Every Arnold Schwarzenegger Movie Ranked Worst To Best

In the 1960s, bodybuilder Reg Park starred in a series of low-budget fantasy adventures based on the myth of Hercules, and in 1970, it seems someone wanted to replicate that success. Cast as Hercules this time was a 22-year-old bodybuilder named Arnold Schwarzenegger in his first onscreen role. But far from retelling the classic myths centered on the ancient legend, the film saw the hero arrive in modern-day New York City in a comedic fish-out-of-water story. 

Greeted by skeptical locals, Hercules befriends a street vendor (Arnold Stang) who gets him work as a professional wrestler. Up in Olympus meanwhile, the all-powerful Zeus (Ernest Graces) is embarrassed by his son's escapades on Earth and sends the likes of Mercury (Dan Hamilton) and Nemesis (Taina Elg) to Manhattan to bring him home. But Nemesis has devious plans of her own, as does the unscrupulous fight promoter who has been working with Hercules.

A famously terrible low-budget comedy that is only unintentionally funny, Arnold's presence is the only thing worth watching for. Incredibly, producers at the time worried that Arnold's accent and even his name would throw off moviegoers more than the bland script and cheap production values. In the original version, Arnold is awkwardly dubbed over by an American actor, and credited under the name "Arnold Strong." Thankfully, the original audio has survived, and the film can be found with both Arnold's original audio track and the theatrical overdub (via Youtube).

It's funny to look back and notice it from afar, but at the turn of the new millennium, there was a rash of quasi-religious movies about angels, demons, and the coming apocalypse. In 1999, Arnold Schwarzenegger starred in his own supernatural action/horror film "End of Days" by director Peter Hyams.

The film puts Arnold in the odd role of Jericho, a beleaguered detective who hits rock bottom when his wife and daughter are murdered, blaming God for abandoning them. But when he's assigned as personal protection for a banker who just so happens to be possessed by the devil (Robin Tunney), Jericho gets caught up in a holy war with apocalyptic consequences.

As a supernatural thriller, "End of Days" could have worked, but led by muscle-bound action hero Arnold Schwarzenegger it all falls apart rather quickly. What starts as a compelling biblical drama devolves into action schlock, with Arnie blowing away baddies with a big gun in the halls of a church. But perhaps they felt it necessary because at the end of the day, the story was – as Roger Ebert put it – "a head-on collision between the ludicrous and the absurd." Suffice to say, trying to mix horror, theology, and '90s action was a disaster and proved to be one of Arnold's worst films.

In the late '90s, Arnold Schwarzenegger had tried exploring different genres, but with the failures of superhero adventure "Batman and Robin" and the supernatural horror of "End of Days," he wisely returned to over-the-top action, including 2003's "Collateral Damage." Here Schwarzenegger plays a Los Angeles firefighter named Gordon Brewer whose wife and son were killed in a deadly bombing perpetrated by a Colombian arch criminal called "El Lobo." But when the FBI and CIA call off their operations in the region, Brewer himself decides to seek justice and take down those responsible for the death of his family.

With a major terrorist plot at the center of the film, "Collateral Damage" had to be seriously reworked after the events of September 11, 2001, according to a contemporary report in Entertainment Weekly. Re-edited and chopped up, this did the film no favors, and it was released to a critical drubbing and became a box office flop. There's no way to tell if the planned original version of the film was any better, but the biggest complaint levied by reviewers was that it was little more than a by-the-numbers action movie with few surprises and nothing new to offer the genre. Plus having Schwarzenegger star only served to remind audiences of other, better action movies.

Into the 1990s, beefcake action hero Arnold Schwarzenegger had begun a transition to comedies, with a string of popular laughers like "Twins," "Kindergarten Cop," and "Junior." In 1996, he went for a Christmas comedy, starring alongside Sinbad, Phil Hartman, and Rita Wilson — and a pre-"Star Wars" Jake Lloyd — in the cult classic "Jingle All the Way." A pure fun family film, it was an unconventional movie for the actor, whose previous entries in the genre had been a mix of action and adult-oriented comedy. 

