Summer of Stars is a MovieJawn celebration of actors that have shined on the silver screen. Follow along as we count down some of our favorite players from various eras in the magical cosmos of cinema.

by Billy Russell, Staff Writer

Arnold Schwarzenegger has been a superstar longer than I’ve been alive, so sometimes it’s weird for me to consider how atypical he is to be as successful as he is.  With his thick, Austrian accent and huge, muscular build, there aren’t many Arnolds out there today.  And Arnold is the embodiment of the American Dream.  He came from humble beginnings and built an empire, with a lot of hard work and a lot of luck on his side.  He built himself up from nothing into one of the most successful movie stars of all time.  

Part of it is because of an undeniable charm and charisma to hang a movie on, and part of it is because he has an underappreciated, underrated range as an actor.  Schwarzenegger could simply float a movie on his charm and physicality, but he has ideas he brings to the table that work, to make his characters fleshed out.  In the original Terminator, it was his idea to move his eyes like security cameras.  In Total Recall, he allowed himself to be half an invincible warrior and half a scared, vulnerable man.  It’s those flourishes that make all the difference. We want to see someone to root for, someone who reminds us of us, and in seeing that a towering presence can be afraid, it feels all the more real.

Here are my top five Arnold Schwarzenegger movies, in reverse order.

5. The Running Man

Based loosely on the Stephen King novel (written under his pseudonym Richard Bachman), Schwarzenegger fights for his life on a televised game show in a fascist future world.  The Running Man is just great entertainment.  It’s the perfect balance of stupid and genuine intelligence.  This is a pretty traditional staple in Arnold’s filmography where half of the charm is that it stars him–without him, it wouldn’t work nearly as well.  

4. Conan the Barbarian

Every five years or so, what I do is this:  I get really high, like maybe a little too high.  Just a little bit, one toke over the line.  And then I watch Conan the Barbarian, and it’s fucking incredible.  Conan the Barbarian is intense viewing, it’s a brutal movie filled with dark magic and hideous creatures, where the most evil thing of all is humanity itself.  This was Arnold’s breakthrough role and he knocks it out of the park.  The music booms, lightning crackles, the sound of metal clangs. This movie kicks ass.  

3. Predator

I like to believe that some Hollywood exec out there had the idea, “What if we combined Alien and Rambo?  What if we got Arnold Schwarzenegger to star?”  The movie writes itself.  It’s a formula screenplay with each beat that happens being telegraphed way in advance, and utterly predictable in its overall outcome.  But you know what?  What makes a movie great isn’t what it’s about, it’s how the story is told.  John McTiernan, who went on to make Die Hard, shows an almost workmanlike commitment to the film and every step of the way is done masterfully.  So what if we know what’s going to happen next when it’s so well done?  Stan Winston’s creature design for the Predator is instantly iconic.

2. Total Recall

Sometimes I can’t believe how successful some of Paul Verhoeven’s films were.  He’s a madman, making movies from the darkest part of his id, laying out all of his thoughts, fears and hatreds he has for American ideals.  His teaming with Arnold Schwarzenegger was a match made in heaven.  From beginning to end, you’re constantly left wondering if what’s happening is real or an elaborate fantasy being carried out by a man whose mind is being destroyed.  In the end, what’s real and what isn’t doesn’t matter, what matters is the journey–and the journey is paved with Verhoeven’s trademark satirical blood and guts and pitch-black humor.

1. Terminator and Terminator 2: Judgment Day

This is it.  The first two Terminator movies are Arnold at his very best.  Hell, it’s James Cameron, an excellent filmmaker, at his best, too.  Terminator and Judgment Day are very different from each other, but work as brilliant companion pieces.  Terminator is a sci-fi horror movie, bathed in a futuristic, retro neon noir.  It’s relentless, terrifying and savage.  When Arnold, as the titular cyborg, has a mission, he means to carry it out to completion.  When he levels a gun at Sarah Connor’s head, gone is the traditional cliche of him hesitating before pulling the trigger.  He has about a microsecond before he’s interrupted by a shotgun blast.  Terminator 2 is a sleek, kinetic thriller with mindblowing special effects that have aged like a fine wine.  It combines cutting-edge CGI with traditional puppetry and practical squibs, explosions and stunt pieces seamlessly.  Terminator 2 is perfect action filmmaking and in the decades since it was released, it has yet to be improved upon.  It remains a highwater mark for filmmaking of its type.