Every Arnold Schwarzenegger Action Movie Ranked From Worst To Best (2025)

Arnold Schwarzenegger

Every Arnold Schwarzenegger Action Movie Ranked From Worst To Best (1)

Every Arnold Schwarzenegger Action Movie Ranked From Worst To Best (2)

By Kyle Wilson & Shawn S. Lealos

Updated

Thread 1

Your changes have been saved

Email is sent

Email has already been sent

Please verify your email address.

You’ve reached your account maximum for followed topics.

Manage Your List

Follow

Followed

Follow with Notifications

Follow

Unfollow

Link copied to clipboard

Arnold Schwarzenegger

Related

Every Unmade Horror Movie Arnold Schwarzenegger Almost Appeared In
8 “Rotten” Action Movies That Became Classics Anyway
How Mr Olympia 1975 Turned Arnold Schwarzenegger Into A Movie Star
Sign in to your ScreenRant account
Every Arnold Schwarzenegger Action Movie Ranked From Worst To Best (6)

Summary

  • Arnold Schwarzenegger made a huge impact in action films from the 80s and 90s, becoming an international star.
  • Schwarzenegger diversified his roles, appearing in action films, genre oddities, and family comedies.
  • Despite his peak and slight decline, Schwarzenegger has remained active in Hollywood, showcasing no signs of slowing down.

✕ Remove Ads

For an entire generation of film fans, Arnold Schwarzenegger movies provided some of the most iconic action flicks of the 1980s and 90s. He's played heroes and villains, ruthless robots, and kindergarten cops. With bulging muscles, a singularly bizarre presence, and a lot of heart, Schwarzenegger parlayed a bodybuilding career into one of Hollywood's most profitable and prolific film careers. Arnold's breakthrough came with 1982's Conan the Barbarian, a box-office hit that captured the attention of James Cameron, who then cast him as the titular role in the action game-changer The Terminator.

✕ Remove Ads

That movie made Schwarzenegger an international star. Schwarzenegger has always had more playful energy than other action stars. While releasing straightforward action films, he also found time for genre oddities like Total Recall or family comedies like Kindergarten Cop. The latter proved potent, setting up Schwarzenegger as a family-friendly action hero and teeing up the incredible success of Terminator 2: Judgment Day, the highest-grossing film in history at the time. After that peak, Schwarzenegger's star faded mildly, but he eventually returned to Hollywood in full force, and he shows no sign of stopping anytime soon.

Related

All But 6 Of The Top 100 Highest Grossing Movies Ever Have The Same Thing In Common

Only six of the top 100 highest-grossing movies aren't part of a franchise, showcasing the struggle of standalone movies having box office success.

1

29 Red Sonja (1985)

Lord Kalidor

Every Arnold Schwarzenegger Action Movie Ranked From Worst To Best (8)

Your Rating

Rate Now

0/10

Leave a Review

Your comment has not been saved

8.7/10

PG-13

Red Sonja is a 1985 fantasy adventure starring Brigitte Nielsen as a warrior seeking revenge against the evil Queen Gedren. With help from Lord Kalidor, Sonja battles mystical forces to recover a powerful relic. The film is based on a character from the Conan universe.

Director
Richard Fleischer

Release Date
July 3, 1985
Cast
Brigitte Nielsen , Arnold Schwarzenegger , Sandahl Bergman , Paul L. Smith , Ernie Reyes Jr. , Ronald Lacey

Runtime
89 Minutes

✕ Remove Ads

To quote Arnold Schwarzenegger himself, "It's the worst film I've ever made. When my kids get out of line, they're sent to their rooms and forced to watch Red Sonja 10 times. I never had too much trouble with them." (via Far Out). Red Sonja is a clunky spinoff of the star's superior Conan the Barbarian films. Critics bashed the movie as "badly miscast" and "poorly directed," with "clunky storytelling" that replaces the sword and sorcery of its predecessors with downright silliness.

The movie placed the star on the poster even though his time in the film was minuscule

Schwarzenegger is top-billed despite only appearing briefly, but not even his Herculean presence could rescue this calamity. The movie placed the star on the poster even though his time in the film was minuscule. Instead, the story focuses on Sonja, played by newcomer Brigitte Nielsen, someone chosen based solely on her look at the time.

✕ Remove Ads

28 Batman And Robin (1997)

Mr. Freeze

Every Arnold Schwarzenegger Action Movie Ranked From Worst To Best (9)
Every Arnold Schwarzenegger Action Movie Ranked From Worst To Best (10)

5/10

pg-13

Action

Thriller

Sci-Fi

Following the events of Batman Forever, Batman & Robin is the fourth entry into Warner Bros.'s original Batman film franchise. Batman (George Clooney) and his sidekick Robin (Chris O'Donnell) team up with Barbara Wilson (Alicia Silverstone) to thwart the evil plans of Mr. Freeze (Arnold Schwarzenegger) and Poison Ivy (Uma Thurman). With Barbara assuming the mantle of Batgirl, the three heroes fight to save Gotham from two of Batman's greatest enemies.

