Review of The 6th Day (2000) by Taguro I — 07 Oct 2008

"They picked the wrong man to clone.".

In this science-fiction thriller set in the very near future, DNA cloning has been perfected and has become an accepted part of everyday life -- cattle and fish are cloned for sale at the market, genetically engineered fruit and vegetables are found in most family's kitchens (nacho-flavored bananas, anyone?), and if your pet dies, you can even order a cloned replacement. But laws have been passed that strictly forbid the cloning of human beings. However, helicopter pilot Adam Gibson (Arnold Schwarzenegger), who believes people should live and die the old-fashioned way, discovers that someone has been violating these regulations. After Adam luckily avoids being on a copter that crashes, he comes home to discover someone has duplicated him. Now Adam is on a mission to find out who cloned him and why, as he struggles to take back his life from a scientifically created impostor, his boss Michael Drucker (Tony Goldwyn), and a pair of thugs (Sarah Wynter and Rod Rowland) who have been cloned into near-indestructibility. The 6th Day also stars Robert Duvall as cloning expert Griffin Weir, Michael Rooker as Drucker's right-hand man Robert Marshall, and Michael Rapaport as Adam's partner, Hank Morgan.

Review.

The premise of this movie is good: What if you came home one day and found out that a carbon copy of yourself was invading your home and family. The general cloning premise of the film also leads to the opportunity for social comment, especially in the light of the recent sheep cloning and such. Unfortunately, this film soon gets caked down into a stupid illegal cloning plot and becomes just another paint-by-numbers action flick. Even at their worst, most Schwarzenegger films have something to offer in terms of memorable lines or action scenes (hell, even Last Action Hero had its moments). But this one just sits there. I usually love Arnold's action flicks, because the big guy has a monstrous and charming screen presence, but in this one he's just kind of dull. If you're looking for a better sci-fi Schwarzenegger film, see Predator, and skip The 6th Day.