'Arnold' is a bit of a biased documentary on the 'Terminator' action star's life

Successful bodybuilder, 1980s' most sought-after action film star, and governor of California for eight years. These three are enough to indicate only one person: Arnold Schwarzenegger. 

Born in an Austrian town and coming to America with little to no English knowledge, he became a successful actor, businessman, and politician later. In the latest Netflix documentary, Arnold, this actor describes the three phases of his career in three one-hour episodes.

As a child, Schwarzenegger discovered his passion for physical fitness and bodybuilding. He dedicated himself to rigorous training, sculpting his physique to become a formidable force in bodybuilding. 

Arnold participated in bodybuilding contests in the US and won the prestigious Mr. Universe title at the age of 20 and, subsequently, the Mr. Olympia title seven times. In the first episode, Arnold talks all about his early bodybuilding career and the aspirations behind it.

The second episode is the most intriguing part: Arnold's acting career. Before the 1980s, his silver screen appearances were about bodybuilding, most famously Pumping Iron. His breakthrough role came in the 1982 film Conan the Barbarian, where he portrayed the titular character with intensity and charisma. This marked the beginning of his successful career as an action star.

He hasn't had to look back since then. His roles in the Terminator franchise, Predator, Total Recall, and many other films have established him as a prolific action star to this day. 

Arnold also left his footprints as a comedy actor, most notably in Kindergarten Cop, Twins, and so on. But he only wanted to be a star that people always loved, as filmmaker James Cameron says in one episode that Arnold told him, "I don't want to be an actor, I want to be a star."

The third and last episode is about Arnold's success as a politician and the setbacks he endured on this path. Arnold participated in the 2003 California gubernatorial election, running for Republicans, and he won the election as the 38th governor of the US state.

After he won the election, the opposition party accused his father, Gustav, of supporting antisemitism. Arnold doesn't comment on that issue, but one thing he certainly comments on is that he didn't have any good relationship with his father at all. He is sympathetic to his brother Meinhard, who died in a DUI accident but also calls him weak for not standing up to their abusive father, which is a very Arnold thing to do.

Though Arnold is very reticent, he opens up about his family and the bad decisions that affect them. He is sorry for his children, who went through hard times because of his decisions. In the previous episodes, he opened up about his first serious relationship with Barbara Baker and his extramarital affair with Patricia Baena, which ended his marriage with Maria Shriver. His unfaithfulness affects his children's personal lives, for which he shows regret. This shows that even though Arnold is egoistic, he can be mellowed when his children are affected by him.

The one disadvantage of Arnold is that it has no room to show the action star's life in a neutral tone. Arnold himself is the narrator of this show, so it progresses as per his rules. Few of his contemporary bodybuilders and directors comment on his life, but they don't criticize him in any way. Watching Arnold's whole life and career in a positive light must be entertaining for his die-hard fans. Still, neutral viewers might be very disappointed with the narrative tone of this docudrama.

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