Say what you like about his acting skills, but the savviest directors working at the time would use Arnold Schwarzenegger as a benefit. With a tremendous working relationship, Schwarzenegger and James Cameron would collaborate on three separate movies (the first two Terminator movies and True Lies), crafting some of the greatest movies the sci-fi action genre has ever seen. Could his role as an emotionless killing machine be played by anyone else, at least with such cold believability? Likewise, would The Predator look as deadly if it didn't stand so high above someone as already massive as Schwarzenegger? Probably not.
Updated June 27, 2023: To keep this article fresh and relevant by adding more information and entries, this article has been updated by Danilo Raúl
Arnold Schwarzenegger is a success story. Whatever the man wanted, he achieved and dominated at the highest of levels. Fascinated by politics, and a real-life example of the American Dream, by the 2000s, Arnold Schwarzenegger would go on to govern a whole U.S. state no less. With his return to acting after his time in office from 2003-2011, we may be light on as many classics, but we have seen an older and more thoughtful version of the muscle-bound, heavily accented human vending machine that we saw in his 80s heyday.
It's interesting to see a matured, wiser man on and off-screen, comparing Schwarzenegger in retrospect to the coked-up hair-metal days of the 1980s, a Planet Hollywood-toting gargantuan who reflected that decade, and who once described lifting weights to the sensation of having an orgasm. These are the best Arnold Schwarzenegger movies, ranked.
16 Junior (1994)
Junior is an underrated film made by Arnold back during his comedy phase. To put it bluntly, Junior is a movie where Arnold gets pregnant as he seeks to test a drug that can cure infertility and avoid miscarriages. The story is directed by Ivan Reitman, with Kevin Wade and Chris Conrad providing the script.
The cast features Schwarzenegger, Danny DeVito, and Emma Thompson. Playing Dr. Alex Hesse, the scientist tests the experimental drug he created on himself instead of discarding his life's work. It blends sci-fi, humor, and heartfelt moments, exploring fatherhood, gender roles, and unconventional relationships. It stands out for the pleasant comedic timing of Arnold in this unexpected role.
15 The 6th Day (2000)
Imagine losing your conscience and waking up believing you had the weirdest dream ever. You drive back home, and when you're about to enter your house, you realize you're already in there celebrating your son's birthday. This is the type of nightmare scenario explored by the movie The 6th Day. This Underdog is directed by Roger Spottiswoode, with a solid script written by Cormac and Marianne Wibberley.
In the film, we have Arnold playing Adam Gibson, a man who discovers he's been cloned after a botched assassination attempt. Adam embarks on a mission to reclaim his identity and uncover the conspiracy, with two leading the same life. It's a solid offering released in a time of new clinical developments regarding cloning. The film explores the ethical consequences of this procedure and how it could impact society if the tech falls into the wrong hands.
14 Jingle All the Way (1996)
Before the internet took over our shopping habits, parents had to duke it out on Christmas Eve to get the hottest toys in the store. Jingle All the Way is a relic of those times, as Schwarzenegger plays Howard Langston, a workaholic father determined to get the hottest toy of the year, a superhero named Turbo-Man, for his son on Christmas Eve.
This hilarious film is directed by Brian Levant, with a script by Randy Kornfield. It features Arnold alongside comedians Sinbad and Phil Hartman. The film explores the lengths parents had to go to get a seasonal toy back in the day, with shady scalpers selling knock-offs, to other deluded parents fighting over the toy in the aisle. This film is filled with holiday chaos and funny mishaps, capturing the seasonal spirit for the whole family.
13 Sabotage (2014)
After his political stint as Governor of California, Arnold returned to Hollywood, choosing his parts more carefully. He made several films teaming up with fellow action star Sylvester Stallone and played a few morally grey characters. In Sabotage, he plays John "Breacher" Wharton, the leader of a DEA task force investigating a powerful drug cartel.
This perfectly paced action flick is directed by David Ayer, based on a story written by Skip Woods. Breacher has a commanding presence and leads a team of faithful subordinates, played by working actors such as Sam Worthington and Olivia Williams. After the team makes a few bad choices, they become the cartel's target without realizing one single team member is responsible for every death in the squad.
