Arnold

• Directed by Lesley Chilcott
• June 7, 2023
• Netflix

This documentary series follows the icon from his early days in Austria all the way to the present.

If you grew up during the 80s there was no bigger celebrity than Arnold Schwarzenegger. Stallone came close but when you thought of action and great movies, you thought of Arnold Schwarzenegger first. He was larger than life and like a god to any kid that liked action films. His work was the pinnacle of the genre of the time (and perhaps ever). But as Arnold shows, there is much more to his story. He just did not show up out of nowhere slinging saw blades like throwing stars or in a ball of electricity nude on the streets of Los Angeles. He worked hard.

This documentary covers much of the life of Arnold Schwarzenegger. What’s clear from the start is that Schwarzenegger is a salesman and what he sells is ultimately Ahnuld. And this series does a good job of doing that. His energetic and infectious personality in the interviews easily comes across. You get that he wasn’t just some muscular bodybuilder from the start but rather that he had a brain.

He is a smart businessman that knew/knows how to market himself. Each step was built upon what came before. He did not just go right away for the brass ring but worked towards it so he had a foundation that would last. From bodybuilding to the movies to politics. And that seems to have been effective since we are still talking about him and he is still working.

The most interesting thing I found out is that he was apparently already rich by the time he went into film. I knew he arrived in this country with very little, but I always thought he only became rich once he started movies. Not so. He was quite the real estate mogul before film. Movies were just the next challenge as well as the fulfillment of a dream.

Through personal interviews, as well as interviews with friends those behind Arnold craft a portrait of an exuberant immigrant who wanted nothing more than to come to this country and conquer every challenge. He wanted to be Hercules (which for better or worse he was in Hercules in New York). He wanted to be the biggest star in the world (which for a time he was). And to be not only like his idols, but bigger than his idols. And he accomplished that. He became a bigger star than his first idol Reg Park. He even beat him in competition at one point.

This is a fascinating look at his life from his beginnings in a small town in Austria all the way to the United States and his current life. It’s a very energizing and rousing portrait of a driven individual who set out to succeed and every time someone told him no, took it as a challenge to prove them wrong.

His affair gets much more focus than I thought it would. I was prepared for them to really blow past it as fast as they could, but they gave the discussion of it some depth. You are left with the impression Schwarzenegger feels some guilt over it not only because of how it affected him, but how it affected others.

I was expecting Arnold to be a bad marketing tool for his Netflix show, but they don’t even mention that near as I can recall. Not one peep. This is all about Arnold and his life. He touches on a lot of the big things of his life and career. He’s all reserved when it comes to talking about his brother and what happened with him but he’s more open with his mother. References to his father seem to fall somewhere in the middle.

In a world of binge watching this is easily binged. It is addictive and slickly crafted yet also informative. They make you cheer for the man and want to support him in his next quest. The people they talk to are all friends yet not all started as such. You see how he won them over with his vision and enthusiasm.

If you grew up idolizing Schwarzenegger like many people in the 80s did, Arnold will certainly appeal to you. And if you like good celebrity documentaries, this is right up your alley as well.