Director
Joel Schumacher

Release Date
June 20, 1997

Studio(s)
Warner Bros. Pictures

Distributor(s)
Warner Bros. Pictures
Writers
George Clooney , Akiva Goldsman
Cast
George Clooney , Arnold Schwarzenegger , Chris O'Donnell , Uma Thurman

Runtime
2h 5m
Franchise(s)
Batman
Sequel(s)
Batman Begins , The Dark Knight , The Dark Knight Rises
prequel(s)
Batman (1989) , Batman Returns

Budget
125 million

Joel Schumacher's villain-heavy Batman flick doubles down on the neon-drenched cartoony excess of Batman Forever. However, despite Uma Thurman's campy turn as Poison Ivy, this movie failed to impress critics and audiences, ending the Batman franchise in its tracks. In the making-of feature on the Blu-ray edition, Chris O'Donnell (Robin) said it felt like they were making a feature-length toy commercial, and George Clooney still apologizes for the movie to fans all these years later.

✕ Remove Ads

The only element that crosses into "so bad it's good" territory is Arnold Schwarzenegger's performance as Mr. Freeze, still the only character in cinematic history entirely defined by ice puns. With lines like "Let's kick some ice" and "Everybody just chill," it is easy to remember this movie despite its status as a box office bomb. However, Schwarzenegger's role as Mr. Freeze betrays the character's pathos and origin, and it never really works in a movie that ranks as one of the worst in Batman franchise history.

✕ Remove Ads

27 The 6th Day (2000)

Adam Gibson / Adam Gibson Clone

Every Arnold Schwarzenegger Action Movie Ranked From Worst To Best (11)

PG-13

Action

Mystery

Sci-Fi

Thriller

In The 6th Day, Adam Gibson discovers he's been illegally cloned. As he uncovers a conspiracy in a world where cloning is advanced but controversial, the film explores the ethical dilemmas and dangers of human cloning.

Director
Roger Spottiswoode

Release Date
November 17, 2000
Cast
Arnold Schwarzenegger , Michael Rapaport , Tony Goldwyn , Michael Rooker , Sarah Wynter , Wendy Crewson

Runtime
123 minutes
Main Genre
Action

In an attempt to recreate the magic of Total Recall, this sci-fi actioner about a family man illegally cloned in a shady technological conspiracy features Arnold playing himself and the clone. Adam Gibson is a charter pilot hired by a billionaire but asked to undergo a routine drug test. However, this was not a routine drug test, and the billionaire's company used his blood to clone him. It was a scheme to kill the billionaire (and the pilot) and then replace them both with clones to cover it up.

The problem is that Adam unknowingly sent a friend to fly the billionaire into the trap, so now he and his clone are both alive, and it is a race in time to clear his name and save his family. Arnold picked up three Razzie nominations (Worst Actor, Worst Supporting Actor, and Worst Onscreen Couple - with himself), which sums up the overall critical opinion of this genre release. The movie was a box office bomb, and it sits at 40% rotten on Rotten Tomatoes.

✕ Remove Ads

​​​​​​​

26 The Expendables 3 (2014)

Trent "Trench" Mauser

Every Arnold Schwarzenegger Action Movie Ranked From Worst To Best (12)
Every Arnold Schwarzenegger Action Movie Ranked From Worst To Best (13)

5/10

PG-13

Action

Adventure

In The Expendables 3, Sylvester Stallone's Barney Ross once again assembles his team of mercenaries to fight their co-founder, Conrad Stonebanks (Mel Gibson). This time, Jason Statham's Lee Christmas, Dolph Lundgren's Gunner Jensen, and Terry Crews' Hale Caesar recruit new members such as Doctor Death (Wesley Snipes), Galgo (Antonio Banderas), Luna (Ronda Rousey), Yin Yang (Jet Li), and two old friends, Drummer (Harrison Ford) and Bonaparte (Kelsey Grammer).

Director
Patrick Hughes

Release Date
August 15, 2014

Studio(s)
Lionsgate

Distributor(s)
Lionsgate
Writers
Katrin Benedikt , Creighton Rothenberger , Sylvester Stallone
Cast
Jason Statham , Wesley Snipes , Sylvester Stallone , Mel Gibson , Arnold Schwarzenegger , Jet Li , Harrison Ford , Antonio Banderas

Runtime
131 Minutes
Franchise(s)
The Expendables
Sequel(s)
Expend4bles
prequel(s)
The Expendables 2 , The Expendables

Budget
90–100 million

The Expendables 3 offers more of the same action and excitement from the first two movies, and it adds even more action stars to fill out the running time. The main stars are back, with Sylvester Stallone, Jason Statham, Jet Li, Dolph Lundgren, and more. This time, even more throwback actors join the fun, including Mel Gibson, Harrison Ford, Antonio Banderas, and Wesley Snipes, along with new faces like Ronda Rousey, Kellen Lutz, and Glen Powell.

✕ Remove Ads

This Expendables film was the last run for Jet Li, Terry Crews, and Arnold Schwarzenegger, though. Schwarzenegger plays Trench Mauser, Barney Ross's (Stallone) on again, off again friend. However, he received a Razzie nomination for his performance in this threequel (losing to Kelsey Grammer, also from this movie). A big problem here is that Schwarzenegger is only there to show his face and show up to help when the team needs assistance, only to disappear again.

