 Superstar Arnold Schwarzenegger is Adam, an ace pilot in the very near future who is having a serious identity crisis. An evil corporation illegally cloned him, and now they're trying to kill him to hide the evidence. Torn from his beloved family and faced with a shocking exact duplicate of himself, Adam races against time to reclaim his life and save the world from the underground cloning movement. From the director of Tomorrow Never Dies, The 6th Day also stars powerhouse actors Robert Duvall (Gone In 60 Seconds, Deep Impact) and Michael Rapaport (Deep Blue Sea, Cop Land). Prepare for a high tech sci-fi blast with twice the Arnold and twice the action! Storyline: In the near future, cloning is now technically advanced, but human cloning is still illegal. Adam Gibson (Schwarzenegger) returns home after working with his friend Hank Morgan (Rapaport), only to find a clone of himself with his family. Before he has chance to find out the truth, he is attacked by a group who want him dead. Adam must escape and find out the truth from the creator of the clones, Michael Drucker (Goldwyn). Adam knows for sure he couldn't have been cloned, but isn't ready for what he's about to hear. Written by simon Reviewer's Note: Reviewed by Martin Liebman, April 7, 2008 -- This is the natural process of life. You're born, you live, and you die. There are plenty of good Arnold Schwarzenegger movies, and while The 6th Day is indeed an "average" Arnold movie, there really isn't anything on the other end of the spectrum, a movie with Arnold that is just plain awful. Junior comes very close, certainly his worst movie, but I am such a big fan of the actor that I consider no film in the annals of Arnold to be bad. This is certainly one of his lesser movies, coming at the tail end of his career, only Collateral Damage and Terminator 3 coming after this film as movies featuring Arnold in the lead role. The 6th Day is certainly a departure from a film like Commando where the plot is simpler, the guns are larger, and muscles there for everyone to see. Arnold is more of an everyman here, rather than a superman, but to compensate the film gives us double the Arnold fun, seeing the famed bodybuilder and actor cloned, two of him needed to destroy a ruthless, cunning bad guy, perhaps Arnold's toughest challenge yet (that's not a liquid metal killing machine, the devil, an alien from another world, Crisp, or Bennett). The 6th Day stars legendary action superstar Arnold Schwarzenegger (Predator) as Adam Gibson, a family man and adventure helicopter pilot living in a world where cloning pets is commonplace (at the "Build-A-Bear"-esque "RePet" store in the mall) but human cloning has been outlawed under the "6th Day Laws." He returns home one evening, anticipating a surprise birthday party he's clued in on, only to discover the proceedings have already begun, and he's already inside! A clone has seemingly taken his place, though he is unsure as to why or who is behind it. He soon finds himself under fire and under pursuit by a band of thugs who want him dead, all the while trying to piece together why he's been cloned and who is responsible for the mess he finds himself in. He can trust no one, not even his closest friends, and because of the "miracle" of cloning, bad guys he manages to kill seem to reappear faster than he can say "California." Gibson, with the help of an unlikely ally, must uncover a conspiracy revolving around the world of cloning and also save his family. Directed by Roger Spottiswoode (Tomorrow Never Dies), The 6th Day makes for an enjoyable Saturday afternoon action flick, one that both mindless shoot 'em up fans as well as movie lovers looking for a bit more depth, story, character development, and intelligence will find appealing. In the end, this is still a mostly run-of-the-mill, perhaps slightly above average action film that is made a bit better by not one but two Arnold's thrown into the mix. His enormous size and stature is definitely played down here--he never loses his shirt, deliberately flexes his muscles for the camera, or wield weapons that should be mounted on a vehicle, not carried by mere mortal man. Instead, he plays an average Joe, perhaps similar to his character(s) in Total Recall though not reaching quite the "superhero" status he comes to portray in that film. The 6th Day also sports an all-star cast in support of Schwarzenegger, including Robert Duvall (We Own the Night), Tony Goldwyn (The Last Samurai), Michael Rapaport (Hitch), and Michael Rooker (The Replacement Killers). Perhaps the weakest aspect of The 6th Day are the "henchmen" who, playing a vital role in the film, find themselves killed more than once, and come back as annoying as ever. I've never understood why evil masterminds have such half-witted lackeys, perhaps so as to ensure they're not smart enough to question his motives or think about overthrowing him. Nevertheless, these clowns--excuse me--clones, reminded me of "Beebop" and "Rocksteady" from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, bad guys who, despite their strength and equipment, can never seem to get the job done, mostly due to their mental shortcomings. Not even Michael Rooker, who is only halfway decent in his role, can save them from their own ineptitude. That's the only real glaring weakness I found in the film, and it's a minor one at that—while integral to the story, they don't necessarily do anything more than put up some obstacles for Gibson to plow his way through. Otherwise, this movie is fun and pushes all the right buttons. It has some classic Arnold dialogue, though like his muscles and weapons, this script generally plays-down Arnold's opportunities for truly memorable dialogue, although it did have me laughing at several classic Arnold-isms. All in all, what could have easily been a B-movie on an A-list budget is made more than serviceable here (with a thrilling final act), because after all, you just can't go wrong with Arnold Schwarzenegger, or in this case, multiple copies thereof. The 6th Day may not be the best Arnold movie, or the best action/sci-fi movie ever made, but it is very serviceable nonetheless, an enjoyable, well-paced romp replete with great visuals, solid action, a good story, and decent acting and direction. The movie's shortcomings are minor, as long as it is not looked at through the same lens as more highbrow films such as Schindler's List. As Arnold's screen-presence matured, it seems that he reached a point where he chose roles casting him as more "average" characters, foregoing the larger-than-life characters of Commando and Predator in favor of more traditional action hero types, and he was able to make the transition seamlessly. Arnold fans should be very pleased with this Blu-ray release of The 6th Day. The video quality is excellent, better than your average Blu-ray but not meeting or surpassing the look of the very best. The audio is also outstanding, creating a lively sonic experience that adds to the flair and fun of the film. The supplemental materials are also entertaining and worth watching. This disc comes highly recommended for Arnold completists (such as myself) and definitely worth checking out for Blu-ray fans in general. Cast Notes: Arnold Schwarzenegger (Adam Gibson), Michael Rapaport (Hank Morgan), Tony Goldwyn (Michael Drucker), Michael Rooker (Robert Marshall), Sarah Wynter (Talia Elsworth), Wendy Crewson (Natalie Gibson), Rodney Rowland (P. Wiley [as Rod Rowland]), Terry Crews (Vincent), Ken Pogue (Speaker Day), Colin Cunningham (Tripp), Robert Duvall (Dr. Griffin Weir), Wanda Cannon (Katherine Weir), Taylor Anne Reid (Clara Gibson), Jennifer Gareis (Virtual Girlfriend), Don McManus (RePet Salesman). IMDb Rating (10/22/12): 6.1/10 from 33,248 users
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