Do you want to know how you can tell that I'm from the '80s? I remember when Arnold Schwarzenegger was a big freaking deal. Kids these days (listen to me) probably don't know much about Arnold. Sure, they'll likely know of the Terminator movies, but when it comes to the actor who made the series what it is today? I'm thinking negatory. His days as a megawatt star are mostly over.
In Hollywood's youth-centric cycle, this is perfectly natural! Especially for an action hero (one might even say that Schwarzenegger is the - wait for it - last action hero). That said, I think it would be unfair to totally write off Arnold’s post-Governator career as an actor. Sure, there have been some clunkers, which I’ll definitely get into, but there have also been some surprising and interesting performances from the man who once asked a group of kindergarteners who their daddies were, and what they did for a living. And, I want to discuss all of it.
The Good
Schwarzenegger left acting (for the most part) in 2003 to pursue a career in politics. The last major MAJOR movie he was in was Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines, which, while not nearly as good as Terminator or its first sequel, was still a respectable enough movie to go out on. Yes, there were some cameo appearances in flicks like The Rundown, Around the World in 80 Days, and The Kid & I, but for all intents and purposes, T3 could have been the last movie that he ever made, and you know what? I would have been okay with that. The Terminator was probably the biggest, most recognizable character he'd ever had, and if that was the end of his acting career before his pursuit of politics, then cool. I wasn’t mad at it.
But then, when his governorship ended in 2011, he came back to acting. He had a relatively minor role in Sylvester Stallone’s The Expendables 1 and 2, but his first real leading role was in 2013’s The Last Stand. And, guess what? It was pretty damn good! Our review of The Last Stand was favorable, and I think it’s only gotten better with age.
In the film, he plays a former narcotics officer turned small-town sheriff who takes on a drug lord with the aid of some unlikely helpers. Sure, I would never say this measures up to anything like True Lies, or even Eraser, but it was fun, and the role suited him. Playing somebody his age who had left an exciting life behind, only to feel the need to summon that person of his youth one last time seemed almost like it was mirroring Schwarzenegger's real life, so it worked.
Then, after some duds (which I’ll get into shortly), we got the post-apocalyptic drama, Maggie. While the film itself isn’t all that great, Schwarzenegger’s performance is really excellent as a morose father who has to decide what he's going to do with his infected daughter. After I saw the film, I was really excited for the actor to maybe disavow his action-rich past to maybe stick to dramas, as he did an admirable job in the not-quite-as-good drama, Aftermath, where he plays another grieving father. But, that kind of ends the "good" portion of this article…
The Not So Good
Okay, so maybe Schwarzenegger is just not being offered the best action movie roles, but honestly, I think his action performances have been pretty lackluster since starring in The Last Stand. It didn’t start out this way, as the next film he starred in, 2013’s Escape Plan (which co-starred Stallone), had its heart in the right place. The movie itself isn’t terrible, per se, but the thing is, it feels more like a Stallone movie rather than a Schwarzenegger movie, which is fine. That said, it probably would have been more enjoyable in the ‘90s.
But, his other movies and TV stuff? Yeah. Not so good. Movie-wise, I’ve been pretty disappointed by Sabotage, Killing Gunther, and two Terminator movies, one he’s barely in, and the other he’s prominently in. Here’s the thing. It’s not that these movies were terrible, as I actually think Killing Gunther is kind of fun. It’s just that they’re mostly mediocre, to the point of almost being forgettable. So much so, that I actually had to go to Schwarzenegger’s filmography to jog my memory on these movies’ existences.
And then, we have Arnold’s most recent show, FUBAR, on Netflix. Yes, FUBAR has its fans, but I’m pretty lukewarm to it. Just like Killing Gunther and Sabotage, I don’t necessarily think it’s the worst thing ever, but it just feels like low hanging fruit, like Arnold could do this stuff in his sleep. So, yeah. He could be doing a lot worse, but he’s not. He’s just kind of like…doing things now.
Coming Back As The Terminator
Honestly, I can forgive projects like Killing Gunther and FUBAR. But, I don’t think I can forgive him coming back as The Terminator, first in a super minor role (image only) in the terrible Terminator Genisys, and then in a more prominent role in Terminator: Dark Fate.
When ranking the Terminator movies, our very own Mike Reyes put Genisys much higher than I would have, and that’s fine. At least Arnold is barely in it. He's all over Dark Fate, though, and that movie's awful.
His appearance in this film really pisses me off, because I think it would have been perfectly fine if his character concluded in T3. In Dark Fate, it’s just sad to see him brought back as an aging Terminator. I don’t know if there are going to be any more Terminator movies (I personally hope not), but if so, I definitely hope Schwarzenegger stays far, far away from it. The damage has already been done, but it could always get worse.
How This Part Of His Career Measures Up To His Heyday
I will say this. Even though I’m not a huge fan of FUBAR or some of his later movies, I’d much rather have Arnold still making movies and TV shows, rather than NOT making movies and TV shows. Of course, this latter part of his career can’t measure up to when he was in Commando (the greatest action movie of all time), or Conan, but the fact that he can still play a credible action star is impressive in its own right.
To be fair, I think this part of his career is actually good for him. People seem to un-ironically like FUBAR, and he looks like he’s having a good time. His humor is still present, and his work in dramatic roles from Maggie and Aftermath prove that he will not be pigeonholed into any one thing. Sure, I feel like he took on a movie like Dark Fate as almost a vanity project, but I’m glad that he hasn’t rushed to make sequels for any of his other major movies, because I don’t think that would be a great idea.
I also think it’s good that he’s not doing Expendables 4, since it looks like he’s done with rehashing his ‘90s glory days. If anything, while I don’t think Schwarzenegger’s current career will ever reach the heights it reached in the ‘80s and ‘90s, I also don’t think his career is anywhere near to being dead. The dude said he would be back, and he is. For better or worse (I'd say mostly better).
What do you think? Do you like his career since he’s returned to acting? For more news on Arnold Schwarzenegger, be sure to swing by here often.