Related

The Expendables Abandoned Its Perfect Future 10 Years Ago

With four franchise titles to its name, The Expendables series missed out on the perfect opportunity to expand its movie universe several years ago.

✕ Remove Ads

25 Collateral Damage (2002)

Gordon "Gordy" Brewer

Every Arnold Schwarzenegger Action Movie Ranked From Worst To Best (15)

Your Rating

Rate Now

0/10

Leave a Review

Your comment has not been saved

R

Action

Drama

Thriller

Collateral Damage is a 2002 action thriller where Arnold Schwarzenegger plays a firefighter seeking revenge after his family is killed in a terrorist bombing. The film follows his perilous mission in Colombia to track down the terrorists, exploring themes of vengeance, terrorism, and the moral complexities of justice.

Director
Andrew Davis

Release Date
February 8, 2002
Cast
Arnold Schwarzenegger , Francesca Neri , Elias Koteas , Cliff Curtis , John Leguizamo , John Turturro

Runtime
108 Minutes
Main Genre
Action

Collateral Damage was an Arnold Schwarzenegger action movie that had possibly the worst timing of any movie in his career. The actor plays Gordy Brewer, an LAFD firefighter whose wife and son die in a terrorist bombing attack in Los Angeles. Frustrated by the belief the U.S. government is not doing anything, Brewer heads to Mompós to personally find and take down the terrorist (Cliff Curtis) but is soon kidnapped by guerrillas and held for ransom. He then has to team up with a reprimanded CIA operative (Elias Koteas).

Related

Arnold Schwarzenegger’s $35M Agatha Christie Thriller Remake Was Supposed To Transform His Career After Back-To-Back Flops

In 2014 Arnold Schwarzenegger starred in a loose adaptation of an Agatha Christie thriller, which was intended to transform his screen persona.

9

✕ Remove Ads

The problem here is that the movie was set for an October 2001 release, and after a real terrorist attack took place on September 11, 2001, the studio delayed its release for a year. It didn't matter as the film ended up as a box office disappointment and finished with a 19% rotten score on Rotten Tomatoes, with complaints going to its formulaic and unexceptional action sequences.

24 The Expendables (2010)

Trent "Trench" Mauser

Every Arnold Schwarzenegger Action Movie Ranked From Worst To Best (17)
Every Arnold Schwarzenegger Action Movie Ranked From Worst To Best (18)

6/10

R

Adventure

Thriller

Action

The Expendables is the first film in the action franchise that follows the exploits of a close team of mercenaries that complete dangerous jobs worldwide. Hired by a covert operator, the Expendables are tasked with heading to South America to deal with a dangerous dictator and liberate a country from his oppressive rule. However, they soon learn that the dictator is a front, leaving them caught in a dangerous mission with a threat higher up the chain than they could have imagined.

Director
Sylvester Stallone

Release Date
August 13, 2010

Studio(s)
Lionsgate

Distributor(s)
Lionsgate
Writers
Dave Callaham , Sylvester Stallone
Cast
Mickey Rourke , Steve Austin , Bruce Willis , Jet Li , Sylvester Stallone , Dolph Lundgren , Charisma Carpenter , Arnold Schwarzenegger , Jason Statham , Eric Roberts , Randy Couture , Terry Crews

Runtime
103 minutes
Franchise(s)
The Expendables
Sequel(s)
The Expendables 2 , The Expendables 3

Budget
$80 million

✕ Remove Ads

Filmed during Schwarzenegger's second term as California's governor, the first entry in the Expendables franchise only features the star for one brief scene. Yet, despite being little more than a cameo, it's one of the film's absolute highlights. Uniting 80s action titans Sylvester Stallone, Bruce Willis, and Arnold Schwarzenegger for the first time, this church-set one-liner fest is one of the only moments in the franchise that cashes in on the franchise's "tough guy Avengers" aspirations.

According to Schwarzenegger, he did the role as a favor to Stallone, and they shot it in just a few hours on a weekend afternoon. Seeing the stars of Terminator, Die Hard, and Rocky delivering quippy one-liners and insults was a treat for anyone who grew up watching their movies, and that is mostly who these explosive team-up action flicks were made for in the first place.

✕ Remove Ads

23 Conan the Destroyer (1984)

Conan

Every Arnold Schwarzenegger Action Movie Ranked From Worst To Best (19)

PG

Action

Adventure

Fantasy

Conan the Destroyer is a fantasy action film directed by Richard Fleischer. Starring Arnold Schwarzenegger as the titular character, the film follows Conan on a quest to retrieve a magical artifact, aided by a motley crew of allies. This sequel to Conan the Barbarian, released in 1982, continues the adventures of the iconic sword-wielding hero in a mystical world of peril and sorcery.

