Arnold Schwarzenegger has always been a hero of mine. I admire his success, and I am a fan of many of his movies. Arnie is also a

WIS

, so I though it might be a bit of fun to review all of his movies, and highlight any watch-related content. My rating out of five for each movie is entirely subjective, and based purely on my own enjoyment. And yes, I actually watched every one of these movies over the past month or so.;-)

Please note that I don't have a web site or blog to post this, so I apologize in advance to anyone using dial-up.

Conan the Barbarian 1982 - 3/5

A pretty solid debut by

Arnold

, if swords and sorcery is your thing. No watch content, of course, but we do get to see the big man in this memorable outfit:

Conan the Destroyer 1984 - 1/5

Pointless Conan sequel, in which Grace Jones stinks up every scene she is in, and a bemused looking Wilt Chamberlain is clearly out of his depth. Also, some of the worst special effects known to mankind. No watch content.

The Terminator 1984 - 4/5

Seminal sci-fi movie that launched the stellar career of director James Cameron, confirmed

Arnold

as a leading man, and gave the world the phrase "I'll be back." Sadly, no watch content.

Red Sonja 1985 - 2/5

More swords and sorcery, although

Arnold

is relegated largely to a cameo role, in a move designed to lend credibility to what is effectively a Bridget Nielsen flick. Again, no watch content.

Commando 1985 - 3/5

Finally a wristwatch! Arnie plays retired Special Forces one-man army John Matrix, whose daughter is kidnapped by perhaps the most effeminate and least threatening villain in movie history. For those who haven't seen this movie, rent the director's cut and you'll see what I mean. Plus, probably the most people shot by one man in a movie until the most recent Rambo flick! Arnold sports a Seiko H558 for the first time:

The eagle-eyed will note that an extra digital display has been added above the marker at six:

Arnold has eleven hours to save his daughter:

Ugh! A great watch ruined by some not-so-special special effects changes:

Raw Deal 1986 - 3/5

Pretty good action flick, in which Arnie plays a disgraced former FBI man bought back for a secret undercover job. Once again, the H558 makes an appearance in quite a number of scenes:

Predator 1987 - 5/5

The first essential Arnie movie. Great sci-fi meets action thriller, with Arnie in perhaps the best shape of his movie career, leading a band of Special Forces ops on a jungle rescue mission that isn't what it appears to be. Again, Arnie sports a Seiko H558:

The Running Man 1987 - 3/5

Arnie is framed for a massacre he didn't commit, escapes from prison, and ends up an unwilling contestant on the world's most popular game show. Not a bad movie, but not one of my favorites. Arnie wears his H558, but inexplicably changes to a G-Shock:

Red Heat 1988 - 3/5

Arnie plays a straight-laced Russian cop transplanted to

Chicago

in pursuit of a drug dealer, with Jim Belushi as the cultural antagonist and comic relief. A pretty good buddy-buddy movie, with more violence than I remembered. Arnie sports an unidentified watch (Russian?), which gets some good close-ups:

Twins 1988 - 2/5

Arnie and Danny Devito play genetically engineered twins. Separated at birth, they suffer entirely different fates until Arnie sets out to find his brother. Interesting premise that falls flat, despite the best efforts of Devito and Arnie. Also, possibly the worst DVD transfer I have ever seen. The eagle-eyed will spot Arnie's Seiko (H558 or similar) in the very closing frames of the film:

Total Recall 1990 - 1/5

Without a doubt Arnie's worst movie, although I am sure many will disagree. Terrible acting from the supporting cast, cynical, dull, and with some of the worst special effects ever. Strangely, everyone seems to wear a watch in this movie except

Arnold

...:think:

Kindergarten Cop 1990 - 3/5

I hadn't seen this for years, and it really isn't too bad. Arnie plays a tough LA cop forced to go undercover as a small-town

Oregon

kindergarten teacher. In doing so, he sports what appears to be a Seiko 7C43-6A00:

Terminator 2 Judgment Day 1991 - 2/5

Tedious sequel loved by most but not by me. Arnie comes back as a good Terminator to save hysterical Sarah Connor, and her whining son, John (an absolutely abysmal performance by Edward Furlong). No watch content.