Inspired by the kinds of toy crazes that have caused mass hysteria in the past, "Jingle All the Way" has Arnold playing Howard Langston, an overworked father and husband who doesn't make enough time for his family, especially little Jamie. To make it up to his son, Howard sets out to get him the hottest Christmas gift, an action doll called Turbo Man. But to succeed, he has to go up against Myron (Sinbad), another father eager to get his hands on the toy, and decide whether getting his son the best material gift is really what's important.

Despite some fun moments, "Jingle All the Way" is a disappointment, but over the years has grown a dedicated following for its send-up of the ridiculous lengths parents often go to around the holidays. 

Back in Hollywood after a brief career in politics, Arnold Schwarzenegger returned to the role that made him a megastar in the soft reboot of the "Terminator" franchise, the Alan Taylor-directed "Terminator: Genisys." With the hopes of kicking off a new trilogy, Arnie played multiple versions of the T-800 this time, which included recreating an iconic moment from the 1984 original through the magic of CGI and motion capture. He also played an older, friendlier version, reprogrammed by Sarah Connor, in an alternate timeline.

It all begins in the post-apocalyptic future where resistance fighter Kyle Reese is sent back to 1984 to protect Connor in a rehash of the first film, only to discover the timeline altered. Now with the help of a battle-hardened Sarah Connor, Reese teams up with the reprogrammed T-800 to restore history and stop the war before it starts. 

Though the film looked promising, and Arnold's return was celebrated and satisfying, "Terminator: Genisys" couldn't live up to the legacy of the first two films in the franchise. A muddled story and ineffective twists led to a movie that soured fans on the franchise instead of exciting them. The third failure in a row after "Terminator 3" and "Terminator: Salvation," there would be no follow-ups, and only a relaunch from original series creator James Cameron some years later.

The only biopic in Arnold Schwarzenegger's filmography, he appeared in a prominent role in the 1980 dramatization of the life of Hollywood bombshell Jayne Mansfield. A made-for-TV movie, "The Jayne Mansfield Story" starred future "WKRP in Cincinnati" actress Loni Anderson as the titular beauty, and Arnold as her husband, Mickey Hargitay, father of "Law and Order: SVU" star Mariska Hargitay. As a Hungarian-born bodybuilder in real life, there was nobody better to play Hargitay than bodybuilding champion Schwarzenegger.

Chronicling the life and times of the beauty queen and sex symbol Mansfield, the film is told mostly in flashback, with Arnold's Hargitay narrating the events of his wife's turbulent life after her untimely death in a tragic car accident. From her first troubled marriage to a man who left her a single mother, to her early struggles in modeling where she's forced to portray a certain type of woman. Eventually though, Mansfield's dreams of striking it rich in Hollywood come true, and she soon becomes the most sought-after screen goddess in Tinseltown, leading to her marriage to Hargitay.

"The Jayne Mansfield Story" is typical of early '80s tear-jerking TV melodrama with a compelling real-world twist. But unless you're a diehard Mansfield fan, the only real reason to watch is Arnold.

An unexpected action comedy that seemed to come and go without anyone even knowing it existed, "Killing Gunther" dropped in 2017 with little fanfare. A direct-to-streaming release written, directed by, and starring "Saturday Night Live" alum Taran Killam, with his "SNL" co-star Bobby Moynihan, and Hannah Simone in supporting roles. Arnold plays the eponymous Gunther, who serves as the catalyst for an adventure told in a mockumentary style.

But the film isn't actually about Gunther, instead following an assassin named Blake (Killam) who hires a film crew to document his personal mission to kill the world's greatest contract killer, Robert "Gunther" Bendik (Schwarzenegger). Assembling a team of highly skilled killers, we meet explosive expert Donnie (Moynihan), Sanaa — whose father was a notorious assassin in his own right — and tech guru Gabe. Driven by his resentment for Gunther, who stole his girlfriend, Blake and his crew are determined to get their man, but when Gunther finds out they're after him, he decides to make their lives a living hell.