Director
Richard Fleischer

Release Date
June 29, 1984
Writers
Robert E. Howard , Roy Thomas , Gerry Conway , Stanley Mann
Cast
Arnold Schwarzenegger , Grace Jones , Wilt Chamberlain , Mako , Tracey Walter , Sarah Douglas , Olivia d'Abo , Pat Roach

Character(s)
Conan , Zula , Bombaata , Akiro , Malak , Queen Taramis , Princess Jehnna , Toth-Amon

Runtime
103 Minutes

Main Genre
Adventure

Arnold Schwarzenegger's second Conan film eschews the straight-faced gravitas of its predecessor for pure camp. The results are mixed, though the whole enterprise admittedly comes off more entertaining than not. Grace Jones, a year before her iconic turn as May Day in A View to a Kill, is a lot of fun as the warrior Zula, and while Schwarzenegger's relationship with comedy would ebb and flow in the coming years, his drunk scenes here wonderfully endearing.

✕ Remove Ads

The movie sees Conan agree to a quest for Queen Taramis of Shadizar, who promises she can resurrect his lost love, Valeria, if he agrees. The quest is to escort Princess Jehnna to restore the jeweled horn of the dreaming god Dagoth. Critics seemed to love the movie, praising its entertaining structure and pointing out that it is almost a live-action comic book. However, there were also complaints about Schwarzenegger's comedic performance, as he wasn't used to comedy bits at this point in his career.

22 End Of Days (1999)

Jericho Cane

Every Arnold Schwarzenegger Action Movie Ranked From Worst To Best (20)

R

Fantasy

Thriller

Action

Horror

End of Days is a supernatural action thriller directed by Peter Hyams and starring Arnold Schwarzenegger. Released in 1999, the film follows ex-cop Jericho Cane, who must protect a woman from Satan, who intends to conceive a child with her to usher in the apocalypse as the millennium approaches. The cast includes Gabriel Byrne as Satan and Robin Tunney as the woman targeted for the unholy ritual.

Director
Peter Hyams

Release Date
November 24, 1999

Writers
Andrew W. Marlowe
Cast
Rod Steiger , Kevin Pollak , Gabriel Byrne , Robin Tunney , Arnold Schwarzenegger

Runtime
122 minutes

Budget
$100 million
Main Genre
Action

✕ Remove Ads

Y2K anxiety was obviously rampant in 1999, and this supernatural thriller attempted to cash in on the craze. Schwarzenegger plays an ex-cop named Jericho Cane, who finds a new purpose in protecting a woman chosen to conceive the Antichrist with Satan himself. This period of the faded action king's career (the late '90s into the early aughts) was an up-and-down ride populated by hits and misses.

Despite some interesting ideas, this falls in the latter category. The movie was a box office success but didn't make as much as many industry experts had hoped. That is likely due to its dismal reviews, which sit at 11% on Rotten Tomatoes. While Schwarzenegger wasn't in top form in this film, Gabriel Byrne gets credit for playing a fun and very different version of Satan, the main villain.

✕ Remove Ads

21 The Expendables 2 (2012)

Trent "Trench" Mauser

Every Arnold Schwarzenegger Action Movie Ranked From Worst To Best (21)
Every Arnold Schwarzenegger Action Movie Ranked From Worst To Best (22)

7/10

r

Action

Adventure

Thriller

The Expendables 2 reunites some of the most famous action stars in movie history in an explosive mission to stop Jean Claude Van Damme's terrorist leader Jean Vilain. This time, Sylvester Stallone's Barney Ross is accompanied not only by teammates such as Jason Statham's Lee Christmas, Dolph Lundgren's Gunner Jensen, and Terry Crews' Hale Caesar, but also by old friends like Arnold Schwarzenegger's Trench Mauser, Bruce Willis' Mr. Church, and Chuck Norris' Booker.

Director
Simon West

Release Date
August 12, 2012

Studio(s)
Lionsgate

Distributor(s)
Lionsgate
Writers
Sylvester Stallone , Richard Wenk
Cast
Sylvester Stallone , Jason Statham , Dolph Lundgren , Jean-Claude Van Damme , Bruce Willis , Jet Li

Runtime
1h 43m
Franchise(s)
The Expendables
Sequel(s)
The Expendables 3 , Expend4bles
prequel(s)
The Expendables

Budget
100 million

It's not every day that the governor of California leaves office and gets right back to starring in big-budget action movies. Nevertheless, that's what Schwarzenegger did in The Expendables 2. This sequel is undoubtedly the best Expendables film, mostly due to some sure-footed direction by Con Air director Simon West. A climactic Scott Adkins and Jason Statham brawl may disappoint, but Arnold does genuinely seem to be having a great time.

Schwarzenegger is back as Trench, and while his first movie appearance was a cameo with mostly just dialogue, this time, he jumps into the action and gets in some food old-fashioned action flick fight scenes. As with the first movie, this is also a Schwarzenegger, Bruce Willis, and Sylvester Stallone team-up, as Trench arrives with Willis's Church to help in the final climactic battle.

Related

Arnold Schwarzenegger is an action movie icon who starred in plenty of awesome fight scenes, but some of them haven't aged all that well.