Last Action Hero 1993 - 2/5

Better than the reviews would have you believe. Arnie plays action movie hero Jack Slater, who finds he has a junior partner when a Slater-obsessed kid gets sucked by magic into his latest movie. Uneven action flick with lots of

Hollywood

in-jokes, some of which are funny. Arnie once again sports a Seiko (either a H558 or H601):

True Lies 1994 - 5/5

Arnie plays super spy Harry Tasker, who tracks down international nuclear terrorists while pretending to be a computer salesman. For me, Arnie's best movie. Both Schwarzenegger and director James Cameron give it their all, supported by Tom Arnold in a superb performance as Arnie's partner, and Bill Paxton in an absolutely incredible cameo as a sleazy used car salesman/spy wannabe. I believe that this is the first movie in which Arnie wears Audemars Piguet (pic 1) although sadly there are no close-ups. Pics 2 and 3 look more like a Seiko, though:

Junior 1994 - 1/5

Arnie and Danny Devito play fertility doctors, who take drastic action to prove their research when their academic funding is cut off. Emma Thompson hams up her role as a ditzy British scientist, and the only good laugh comes when Arnie dresses in drag and attends a pre-natal class. Devito gives Arnie a horrible Bulova alarm watch to time his medication intake, so even the watch sucks in this very poor movie:

Eraser 1996 - 4/5

Very entertaining action flick, in which Arnie plays a

Marshall

in the Witness Protection Program, attempting to keep a star witness alive in a case involving black market weapons sales, and treason. Perhaps the most famous watch shot in any Arnie movie comes during the opening credits, when he sets his Panerai Luminor Marina:

Action shot from the movie:

Jingle All the Way 1996 - 4/5

This is really a 3.5 movie, but what the heck. In the spirit of Christmas, I'll give it a four. Above-average Arnie comedy, in which he plays a work-obsessed father who forgets to get his son the must-have toy of the season. A memorable turn by Sinbad, as Arnie's main competition in hunting down the sold-out toy in time for Christmas. Arnie is again wearing Seiko (H601 I believe):

Batman and Robin 1997 - 2/5

Often included in lists of the top 10 worst movies of all time, I actually didn't think this was too terrible. It was certainly more enjoyable than Total Recall! No watch content.

End of Days 1999 - 3/5

Arnie's first foray into the horror genre is a reasonable effort. Personally, I can't be doing with this stuff, but Arnie is quite entertaining as a washed-up alcoholic

New York

cop, looking for personal redemption, and to save the world, on the eve of the Millennium. Audemars Piguet produced a special edition watch for this movie. Unfortunately, as most of the movie is filmed in darkness, we only get fleeting glimpses until the obligatory marketing close-up near the end. This is my favorite Arnie watch. Now, if I only had $50,000, which is about the going rate for a used example...b-)

Sorry for the small pic. I had a problem with Photobucket with this image. Here is a promo shot for the watch:

The 6th Day 2000 - 1/5

More lackluster sci-fi, in which Arnie plays a helicopter pilot cloned for some reason or other that I can barely remember now. Even the great Robert Duvall couldn't save this turkey. Arnie sports a white-dial chrono, of which we get one quick glimpse. Maybe an IWC, but who knows?

Collateral Damage 2002 - 3/5

Solid action flick in which Arnie plays LA firefighter Gordy Brewer, who witnesses the terrorist murders of his wife and child, and sets out for revenge. Arnie sports an AP ROO in this movie, and we are treated to some good close-ups:

Terminator 3 Rise of the Machines 2003 - 2/5

"I'll be back..." And he was, for a third time as a Terminator. Unfortunately, Arnie seems to phone this one in, and the rest we have seen before. I watched this back-to-back with T2, and they are basically the same movie - just one great long chase. The movie features perhaps the most famous Arnie watch, the AP T3, although sadly more is not made of it. Incredibly, Arnie finds the watch (MSRP about $25,000) behind the sun visor of some crappy truck he is appropriating. It drops into his palm, and we get the only close-up when he scans it. I love this watch, so I added a promo shot for good measure:

That's it!

A great movie career, and some cool watch moments, too. I'd be delighted if this post generates any replies - either in agreement with my reviews, challenging them (come on Total Recall fans, you know you want to!), or putting me straight if I got a watch model wrong - so feel free to post. Out of deference to Ernie, and to help save WUS bandwidth, please do not quote the entire post in any reply! Thanks!

And finally, if anyone can let me know definitively what watch

Arnold

wears in True Lies, I'd be very happy to know.