the big movie you'd expect, but Schwarzenegger's damaged hero is different from what we'd seen him do up until that point. Critics HATED this movie, but I think if you compare it to films like Batman & Robin, Jingle All The Way and (especially) Junior it's not bad. In the late 90s action heroes were getting their brood on for sure.
.jpg)
2000s
Schwarzenegger spent most of this decade being Governor of California. His approval rating at the start of his first term was incredibly high, but by the end of his second term it was LOW. His opposition to an amendment of California's Three Strikes Law cost him a lot of support.
1. The 6th Day (2000)
Saw it and I don't remember. That sounds like a joke but really, I don't remember.
2. Collateral Damage (2002)
Also saw it and I don't remember.
3. Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (2003)
I'd say this is the worst Terminator, though there's another Terminator that Christian Bale may have gone back in time and erased from our memories.
2010s
Many of the movies below were limited release or on-demand. He also made several cameo appearances in other movies.
1. The Expendables 2 (2012)
Schwarzenegger had a cameo in the first movie, but it wasn't until the second Expendables that he featured as one of the cast. It's not a terrible movie, though I usually avoid exercises in this kind of nostalgia.
2. The Last Stand (2013)
A surprisingly good movie. You'll see the trailer and think it's going to suck, but it really isn't bad. If you look really hard the sword from Conan the Barbarian is in it.
3. Escape Plan (2013)
Stallone and Schwarzenegger team up to escape a high security prison. It's exactly the kind of movie they would have done in the 80s (Tango & Cash says hi), but it doesn't try too hard to recreate that 80s feeling.
4. Sabotage (2014)
Not very good.
5. The Expendables 3 (2014)
A lot of people hate on this movie because of the PG-13 rating, but I thought it was OK. If nothing else, Mel Gibson made a great villain.
6. Maggie (2015)
Schwarzenegger took a more dramatic turn as the father of a girl who's doomed to become one of the walking dead. Some horror fans briefly fawned over Maggie, but I always thought it was tremendously overrated. Strip away the zombie theme and you've got a Lifetime movie.
7. Terminator: Genisys (2015)
Oh wait, did I say Christian Bale's Terminator was the worst one? Let me reassess that conclusion...
8. Aftermath (2017)
Haven't seen it.
9. King Gunther (2017)
Haven't seen it.
10. Terminator: Dark Fate (2019)
It won't blow your mind or anything but it's OK. Linda Hamilton is the star of this movie, and overall it's a vast improvement over the two Terminator movies before it. It was a HUGE bomb, and at the time of writing there are no plans for a sequel.
2020s
1. Kung Fury 2 (2023)
I haven't seen the first one but it sounds funny. The sequel is a much bigger-budget affair, and for this reason probably not as good. Nothing kills a good comedic premise like an exponentially larger budget and the addition of big names to the cast.
Related Entries:
沒有留言:
張貼留言