✕ Remove Ads

20 Terminator Genisys (2015)

T-800

Every Arnold Schwarzenegger Action Movie Ranked From Worst To Best (24)
Every Arnold Schwarzenegger Action Movie Ranked From Worst To Best (25)

4/10

PG-13

Terminator: Genysis reboots James Cameron's Terminator franchise by rewriting the events of the original movie. This time, Emilia Clarke's Sarah Connor already knows why Jai Courtney's Kyle Reese has been sent back in time, and an older T-800, once again played by Arnold Schwarzenegger, helps them in their quest to prevent an AI uprising.

Director
Alan Taylor

Release Date
July 1, 2015

Studio(s)
Paramount Pictures

Distributor(s)
Paramount Pictures

Writers
Laeta Kalogridis , Patrick Lussier
Cast
Emilia Clarke , Jai Courtney , Arnold Schwarzenegger , Jason Clarke

Runtime
2h 6m
Franchise(s)
Terminator
Sequel(s)
Terminator: Dark Fate
prequel(s)
The Terminator , Terminator 2: Judgment Day , Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (2003) , Terminator Salvation

Budget
155 million

Terminator Genisys has an absolute bizarreness and everything-goes-wrong tone, making it an interesting experiment for the franchise. Schwarzenegger's return after 12 years sets up the plot that rewrites the first two films' events and morphs the franchise into a time travel story about Sarah Connor time-hopping with an aged T-800 she's dubbed Pops. The entire purpose is to show how all the time travel used in the franchise has created a mess of alternate timelines.

The movie had some interesting choices, from Jason Clarke portraying an evil John Connor to Emilia Clarke showing up as a young Shara Connor. Jai Courtney never really worked as the new Kyle Reese, although J.K. Simmons was great as the one regular guy, an alcoholic police detective trying to figure out what was going on. The movie's best parts are refilming classic scenes with a twist and having Schwarzenegger back to do it makes it much more fun.

✕ Remove Ads

19

Related

All Of The Terminator Models From The Movies, Ranked By Power

Throughout the Terminator movies, there have been plenty of powerful machines from Skynet. Which Terminator model is the strongest though?

18 Raw Deal (1986)

Sheriff Mark Kaminski

Every Arnold Schwarzenegger Action Movie Ranked From Worst To Best (27)

Your Rating

Rate Now

0/10

Your comment has not been saved

R

Raw Deal stars Arnold Schwarzenegger as Mark Kaminsky, a former FBI agent forced into retirement. When a powerful crime syndicate kills the son of his ex-boss, Kaminsky is called back into action to infiltrate the gang and bring them down from within. Directed by John Irvin, the film combines elements of action and crime drama in a high-stakes narrative.

Release Date
June 6, 1986

Runtime
106 Minutes

✕ Remove Ads

In 1986, Schwarzenegger and Stallone each released star vehicles that were low on brains but heavy on violence. Critics railed against both, but despite the more iconic status of Stallone's Cobra, it's arguable Raw Deal is the better offering. Critics even compared the two in their reviews, with most preferring this film thanks to its addition of humorous moments to the bloody carnage. Schwarzenegger's avuncular, playful presence just helps the crass, excessive blood sport of this type of B-movie go down smoother.

That's not even mentioning the scene where the movie star screams at his drunken wife after she throws a cake at his head, "You should not drink and bake!" Even critic legend Pauline Kael appreciated what it was trying to do, writing, "reprehensible and enjoyable, the kind of movie that makes you feel brain dead after two minutes—after which point you're ready to laugh at its mixture of trashiness, violence, and startlingly silly crude humor."

✕ Remove Ads

17 Eraser (1996)

U.S. Marshal John "Eraser" Kruger

R

Action

Crime

Thriller

Eraser is an action thriller directed by Chuck Russell, featuring Arnold Schwarzenegger as U.S. Marshal John Kruger, who specializes in erasing identities to protect witnesses. The plot centers on Kruger's mission to safeguard a key witness, Lee Cullen, portrayed by Vanessa Williams, against a corrupt conspiracy within the defense contractor she works for. The film blends intense action sequences with themes of betrayal and technological warfare.

Director
Chuck Russell

Release Date
June 21, 1996
Cast
Arnold Schwarzenegger , James Caan , Vanessa Williams , James Coburn , Robert Pastorelli , James Cromwell , Danny Nucci , Andy Romano , Nick Chinlund , Michael Papajohn , Joe Viterelli , Mark Rolston , John Slattery , Robert Miranda , Roma Maffia , Tony Longo , Gerry Becker , John Snyder , Melora Walters , Olek Krupa , Cylk Cozart , K. Todd Freeman , Rocco Sisto , Gerald Berns

Runtime
115 Minutes

The box-office disappointment of Last Action Hero in 1993 hurt Schwarzenegger's reign as an action movie superstar, leading him to begin a career reevaluation that would transform into his time as the Governator. Before he transitioned into the everyman father at the center of holiday cult classic Jingle All the Way, however, he tried one more back-to-basics action flick to regain his Box Office King status, and the results were Eraser.

