Arnold Season 1 Review – A total recall of an extraordinary man’s journey

Episode Guide

Part 1: Athlete
Part 2: Actor
Part 3: American

Arnold Schwarzenegger is truly one of a kind. From his humble beginnings in Austria to making a splash in three different self-proclaimed career “peaks”, there’s no denying that this man has accomplishment a hell of a lot in his life.

Fresh off the success of his latest miniseries FUBAR, it’s perhaps no surprise to find Arnie striking back on Netflix, this time coming in the form of a 3-part series, documenting Arnold Schwarzenegger’s life across the grand stages of his career.

For anyone who has read Arnie’s excellent autobiography, Total Recall, a lot of what’s here is pretty much rehashing that journey (albeit in less detail) but the ride is certainly worth reliving, even for avid readers. The three parts each hone in on different parts of Arnold’s life, with a run-time of a little under an hour each.

We start off with Arnold’s bodybuilding days and his amazing string of records before naturally progressing through to acting and then ending on his run as a politician.

While a lot of what’s here serves as a celebratory look at this larger-than-life icon, there’s equally a scrutinous look at some of Arnold’s less comfortable moments too, including controversies around groping women, cheating on his wife and his criticisms as a politician. These are certainly welcome inclusions, helping to actually round out Arnold’s character, and the documentary is all the stronger because of that.

Much like other Netflix documentaries, this one is also not shy about repeating footage. There’s a shot of Arnold in the woods with his brother that’s used several times, while an early interview of Arnold during his bodybuilding days, discussing his brother’s death, is also shown a few times too.

However, to counteract that point, the show also includes plenty of revealing interviews with co-stars, other bodybuilders and politicians that help to round things out.

Of course, trying to cram everything in from Arnold’s life into one documentary was always going to be a struggle, but Netflix do a pretty decent job of it here. There’s no denying that the “Arnold story” is inspirational and reinforces that hard work and perseverance can get you far in life. With only 3 episodes and an easily digestible format, Arnold’s docuseries is not quite the total recall his book of the same name achieves, but it’s well worth a watch all the same.

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