FUBAR: HOW DOES ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER'S TV DEBUT COMPARE TO HIS MOST ICONIC ACTION ROLES OF ALL TIME?

For Arnold Schwarzenegger’s first television debut, especially for Netflix, it’s mediocre at best. Schwarzenegger’s current project FUBAR has him star as Luke Brunner, a retired CIA operative who comes out of retirement to help out another CIA operative in Guyana codenamed Panda. He wants to rekindle a full relationship with his ex-wife Tally and 28-year-old daughter Emma, but that is now put on pause. However, once he reaches the operative, he discovers that Panda is Emma. The two have been keeping secrets from each other. Now they have to work together to stop Boro Polonia, a powerful arms dealer whose father was secretly killed by Luke. It seems interesting at first, but audiences have not had the best ratings for the series.

Schwarzenegger playing the part of a CIA operative is not out of his comfort level. He has played a large variety of government or military type of characters throughout his career. Most of them have been the buff and serious types. Characters that seem almost emotionless. Your typical manly-man characters in an action setting. While FUBAR is an action series, it is mostly labeled as a comedy.

Schwarzenegger has not appeared in many comedy films or series. Not because he isn’t funny, but simply because it is not a genre he usually stars in. So how does his character Luke compare to his more iconic roles throughout the years?

The Terminator

The Terminator franchise is Schwarzenegger’s most iconic film series and character in his career as an actor. The Terminator is arguably a role that will live on in film history. The cyborg assassin goes back and forth as protagonist and antagonist. He was even a side character in a few of The Terminator films.

We all surely remember his signature catchphrase, “I’ll be back,” and every variation. The Terminator is one of a few science-fiction movies he has starred in as the main character. The Terminator jumps back and forth from being a bad guy to a good guy but keeps the same level-headed composure that his programming enables.

So how does a brute force like the Terminator compare to Luke, the retired-but-not-really CIA operative? These two characters are different in every single way possible. The Terminator is a ruthless assassin cyborg with a blank expression and cool shades. He is a relentless hunter who, depending on the film, is programmed to kill or protect whoever his target is. He usually does not sway from his programming.

He can learn and adapt from those around him, but he is still a generally serious character.

However, Luke is a human CIA operative who is both an ex-husband and a father. From the trailer, he is a pretty emotional man who still has that Schwarzenegger seriousness. The only real comparison between the two characters is that they both have a mission to complete. They are both good fighters with prior knowledge of combat and weaponry. Their physical strength sets them apart from others (though with the Terminator, that strength is way more advanced since he’s a robot).

Julius Benedict

Julius Benedict, in the 1988 film Twins, is the fraternal twin brother of Danny DeVito’s character. Schwarzenegger’s and DeVito’s characters were created in a genetics laboratory to produce the perfect child. That embryo, however, split itself into twins when they were born.

Twins was the first comedy film Schwarzenegger ever starred in. If we are being honest here, a lot of his comedic roles seem to follow the same formula: physical comedy. Schwarzenegger is a bodybuilder, so his body size is larger than the average man's. That being said, most of the jokes in his comedy films make him seem clumsy.

This is the only comparison between Luke and Julius: they are both comedic characters. The comedy genre never really came naturally to Schwarzenegger, given his prior roles as an action-based character. He always plays a part in action-comedy as opposed to pure comedy like The Hot Chick or Step Brothers. The action hero of his past roles can sometimes overrule the comedy aspect of his character. This is another thing that Luke and Julius have in common. Like Julius, Luke’s CIA background and fighting abilities tend to outshine the humor of his character.

Mark Kaminski

In another classic film, Schwarzenegger played Mark Kaminski in the 1986 film Raw Deal. Back to the seriousness of an action character, Mark is a small-town sheriff and was part of the FBI. He is tasked to destroy a mafia organization from the inside by an embittered high-ranked FBI chief seeking revenge on the mafia. While this movie received negative reviews, Mark’s character follows a similar formula to those of Schwarzenegger’s line of action genre characters. The 80s was a time for action heroes back in the day.

Luke and Mark may have the most similarities to each other compared to Schwarzenegger’s past characters. The biggest difference between the two is their personalities and how they are portrayed. Luke was part of the CIA, and Mark was part of the FBI. They used to be part of some enforcement tasked to do dangerous jobs. They are then brought back into their respective agencies to perform one last job. While Luke is not as willing since he has just gotten into retirement, Mark is not as hesitant. They do whatever it takes to protect those they care about.

Suffice it to say Schwarzenegger’s Luke Brunner does have a lot of comparisons to previous characters. Luke is a loving father like John Matrix in the 1985 film Commando. The most significant comparison between Luke Brunner and most of Schwarzenegger’s iconic roles is that they are heroes. The actor has an affinity for scoring roles that makes him the good guy. It’s fitting for his character since he is a good and nice person. While FUBAR isn’t exactly an audience favorite, it is nice to see Schwarzenegger show off more of his humorous side. Maybe people will come around to the Netflix series, and Luke Brunner will be another iconic character under Arnold Schwarzenegger’s belt.

2023-06-01T16:34:30Z dg43tfdfdgfd