✕ Remove Ads

He plays John Kruger, a U.S. Marshal who helps people in Witness Protection. His main job is "erasing" high-profile witnesses, faking their deaths, and giving them new identities. When one of his latest charges is targeted by a high-ranking member of the U.S. government, John is framed as a mole and has to fight his way to the top to clear his name. The movie was a box office success, but the reviews were low. Critics praised the action scenes but felt the story was very dated, even at the time of its release.

​​​​​​​

16 Terminator 3: Rise Of The Machines (2003)

T-800

Every Arnold Schwarzenegger Action Movie Ranked From Worst To Best (28)

R

Action

Sci-Fi

Thriller

Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines is the third installment in the Terminator series, directed by Jonathan Mostow. Released in 2003, the film follows John Connor, played by Nick Stahl, as he faces the threat of a new, more advanced Terminator model, the T-X, portrayed by Kristanna Loken. Arnold Schwarzenegger reprises his role as the T-800, sent back to protect John and ensure the survival of humanity against rising machine threat.

Director
Jonathan Mostow

Release Date
July 2, 2003

Studio(s)
Intermedia , C2 Pictures

Distributor(s)
Warner Bros. Pictures
Writers
James Cameron , Gale Anne Hurd , John D. Brancato , Michael Ferris , Tedi Sarafian
Cast
Arnold Schwarzenegger , Nick Stahl , Claire Danes , Kristanna Loken , David Andrews , Mark Famiglietti

Runtime
109 minutes
Main Genre
Action

✕ Remove Ads

This decade-late follow-up to the dynamic-switching Terminator 2 has undergone a bit of a critical reevaluation in recent years, but its greatest sin is still its incredible ordinariness. Coming on the heels of two of the greatest action films of all time, the third entry loses James Cameron as director and chooses to more or less remake the second film with a jokier tone and a bleaker ending. Schwarzenegger is fun enough, even if he would soon drop his movie stardom in favor of politics, but the film's only real innovation is Kristanna Loken as the first female Terminator.

Thanks to the franchise name, Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines was still a box office success, making $433.4 million worldwide. However, it remained disappointing compared to what came before. It ensured that the franchise would endure another long break before returning with a slight reboot in 2003's Terminator Salvation, the first movie without Schwarzenegger in the role of a Terminator.

✕ Remove Ads

Related

Every Unmade Horror Movie Arnold Schwarzenegger Almost Appeared In

Arnold Schwarzenegger almost starred in some interesting projects in the horror genre, but they ultimately never happened. Here's why.

15 Escape Plan (2013)

Emil Rottmayer

Every Arnold Schwarzenegger Action Movie Ranked From Worst To Best (30)

pg-13

Thriller

Action

An action thriller film that stars movie action heroes, Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger, Escape Plan follows Lawyer Ray Breslin, a security tester who enters a supermax prison to study its defenses. To accomplish the breakout, he'll enlist the help of an inmate named Emil, a self-proclaimed hero who steals from the rich and gives to the poor.

Release Date
October 10, 2013

Studio(s)
Lionsgate

Distributor(s)
Summit Entertainment , Lionsgate

Writers
Jason Keller
Cast
Sylvester Stallone , Arnold Schwarzenegger

Runtime
116minutes
Sequel(s)
Escape Plan 2: Hades

Budget
$54 million

✕ Remove Ads

Fans had wanted a Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger team-up movie for decades, and in the afterglow of The Expendables, it became an inevitability. Escape Plan has its undeniable pleasures. A barebones pulp machine featuring Stallone as a prison designer who has to bust out of jail with the help of Schwarzenegger's inmate, the film inspires easy charm while also making viewers long for the type of script that would rise to the level of these titans of the genre.

The supporting cast is amazing, with Jim Caviezel, 50 Cent, Vinnie Jones, Vincent D'Onofrio, and Amy Ryan, and that helps out when the main stars are mostly old-school action heroes. Thanks to a lower budget, the movie was a box office success, and its 50% Rotten Tomatoes rating is better than many of Schwarzenegger's action flicks over his later career.

✕ Remove Ads

​​​​​​​

14 Red Heat (1987)

Ivan Danko

Every Arnold Schwarzenegger Action Movie Ranked From Worst To Best (31)

R

Action

Comedy

Crime

Thriller

Ivan Danko is a tough Russian cop who is forced to work alongside extrovert detective Art Ridzik. The pair investigate a major international criminal involved in drug trafficking who has fled Russia for the United States.

Director
Walter Hill

Release Date
June 17, 1988

Writers
Walter Hill , Harry Kleiner , Troy Kennedy-Martin

Runtime
106 minutes
Main Genre
Action

Odd couples don't come much stranger than Arnold Schwarzenegger and Jim Belushi, but that's just the pairing Hollywood cooked up for this 1987 action-comedy. Directed by '70s master Walter Hill (The Warriors), this film was a chance for Schwarzenegger to expand his range and for Belushi to fill the immense shoes of his brother. Both do just fine, and the buddy cop shenanigans proved Arnold a solid candidate for future comedies, even if this one never really rose to anything beyond solid.