12 Maggie (2015)
This is such an out-there movie. When Maggie, a movie dubbed as 'Schwarzenegger Vs. Zombies,' was first announced, most fans assumed this was going to be some '80s blood-fest more in the vein of McBain's inclusion in The Simpsons. However, Maggie turned out to be a sentimental meditation on grief and a father/daughter bond that is surprisingly moving and real. Since Arnie returned to acting, his movies have reflected a more measured actor willing to tap into his own emotions and put down the machine gun. This movie may be a little slow, and hardcore zombie fans may not gel with it, but we highly recommend checking it out.
11 Commando (1985)
Without a doubt, the silliest one on this list, Commando is beat for beat the plot of Taken but done 20 years earlier. Arnold plays a man called John Matrix (yeah) and kills off the men who abducted his daughter one by one on his warpath to rescue her. It's ridiculous just how many things are blown up in this picture, and Schwarzenegger looks appropriately humongous. Unlike the rest of the films on the list, it's a testament to Arnold Schwarzenegger's savvy career choices that this really is the only out-and-out action movie here. Check out the tool shed scene, in particular for some deadly-ass henchmen kills.
10 End of Days (1999)
A real black sheep now, End of Days does not get anywhere near the love it deserves but pitches Arnold against Satan himself. End of Days is a horror/action hybrid that sees Schwarzenegger protecting a woman on the eve of the millennium and plays heavily with themes of the occult, religion, and Satan worship. It's so far out to see Schwarzenegger as this mourning, broken alcoholic, especially when matched up against Gabriel Byrne's manipulative and tempting Satan, one of the most charismatic and evil portrayals of Lucifer on screen going.
9 The Running Man (1987)
Forgive the tacky chrome pajama costumes, and this sci-fi flick becomes so much fun, with an arcade video game feel to it. Based on a (wildly different) short story by Stephen King, the action element is cranked up once again as Arnold is wrongly imprisoned and must fight his way out against specialized freaks sent to stop him.
The Running Man, through the guise of bloody action/sci-Fi (Schwarzenegger's niche), parodies the world's obsession with reality TV, ramping it up to its most extreme where people willingly view death as if it were lottery numbers. This sort of idea has been done many times since (Black Mirror, Gamer, The Hunger Games), but this really is the OG, with Richard Dawson featuring as the pitch-perfect smarmy host. If it actually happens, an Edgar Wright-directed remake is in the works and sounds amazing.
8 Kindergarten Cop (1990)
Kindergarten Cop re-unites Arnold Schwarzenegger and director Ivan Reitman for a hilariously silly comedy with an irresistible heart. The film is incredibly important in Schwarzenegger's career, playing to the actors' strengths as both an action hero and comedic actor. Without Schwarzenegger's brooding presence and hilarious comedic timing, there would have been an important element missing from the movie.
The film allows Schwarzenegger to demonstrate his softer side in this film, making these softer moments some of the best moments in the film. Schwarzenegger's irresistible chemistry with the annoying but adorable Kindergarten kids makes it so difficult not to fall in love with his character and the film.
7 Last Action Hero (1993)
This movie gets way too much flack. Before Wes Craven's meta New Nightmare or Scream, Last Action Hero got the biggest star on the planet to send himself up as a fictional character dropped into the real world. Bombing at the box office on release, with weak reviews and overshadowed by Jurassic Park, Last Action Hero has only gotten better with age, as action movies have remained aggressively dumb.
With its massive set pieces, plays on classics, an original track from AC/DC, and turned-all-the-way-up characters (Charles Dance is a devilishly English villain, and Danny DeVito voices an animated cat), this is a movie that lampoons Hollywood while existing solely because of it. Last Action Hero — on and off-screen — is a hulking reel of celluloid fit to explode at any second and should be hailed for its ridiculousness.
6 True Lies (1994)
Universal Pictures
While heavily criticized for its misogynistic and xenophobic themes, there is still plenty of fun to be had in this action-comedy flick from the '90s. Jaime Lee Curtis and Arnold Schwarzenegger have incredibly believable and infectious chemistry as husband and wife when at first, Schwarzenegger didn't want Jaime Lee Curtis to star alongside him. It may be surprising to hear that James Cameron was the man behind this spy action comedy.