A black comedy that works more than it probably should, it comes across as a big-budget "SNL" sketch with a big-name guest star in Arnold Schwarzenegger. It's nothing to write home about, but has a handful of clever moments, and Arnold gives an appropriately silly performance.

Returning to science fiction, Arnold Schwarzenegger starred in the 2000 futurist thriller "The Sixth Day," co-starring with Michael Rappaport, Robert Duvall, and Michael Rooker. Though it doesn't quite live up to his sci-fi classics like "The Terminator" or "Total Recall," the movie does examine some more thoughtful genre themes and real-world issues, with the subject of cloning being a hot-button issue in the 1990s. Exploring the dark implications of future technologies, "The Sixth Day" mixes it with patented Schwarzenegger spectacle in a big-budget adventure. 

In a world where cloning animals has become the norm, we meet Adam Gibson, an otherwise ordinary husband and father. But after unwittingly escaping an assassination attempt, he arrives home to discover that an exact replica of himself has taken his place. On the run from shadowy assassins who must silence him to keep their illegal human cloning a secret, Gibson must stay one step ahead of his pursuers as he works to uncover the truth behind a vast conspiracy that could have dark implications for all of humanity.

A box office flop, "The Sixth Day" may be one of Arnold's most forgotten films, released during a downturn in his career before his run for political office. Still, the movie is not without its merits as a compelling sci-fi adventure. It's also notable for being the acting debut of former pro football player Terry Crews, who has gone on to have a successful Hollywood career of his own.

With the rights to "The Terminator" finally reverting to series creator James Cameron, a more faithful relaunch of the franchise was promised, and the result was "Terminator: Dark Fate" in 2019. Original series star Linda Hamilton was back as Sarah Connor, and Arnold followed. Also, while he didn't sit in the director's chair, Cameron developed the story, helped tweak the script, and executive produced, handing directing duties to "Deadpool" helmer Tim Miller, with new cast members McKenzie Davis ("Blade Runner 2049"), Gabriel Luna ("Agents of SHIELD"), and newcomer Natalia Reyes rounding out the cast.

Erasing all three earlier sequels, "Terminator: Dark Fate" begins nearly 30 years after the end of "Terminator 2: Judgment Day" with the shocking revelation that John Connor was killed shortly after the previous film. Distraught, Sarah Connor (Hamilton) has spent the last three decades tracking more time-displaced Terminators, and now a new Terminator (Luna) has arrived to kill a young woman named Dani Ramos, the key to the future resistance. With the help of a mysterious woman from the future named Grace (Davis), Sarah Connor — and an aging T-800 (Schwarzenegger) — must stop Skynet's latest attack.

Despite its promise, "Terminator: Dark Fate" is only slightly better than "Terminator: Genisys." While the return of Schwarzenegger and Hamilton is worth the price of admission, the rest of the film is a huge letdown. Sloppy direction, a meandering story, and plenty of repeated plot points made it yet another disappointment.

An unusual film for the veteran action hero, the post-apocalyptic drama "Maggie" sees Arnold Schwarzenegger give a more somber, muted performance than his fans are used to. Set in a world besieged by a zombie virus, society is largely collapsing, and Arnold plays Wade Vogel, whose daughter Maggie (Abigail Breslin) has contracted the deadly virus that has ravaged the population. With just weeks until she turns into a mindless flesh eater, Maggie calls her father to say goodbye.

Despite warning him to stay away from her, Wade is compelled to seek his daughter out. When they finally reunite, he pledges to stay by her side until the end finally comes and they are forced to admit her to quarantine. As Maggie's condition deteriorates, Wade struggles with the decision to take her away, even as she begins to hunger for human flesh.