✕ Remove Ads

The movie is often forgotten thanks to similar films of the era, with Lethal Weapon at the top of the genre. The story sees Schwarzenegger as Soviet police officer Ivan Danko teaming up with Chicago cop Art Ridzik (Belushi), as the contrasting buddy cop pairing works to perfection. Critics gave the film an above-average 69% on Rotten Tomatoes. In the same year, Arnold tried pure comedy in Twins; however, he delivered the straight man here in a movie that struggled to match his comedy release.

Related

8 “Rotten” Action Movies That Became Classics Anyway

Though critics & audiences often differ on the reception of movies, action films can still gain popularity despite negative reviews & low scores.

3

✕ Remove Ads

13 Terminator: Dark Fate (2019)

T-800 / Carl

Every Arnold Schwarzenegger Action Movie Ranked From Worst To Best (33)
Every Arnold Schwarzenegger Action Movie Ranked From Worst To Best (34)

8/10

R

Action

Adventure

Sci-Fi

Terminator: Dark Fate is a direct sequel to Terminator 2: Judgement Day, ignoring the rest of the future films to re-canonize the franchise. Set years after Sarah Connor successfully stopped the impending Judgement Day, a new Terminator is sent to destroy the resistance before it forms. Now forced to team up with a former T-800 terminator model, Sarah will seek vengeance and protect Dani Ramos, the new target of Skynet.

Director
Tim Miller

Release Date
November 1, 2019

Studio(s)
20th Century Fox , Skydance Media , Tencent Pictures , TSG Entertainment , Lightstorm Entertainment

Distributor(s)
Paramount Pictures

Writers
Billy Ray , Justin Rhodes , David S. Goyer
Cast
Linda Hamilton , Gabriel Luna , Fraser James , Natalia Reyes , Arnold Schwarzenegger , Brett Azar , Steven Cree , Diego Boneta , Mackenzie Davis , Claudia Trujillo

Runtime
128 minutes
Franchise(s)
Terminator
prequel(s)
The Terminator , Terminator 2: Judgment Day , Terminator Salvation , Terminator Genisys

Budget
$185 million

After a long absence from the franchise, Linda Hamilton returned as Sarah Connor. It's still nowhere near the high bar set by the first two entries, but it's solid nonetheless and certainly the best Terminator movie of the last decade. Mackenzie Davis is an engaging presence, and Gabriel Luna's Rev-9 is the closest the series has come to constructing a villain as bone-chillingly terrifying as the T-1000.

The formula is decidedly a riff on The Force Awakens, with Hamilton and Schwarzenegger acting as mentors for a new generation of heroes and villains, but the scenes of Arnold as an aged T-800 living a peaceful life as Carl are oddly moving. The movie was supposed to start a new generation for the franchise, but it was the last film to date and Schwarzenegger might finally be finished with the franchise that made him a megastar.

✕ Remove Ads

​​​​​​​

Related

How Mr Olympia 1975 Turned Arnold Schwarzenegger Into A Movie Star

Arnold Schwarzenegger won the Mr. Olympia 1975 bodybuilding contest, with his appearance in documentary Pumping Iron making him a movie star.

12 Sabotage (2014)

John "Breacher" Wharton

Every Arnold Schwarzenegger Action Movie Ranked From Worst To Best (36)

R

Crime

Action

Drama

Sabotage is a 2014 action flick starring Arnold Schwarzenegger. Schwarzenegger plays John 'Breacher' Wharton, the leader of a DEA task force that is hunted down by a drug cartel. AlongsideSchwarzenegger stars Sam Worthington, Terrence Howard, Olivia Williams, Joe Manganiello, and Josh Holloway. David Ayer helms the film with a script written by himself and Skip Woods.

Director
David Ayer

Release Date
March 28, 2014

Studio(s)
Universal Pictures

Distributor(s)
Open Road Films , Universal Pictures

Writers
Skip Woods , David Ayer
Cast
Arnold Schwarzenegger , Sam Worthington , Terrence Howard , Olivia Williams , Joe Manganiello , Josh Holloway , Max Martini , Mireille Enos

Runtime
109 Minutes

Budget
$35 million
Main Genre
Crime

✕ Remove Ads

The pairing of director David Ayer and Schwarzenegger still seems like a good idea. Ayer is a director skilled at exploiting tough-guy swagger, and Schwarzenegger is one of the most legendary tough guys around. He plays John "Breacher" Wharton, a gruff and grizzled soldier dealing with his DEA team members getting killed over stolen cartel money. The movie is very different from other Arnold action movies, as it is almost more of a mystery, with some big twists at the end.

Schwarzenegger's performance here is one of his most mournful, with a gunslinger finale that ranks as one of the movie star's best scenes. Critics were not as appreciative, giving it a 21% Rotten Tomatoes score, and it was one of the lowest-grossing Schwarzenegger action films of his career. In a positive review, Richard Roeper of the Chicago Sun-Times wrote that it was "more like a modern-day, Georgia version of a spaghetti Western."

✕ Remove Ads

​​​​​​​

11 Last Action Hero (1993)

Jack Slater

Every Arnold Schwarzenegger Action Movie Ranked From Worst To Best (37)

PG-13

Adventure

Action

Comedy

Last Action Hero follows young Danny Madigan, who magically enters the world of his favorite action film through a special ticket. Inside the movie, he teams up with action hero Jack Slater, played by Arnold Schwarzenegger, to battle cinematic villains. Directed by John McTiernan, the film blends reality and fiction, offering a whimsical take on action film tropes.

