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THE 6TH DAY Send This Review to a Friend
Since "The 6th Day" is an action film about illegal cloning, you get two Arnold Schwarzeneggers for the price of one, and it is hard to permanently kill anyone because the victim can be cloned. Need a replacement for a pet who has died? Simple. Get a clone.
The big question is whether the film itself is alive, and that depends on your perspective. Action fans will find plenty of fun, thanks to a dazzling dose of special effects and a plot that gives Schwarzenegger a chance to do what has kept him an international star all these years. Yes, he's showing signs of getting a bit long in the tooth, but many a guy could only wish he looked as fit as Arnold.
Director Roger Spottiswoode, obviously knowing what he is supposed to deliver, keeps the action humming despite a rather complicated screenplay by Cormac Wibberley and Marianne Wibberley. Given the increasing ability to clone, a future filled with ethical problems and misuse may be closer than we think.
The essentials that you need to know in this case are that Schwarzenegger plays a pilot who finds that a clone has taken his place in his family, in effect stolen his life, and he is a target who must be eliminated lest he expose the secret cloning enterprise of two schemers (Tony Goldwyn and Robert Duvall). The set-up gives Schwarzenegger a chance to be all over the place, and justifies an onslaught of high-tech action geared to the fan who adores this kind of stuff regardless of what critics may have to say.
There's also a nifty idea of having a sexy virtual reality playmate (Jennifer Gareis) to appear on demand with a hologram effect. Too bad Virtual Girls aren't given out with your ticket of admission. There are other gimmicks to enliven the plot, but further discussion would be superfluous. You are either in or you're out. A Columbia Pictures release.
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