A grim, downright depressing tale unlike any other, "Maggie" impresses with its serious take on the reality of a potential zombie plague. Though it received mixed reviews, most critics complimented Schwarzenegger on his unexpectedly heartfelt and moving performance as a father forced to care for his dying daughter.

The rare film on this list that features Arnold Schwarzenegger in a supporting role, the 1976 drama "Stay Hungry" starred Jeff Bridges and Sally Field. For the story, producers needed an actor who could believably play a bodybuilder in the process of training for the title of Mr. Universe, making Arnold the ideal — and really only — choice. Only in his second feature film, he was allowed to use his native accent this time around, making "Stay Hungry" his first role on the big screen where he could flex his acting talent in full.

"Stay Hungry" centers on Craig Blake (Bridges), who has been left with his family's tremendous wealth, now leading a leisurely lifestyle in Birmingham, Alabama. But when his family's investment firm asks him to manage a business deal that means buying and closing a local gym, he gets far more than he bargained for. At the gym, Craig becomes smitten with the pretty young receptionist Mary (Sally Field) while befriending aspiring bodybuilding champ Joe Santo (Schwarzenegger), whose more exciting life inspires him. But Craig's high-class upbringing and his new ordinary life soon clash, with his socialite cronies mocking his new townie friends, forcing him to finally choose what kind of life he really wants.

Though it's held back by an uneven script, "Stay Hungry" is a promising drama, and Arnold's charismatic performance makes it worth watching. Showing off his charm and undeniable screen presence, the film let Hollywood know that Arnie was ripe for leading man status.

After his explosive return to the big screen in "The Expendables 2," Arnold Schwarzenegger went smaller — if you can call it that — with "The Last Stand," a more down-to-earth story of a small town sheriff besieged by violent thugs. Alongside Arnold are Jamie Alexander ("Thor"), Forrest Whitaker ("Rogue One"), Rodrigo Santoro ("Westworld"), Luis Guzman ("Narcos"), and Johnny Knoxville ("Jackass") as the comic relief. 

Schwarzenegger anachronistically stars as town sheriff Ray Owens, who leads a small and inexperienced group of officers in the Arizona burg of Sommerton Junction. There they are the last line of defense against drug smugglers, who often pass through the town along their way from the Mexican border. A veteran lawman who left his posting with the LAPD after an operation gone wrong, Owens soon finds himself at the mercy of a drug lord named Gabriel Cortez (Eduardo Noriega), who escapes federal custody in nearby Las Vegas. With an FBI agent as a hostage, he must get past Owens and his ragtag squad if he wants to make his escape. 

A fast, fun, and breezy action flick, it offered up enough character drama for Arnold to chew on, and plenty of smash-and-dash violence to earn some decent reviews. Richard Roeper unapologetically loved it, praising Schwarzenegger for nailing another role, saying simply, "This is what Arnold does best: big-gun violence and one-liner laughs."

The superstar ensemble action franchise started by Sylvester Stallone in 2010 assembled a team of Hollywood heavyweights including Jason Statham, Dolph Lundgren, and Jet Li. But the sequel went bigger and bolder, adding plenty of star power to the already impressive roster, including Jean-Claude Van Damme, Bruce Willis, and Chuck Norris. But no team of action heroes would be complete without Arnold Schwarzenegger, who joined the film in his triumphant return to the movies after a stint as California's governor. 

Schwarzenegger joins The Expendables as Trench, a former mercenary rival of Barney Ross, played by Arnold's real-life action movie competitor Sylvester Stallone. The action begins when a new enemy named Jean Vilain (Van Damme) emerges leading his own team of mercenaries called the Sangs. They're on a mission to retrieve a valuable computer databank that contains the whereabouts of a stash of 5 tons of plutonium that was leftover from the Cold War, and now the Expendables are out to stop him. But with his new ally Trench by his side, and plenty of big guns and massive munitions, Ross and his team will stop at nothing to save the world from total armageddon.