Director
John McTiernan

Release Date
June 18, 1993

Writers
Zak Penn , Adam Leff , Shane Black
Cast
Arnold Schwarzenegger , F. Murray Abraham , Art Carney , Charles Dance , Frank McRae , Tom Noonan , Robert Prosky , Anthony Quinn

Runtime
130 Minutes

Main Genre
Adventure

Last Action Hero was unfortunately released alongside Jurassic Park, 1993's highest-grossing film. Thanks to that, some bad reviews and a misunderstanding of what the movie was trying to say, most people quickly forgot about it. However, Last Action Hero is worth a second look. Directed by John McTiernan and written by Shane Black, it follows a young boy who gets sucked into the world of action movie character Jack Slater.

✕ Remove Ads

The tone is that of a satire of action movie tropes, and a lot of it is fun. Unfortunately, Schwarzenegger's casting helped fans dismiss the movie. While seeing such a self-critiquing performance from the star is fun, he's always brought a winky cheekiness to his action films anyway. Putting him as a fictional character in a world where the real Arnold Schwarzenneger doesn't exist made for lots of fun jokes (Sylvester Stallone starring in Terminator). The movie was a bomb and received poor reviews, but it has become a huge cult classic.

10 The Last Stand (2013)

Sheriff Ray Owens

Every Arnold Schwarzenegger Action Movie Ranked From Worst To Best (38)
Every Arnold Schwarzenegger Action Movie Ranked From Worst To Best (39)

7/10

R

Action

Crime

Thriller

The Last Stand follows Sheriff Ray Owens in the quiet border town of Sommerton Junction. After leaving the LAPD, Owens faces a notorious drug baron and his gang, escaping FBI custody and heading towards the town. As the criminals approach, Owens and his team prepare to intercept them.

Director
Jee-woon Kim

Release Date
January 12, 2013

Studio(s)
Lionsgate

Distributor(s)
Lionsgate

Writers
Andrew Knauer , George Nolfi , Jeffrey Nachmanoff
Cast
Arnold Schwarzenegger , Johnny Knoxville , Jaimie Alexander , Zach Gilford , Kristen DeVore Rakes , Christiana Leucas , Diana R. Lupo , John Patrick Amedori , Forest Whitaker , Peter Stormare , Luis Guzman , Genesis Rodriguez , Rodrigo Santoro , Daniel Henney , Eduardo Noriega , Harry Dean Stanton , Billy Blair , Titos Menchaca , Arron Shiver , Richard Dillard , Doug Jackson , Mathew Greer , Chris Browning , James Burnett , Rio Alexander , David Midthunder , Tait Fletcher , Mark Sivertsen , David Kilde , David House , Kent Kirkpatrick , Mario Moreno , Don Ambabo , Ross Kelly , Ryan Jason Cook , Elias Gallegos , Kevin Wiggins , Lois Geary , Jermaine Washington , Terry Dale Parks , Allan Padelford , Tim Booth , Cliff Fleming , Eddie J. Fernandez

Runtime
107 Minutes

Budget
$45 million

✕ Remove Ads

After a decade off the screen (and some minor ribbing at how much he hated Terminator Salvation), Arnold Schwarzenegger appeared in this underrated return to form, one of the best of his films post-governing. Directed by Korean filmmaker Kim Jee-woon, this is a full-blooded back-to-basics actioner about a small-town sheriff leading a group of misfits in battle with a drug lord.

Arnold slips back into his movie star role like he never left at all, and the result is a film that is as explosively engaging as it is downright fun. The plot sees Arnold as Sheriff Ray Owens, a man who lives in a border town in Arizona who left the LAPD after a terrible accident. However, when a drug lord escapes from the FBI and ends up in Owens' town, he gathers together anyone he can to defend their home. The movie received positive reviews, with praise going to the action and fun factor.

✕ Remove Ads

  • Movies
  • Arnold Schwarzenegger

Your changes have been saved

Email is sent

Email has already been sent

Please verify your email address.

You’ve reached your account maximum for followed topics.

Manage Your List

Follow

Followed

Follow with Notifications

Follow

Unfollow

Every Arnold Schwarzenegger Action Movie Ranked From Worst To Best (2025)
Top Articles
Latest Posts
Recommended Articles
Article information

Author: Msgr. Refugio Daniel

Last Updated:

Views: 5693

Rating: 4.3 / 5 (74 voted)

Reviews: 89% of readers found this page helpful

Author information

Name: Msgr. Refugio Daniel

Birthday: 1999-09-15

Address: 8416 Beatty Center, Derekfort, VA 72092-0500

Phone: +6838967160603

Job: Mining Executive

Hobby: Woodworking, Knitting, Fishing, Coffee roasting, Kayaking, Horseback riding, Kite flying

Introduction: My name is Msgr. Refugio Daniel, I am a fine, precious, encouraging, calm, glamorous, vivacious, friendly person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.