Arnold - Sein Weg nach oben

Last night i actually sat down and watched See Arnold Run. Surprisingly i actually did enjoy the movie. I've always been an Arnold fan ever since i first saw Terminator but never really knew much about him until this movie. Being from Canada, i was vaguely aware that he was running for Governor of California but did not follow the race never believing that they would elect an actor to represent them. Imagine my shock when he won, but watching this movie i learned that politics has always been a big part of his life. I thought this movie was an interesting look at all the work that goes into being Governor. The actor who plays him, Jürgen Prochnow was not bad. I don't think he looked much like him, but then again it's tough to find a man Arnold's age who looks as fantastic as he does! The actor who played him as a bodybuilder, Roland Kickinger bore a striking resemblance to Arnold, both in body and voice. I was actually half convinced at some points that it was him or a family member of his even though i knew it wasn't. Quite honestly i thought that this movie was interesting and a good watch for anyone who is interested in Arnold or in politics. I plan to follow his tenure as Governor to see if he is more then just an actor. Maybe someday they will change the law that states that you have to be born in America to be President and Arnold will run for President. That would make an interesting movie none the less, just hopefully they hold on the stupid one liners this time around!

This was a good biopic interweaving Arnold's the two story lines concerning his victory as Mister Universe and his election as Govenor of California. Through any adversity, Arnold has shown that a positive attitude and a drive to succeed can coexist and allow any person to achieve their goals.

That being said, there was one storyline missing from this movie -- his drive to become a Hollywood star. I would have loved a two-part mini-series that included his Hollywood years. It is remarkable that this man decided to achieve greatness in three endeavors in his life: 1. become the greatest bodybuilder in the world, 2. become the biggest Hollywood star, and 3. become a great and beloved politician. He succeeded in all three where most people would be satisfied to have achieved just one.

The actor who played the Mr.Universe Arnold can quite possibly take over roles Arnold originated on screen. He's already aped the Arnold personae as Chip Rommel in "Son Of The Beach". He pulled off a serious Arnold in this movie. I've read that Terminator 4 will take place further into the future. So, he could definitely play an original T-100. Also, there are talks about reviving the Conan series. Who better to play a young Conan?

The younger Arnold bore an uncanny resemblance to the real thing. Looks like he can act as well. However even he could not copy Arnolds very odd accent. Jurgen Procknow was too old, too small and his attempt at the accent totally pathetic. He delivered his lines in a Churchillian style, totally different from the real thing. As Maria Shriver, Hemmingway was good but a bit overweight. The best performance by far was Arianna Huffington, beautifully portrayed. All in all a disappointment because of the flashbacks, far too many. Less and longer would have been better because Arnold's real character is still somewhat of a mystery.

The actors portraying both young and current Arnold have some facial similarity to him. Roland Kickinger ("young Arnold") also has the right body for the job, but here the similarities end: Jürgen Prochnow ("old Arnold") is too old for this casting, has no bodily resemblance to a bodybuilder, looks too short and his acting is too gloomy. There are also other things in the movie that have very bad fit with reality. "Old Arnold" is dominated by his wife, lacks all shred of leadership (as opposed to the real charismatic Arnold). "Young Arnold" is a loner, desperately trying to succeed, while the truth was that Arnold enjoyed hilarious success even before he set foot on American soil, and was actually brought over by a strong sponsor (Weider). I wondered whether the director saw "Pumping Iron", because he missed the real atmosphere around young Arnold, as well as some aspects of his personality. Not all is bad, but having followed Arnold since 1970 - I was disappointed. I hope a better re-make will be done some time into the future. Even a mix-up of the original Pumping Iron + actual clips from the real campaign would have made a better result. Not recommended (5/10).

You would think that a German could do a credible Austian Accent. You would also think that A person could do a impression of Arnold. I guess this guy couldn't do that let alone deliver lines. He seems to have just had a "don't forget to spell my name on the pay check" attitude in doing the movie. I think they should have let the younger(a seemingly more gifted) actor Roland attempt to do the older Arnold Role. However that would have required him to go through some physical Perparation(sizing down) to do so. I think he had a genuine passion for the Portrayal of his Idol that Jurgen didn't posses(perhaps professional snobbery?) and it showed. He had me, at times, believing I was watching Arnold in the Arnold Swazhenegger movie. If anybody ever has it in mind to do a serious bio pic on the guy they should allow Roland to to the role. As to whether Arnold deserves a serious bio pic? We will have to see. If he gets elected Governora gain or Senator. I think it needs to be considered. I liked the execution of the flashback sequences....