Doubling down on the action, "The Expendables 2" bettered its predecessor, thanks in no small part to the presence of "The Terminator" himself.

The first true comedy for the action star, Arnold Schwarzenegger starred in "Twins" in 1998 opposite Danny DeVito, who'd already established himself as a comic superstar on both television ("Taxi") and on the big screen ("Throw Mama From the Train"). Putting his size and strength to good use, Arnold was the polar opposite of the diminutive DeVito, which perfectly served the film's preposterous premise. A big hit in theaters, the off-color dark comedy classic was directed by Ivan Reitman and also starred Kelly Preston and Zoe Webb.

Schwarzenegger stars in the film as Jules Benedict, the model of a man physically, mentally, and even morally. Raised on an isolated island, Jules learns that he was the product of a scientific experiment to create the perfect human specimen, but as part of his creation, a fraternal brother was born, who was his exact opposite in every way. Enter Danny DeVito as Vincent Benedict, a slimy, snarky, and morally dubious petty criminal, who Jules sets out to reunite with. Though Vincent at first tries to use Jules to help him in his schemes, they soon form an unlikely brotherly bond and set out to discover the truth of their origins.

Though there's some fun action and a story with real heart, the true appeal of "Twins" is the perfect chemistry between Schwarzenegger and DeVito, one of the era's most underrated comic duos. The pair would reunite nearly a decade later on the spiritual successor, "Junior," while a true sequel, with the inspired title "Triplets" has been long in development.

With the success of "Twins," Arnold Schwarzenegger took to starring in movies that were more comedy than action. His next up was the 1990 film "Kindergarten Cop" also directed by Ivan Reitman, and was more of a wholesome family comedy than you might have expected from the action star. But like his best sci-fi thrillers and military actioners, "Kindergarten Cop" originated some of Arnie's most famous catchphrases and iconic moments, and remains one of his most beloved roles.

The movie introduces us to undercover Los Angeles cop John Kimble, on the hunt for notorious drug dealer Cullen Crisp (Richard Tyson). Tracking his estranged wife and son to a small town in Oregon, Kimble goes undercover as a kindergarten teacher in Crisp Jr.'s classroom, hoping to get information on his crooked father. What follows is a classic caper filled with slapstick moments, as Kimble is out of his element where he's wrangling a classroom of kids and fighting off dangerous criminals at the same time. But while serving as a teacher, Kimble meets and falls for fellow educator Joyce (Penelope Ann Miller), who has no idea he's actually a manhunting detective on a mission.

Proving that "Twins" was no fluke, "Kindergarten Cop" established Arnold's legitimate comic ability, and deftly straddled the line between genres, allowing it to attract action fans and families of the day. Another movie in his catalog that was the subject of sequel talk for years, it finally received a follow-up in 2016, but Arnie did not return, instead replaced by fellow '80s action hero Dolph Lundgren.

Before "Predator," Arnold Schwarzenegger played another beefed-up soldier in the jungle in 1985's "Commando." The mid-'80s action movie put him in the role of gun-toting hero for the first time, proving that his menacing gaze and Austrian accent need not confine him to medieval warriors and evil cyborgs. Starring alongside the former Mr. Universe is Alyssa Milano ("Who's the Boss") and Rae Dawn Chong ("American Flyers"), while future co-stars Bill Duke ("Predator"), and Bill Paxton ("True Lies") also make appearances.

Schwarzenegger plays Matrix, a retired soldier who discovers that members of his old squad have been systematically assassinated by a South American dictator named Arius (Dan Hedaya), who they had helped depose years before. With his own private army, Arius kidnaps Matrix's daughter Jenny (Milano) and blackmails Matrix into helping him overthrow the current rulers of his homeland. But after his plane to South America takes off, Matrix overpowers Arius' men and escapes. Now it's a race against time to lead a one-man assault and rescue his daughter before Arius discovers that he's loose and gunning for him.

