Arnold Schwarzenegger: The Man, The Legend

News has filtered through that Arnold Schwarzenegger, the Governator supreme, will be returning to movies after his political stint. Arnie may have found that running the tanking Californian economy is not something wise quips or twenty-two inch arms can solve but, without doubt, he’ll soon return to his element on the silver screen. Even before he went into politics, films like Collateral Damage and Terminator 3 were looking tired at best, stale at worst. So, what potential new adventures are there for our hero?

Personally, I grew up on Schwarzenegger films and still nurture a pretty big man-crush on him. Predator, in my mind, remains the ultimate schlocky B-movie, all testosterone and bravado. An alien comes to kill humans for sport but he has not reckoned on Arnold Schwarzenegger, whose sheer brawniness mixed with base cunning provides him with his perfect match. I still find a way to work the immortal quotations “It bleeds. We can kill it” and “You’re one ugly motherf***er” into daily conversation.

Of course, the Terminator franchise, or at least, the first two, remain his magnum opus. Playing a robot hellbent on killing then protecting Sarah Connor and her child, Schwarzenegger had the perfect mixture of emotionless cold aggression menace and humour. “I’ll be back” isn’t just a stock movie catchphrase; it’s what you say jokingly to your mate as you run out to get milk. It’s entered the lexicon in such a way that so few films can. Admittedly, there is rubbish – for every Total Recall a Sixth Day – but Arnie’s back catalogue can entice in a way few others can.

What, then, lies in wait? A brief encounter in The Expendables and a CGI snapshot in Terminator: Salvation (which, incidentally, was the best part of the film) is all that’s happened recently. As much as I would like to see Arnie return to the Terminator franchise, he is getting on a bit now, so I do think that the musclebound hero is a role that would take more than a bit of suspension of disbelief. Stallone has had a comeback playing a washed out Rocky; the worn out former hero seems a perfect type for our Austrian idol. And don’t rule out a Mr. Miyagi, Karate Kid mentor role to some promising upstart (as long as none of Will Smith’s kids are involved).

What would be most exciting, in my opinion, would be a return to the sci-fi films along the lines of Running Man and Total Recall. Though not always as financially successful as other franchises, the mind-bending ideas offered within the films provides a perfect role for Schwarzenegger. With respect, the man never sounds like Einstein as he delivers one of his famous putdowns. He can show the audience’s bewilderment and frustration. As long as he doesn’t reprise his role as Mr. Freeze in Batman and Robin. Or become pregnant again. To say the least, I’m very excited.

Below are some of the great man’s famous quotations.

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