Arnold Schwarzeneggers new movie, The 6th Day, is a futuristic action-packed romp with evil clones and scary looking dolls. Cool, huh? Not really. The 6th Day is really a formulaic shoot-em-up Arnold movie that oozes with stiff line delivery and a weak plot.
Set in the not-so-distant future, Adam Gibson (Schwarzenegger) returns from work to find his entire existence has been replaced with (gasp!) a clone. Enter money-mogul Michael Drucker (Tony Goldwyn), the mastermind behind Replacement Technologies. Drucker had issued the cloning of Gibson by mistake, and will stop at nothing to keep it a secret, even if it means sending out a ruthless team of, get this, clone hit men. Helping Drucker with the cloning process is Griffin Weir (Robert Duvall), a morally conflicted scientist with no backbone.
Now does this sound like a bad comic book idea or what? Evil clones take over the world and only one man has what it takes to stop them. Please. I guess it wouldnt be so silly if Arnold could actually act. He was much better in The Terminator where he didnt have to speak. Not only that, but this time we have to endure Arnold times two. He plays both Adam Gibson and Gibsons clone. I swear I liked it better when Danny Devito was his twin. Not only that, but the corrupt Drucker is so downplayed and pathetic, its inconceivable that this man could hold the powers of life in his replicated little hands. He should have switched roles with Marshall (Michael Rooker), who is a much more convincing villain.
What I should say about The 6th Day is that the futuristic portrayal of such things as an automated car pilot, a virtual girlfriend, and a remote control aircraft is pretty clever. The action is top-notch, and even the simple setting of the local mall is pretty impressive. Not only is The 6th Day good to look at, it does offer a few chuckles here and there. One character worth noting is hypochondriac hit man Wiley (Rod Rowland). Every time he is re-cloned, he is convinced he can feel the pain from his past injuries.
The 6th Day questions what could happen when a great idea is placed in the wrong hands? Maybe they should have asked themselves that very question when making some casting decisions. This isnt the best Schwarzenegger flick, but I guess for some mindless entertainment you could do worse.
+ ashley adams
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