A clever blend of classic '80s action and a spoonful of tongue-in-cheek humor, "Commando" in many ways set the tone for the rest of Arnold's career. Building off the success of early classics like "First Blood," the film also showed that Arnie was as good or better than any action hero in the genre.

In 1994, Arnold Schwarzenegger re-teamed with "The Terminator" writer and director James Cameron for an action movie that went on to become a classic in its own right. "True Lies" starred Arnold opposite scream queen Jamie Lee Curtis, alongside comedian Tom Arnold, and fellow action veterans Bill Paxton, Tia Carrere, and Charlton Heston. 

The action comedy centers on Harry Tasker, a covert ops agent for a clandestine counterintelligence agency. But Harry leads two lives, as he has lived under the guise of an ordinary computer salesman with his unsuspecting wife Helen (Curtis) and daughter Dana (Eliza Dushku). Though his family thinks he's at work hawking tech, he's really gunning down international terrorists around the globe. Balancing the life of a super spy with that of a working family man puts a significant strain on his marriage, but when a new villain kidnaps Harry and his wife, his two lives suddenly collide.

An epic action movie, it may not have matched the level of Arnold's best, but it remains a fan favorite for its pure fun factor. Well-reviewed and considered one of the '90s' best, it's been the talk of constant reboot and sequel rumors, but sadly no follow-up has ever materialized.

The first of two iconic '80s action movies directed by John McTiernan — just a year before "Die Hard" — 1988's "Predator" is equal parts slasher flick, sci-fi adventure, and over-the-top action movie. Gut-bursting violence, thrilling suspense, and a pulse-pounding musical score too helped it become one of the purest adrenaline-fueled macho movies of the decade, with pumped-up action hero Arnold Schwarzenegger at the center of it all. A nearly perfect story of man vs. beast, it quickly became the blueprint for an entire sub-genre of sci-fi monster movies.

Alongside Schwarzenegger as the cavalier commando Dutch, the film stars Carl Weathers ("Rocky") and pro wrestler Jesse Ventura as members of a guerrilla squad tasked with rescuing a group of hostages held in a Central American war zone. But when they get there, they find a dangerous invisible creature stalking them, and the harder they fight it, the deadlier it becomes. As the mysterious monster picks them off one by one, Dutch realizes that he's going to have to use his wits if he's going to stay alive and defeat the Predator.

Voted as one of the 10 best action movies of all time by Rolling Stone readers, "Predator" is a true classic.

In what might be the greatest pure action movie of all time, Arnold Schwarzenegger returned to his signature role as the T-800 in 1991's "Terminator 2: Judgement Day." Reunited with director James Cameron and co-star Linda Hamilton, Arnie led the biggest blockbuster of its day, with a whopping $100 million budget, making it the most expensive movie ever made at that time (per Yahoo). Most of the budget went to crafting the groundbreaking CGI that helped create the villainous T-1000 played by Robert Patrick, while the sequel flipped the script by turning Arnold's steely-eyed cyborg killer into a hero, as the protector of Sarah and John Connor.

Set more than a decade after the first film, we meet Sarah Connor (Hamilton), now a hardened, damaged woman who has been imprisoned for her apparent delusions of a future apocalypse and deadly robot assassins. But when teenaged John Connor (Edward Furlong) is targeted by a newer, deadlier liquid metal terminator, the T-1000, she'll have to team up with a reprogrammed T-800 dispatched from the future to protect her son, the future rebel leader destined to save humanity.

With some of the most jaw-dropping action scenes, eye-popping visual effects, and impeccable storytelling, Cameron and Schwarzenegger managed to somehow top the original "Terminator." With a one-handed shotgun, a rapid-fire mini-gun, and fists of steel, Arnold is at his best as the monstrous robot protector. But it's not just the crowd-pleasing action and memorable one-liners, as the actor also delivers a powerful and emotional performance that helped transcend the genre and set a new bar that no filmmaker has been able to top.