Yes, it may not be as ambitious as his other movies, but James Cameron still delivers a simple, hilarious, and heart-pumping action comedy, even if it was just to fill in a gap between the classic T2 and his Academy Award-winning Titanic. Filled with heart-racing action, laugh-out-loud humor, and iconic one-liners, True Lies has become one of Schwarzenegger's most iconic movies.
5 Conan The Barbarian (1982)
Written and directed by the great John Milius (the screenwriter of Apocalypse Now), Arnold would play the titular Conan the Barbarian in this tale of swords and sandals. With superb support from Hollywood's own Mr. Father Issues, James Earl Jones, Conan the Barbarian plays almost like one of the early Sinbad movies, as Arnold battles giant snakes and lobs off heads for fun. As ever, Schwarzenegger's severe girth on-screen really makes him legitimately believable as a man who could win every fantastic battle. Conan the Barbarian feels pure Hollywood, with dust and shine aplenty in every frame.
4 Total Recall (1990)
Weirdly now most famous for its 'mutant with three breasts' scene, Total Recall is a match made in Heaven for Schwarzenegger and director Paul Verhoeven (Starship Troopers) — an action star being directed by a sci-fi legend with a bloodlust. Based on the Phillip K. Dick short story, Schwarzenegger plays a man with a misplaced memory thrust into a warzone on the face of Mars. But what is a dream, and what isn't?
Total Recall screams of the 80s evolving into the 90s and shows a director and actor both at the top of their game. It's pure Hollywood popcorn and remains stunning to watch today. Fun fact, Arnold was touted at one point to play in Verhoeven's Robocop but apparently had too much body mass and unappealing lips.
3 Predator (1987)
Predator flips the meathead-army-guys trope on its head and reduces them to nothing more than targets, as an invisible and more advanced enemy hunts the troop of commandos down in foreign territory. It's a testament to the big man's career that a film as fantastic as Predator is only third on a list of the best Arnold Schwarzenegger movies.
Predator is a blood-soaked 80s romp with tight plotting and a spectacular premise. With its dreadlocks, fishnets, and cloaking powers, Predator gave the world one of the coolest aliens in modern movies. Credit to writer Shane Black (also credited as a writer on Last Action Hero) for making such giant men look so hopeless and afraid: the final face-off makes the 6 ft 2 inches Arnie look tiny in comparison against this bloodthirsty game hunter.
2 The Terminator (1984)
The Terminator is a masterclass in horror/sci-fi from a then-nobody named James Cameron (who, at the time, had just come off of Piranha 2 of all movies). The Terminator nailed down what determination meant in a villain, coupled with something that was faster, stronger, smarter, and which (seemingly) could not be killed. The Terminator (and Arnold) gets everything right, really. Its two human leads, Sarah Connor (Linda Hamilton) and Kyle Reese (Michael Biehn) are believable and desperate in the face of this futuristic terror. A damaged stop-motion android, limping one foot at a time, chasing in the finale remains one of the scariest moments in film history.
1 Terminator 2: Judgement Day (1991)
With cutting-edge effects that still look so wildly good, T2: Judgement Day somehow improved on a movie that was already so spectacular. Trending with Disney films of late, bizarrely, this was the first proper movie to transition a film's main villain and reposition them as a hero.
Terminator 2: Judgement Day ups the ante in every way imaginable, with a larger scope, a bigger budget, and an antagonist who is as unfeasibly memorable as its predecessor. Every single character is expanded on for the better in this. With a badass Sarah Connor now having birthed the future of humanity's hope in John Connor (Edward Furlong), the formerly evil Arnold android learning about humanity, and a new, schtum villain more advanced and driven by the singular goal to end them all, Terminator 2 is not just one of the best Schwarzenegger movies, but one of the best films of all time. There really isn't one scene to pick out here, as every one of them is a highlight in filmmaking. Terminator 2 is the perfect sequel, nay, the perfect movie.