Paying tribute to the greatest action hero of all time is no easy task. However, with Arnie currently busy being the Governor of California and subsequently leading a more austere and busy life than in the days of yore, a review of the best movies this big screen juggernaut has starred in will have to be enough. Surely after reading this, you’ll have the urge to pull out the deluxe edition of one of these movie gems you bought for Christmas and savor the power of Arnold while lounging in front of your HDTV…so go ahead and whip up some. popcorn. in the preparation of
1) Terminator 2: The classic that sends Arnold’s film career soaring to unprecedented heights. The most quoted line in movie history has to be “Hasta la vista, baby,” and with that alone this movie has become a cult favorite and marketing factory. Arnie as we’ve come to remember him in his prime: ruthless, emotionless, sheer brute force.
2) Conan the Barbarian: Vintage Arnie. This movie catches our hero at the peak of his physical prowess like no other he’s made since. He may still have been a little uncomfortable with our language, but he beat us all the same, and his one-liners already began to shine through, hinting at his later mastery of the trick.
3) True Lies: A successful hybrid of action and comedy, with this film Arnold proved to his fans that he was capable of a broader spectrum of facial expressions and voice inflections than we were previously accused of. But, since he doesn’t disappoint his fans, he made sure to kick a lot of ass in this movie.
4) Predator: The only film to star two future state governors, Predator was packed with excitement and suspense like few other action films. As gory as one could ask for, this movie introduced us to new variants on the sports of battle and dismemberment. Rising above his co-stars, Arnie is the only one who can hold on to the bitter end and overcome the alien threat… just another day in the life of this mammoth.
5) Commando: A trained killing machine, Arnold is his typical intimidating self in this one, but with a nobler cause: saving his daughter. We rarely see these poignant elements in his early work, and they only go to show that he can rain down death and destruction on his enemies while serving a higher purpose… priceless!
Aahhh… no action movie since has achieved what Schwarzenegger did in these movies, despite the amount of special effects they include. It’s time to sit down with the popcorn he made and return to the pinnacle of action movie history. If he’s a true fan, he’ll have bought the digitally remastered DVDs of his favorite batch of Arnold movies and enjoy them from time to time on his 50-inch flat-screen HDTV. If not, cable and satellite TV are always airing samples of Arnie’s impressive repertoire…in fact, you’d be foolish not to!