Movie Info
Movie Name: The 6th Day
Studio: Phoenix Pictures
Genre(s): Action/Adventure/Sci-Fi/Fantasy
Release Date(s): October 28, 2000 (Tokyo International Film Festival)/November 17, 2000 (US)
MPAA Rating: PG-13
The Acting-Challenged Duo!!!
Adam Gibson (Arnold Schwarzenegger) and his friend Hank (Michael Rapaport) run a successful helicopter charter business. When Hank and Adam get a high priced client, Adam wakes up to find his life is gone and that he’s been replaced by an illegal clone. Now, Adam must reclaim his life and stop CEO Michael Drucker (Tony Goldwyn) from unleashing Doctor Griffin Weir (Robert Duvall) clone experiments on the world.
Directed by Roger Spottiswoode, The 6th Day had its original name changed from The Sixth Day to avoid confusion with The Sixth Sense. The movie was met with mixed reviews and a minor profit at the theater. The movie was nominated for Razzies for Worst Actor (Schwarzenegger as the real Adam Gibson), Worst Supporting Actor (Schwarzenegger as the clone Adam Gibson), and Worst Screen Couple (real Adam Gibson and clone Adam Gibson).
Let me set this doll right next to the clown from Poltergeist…
A plot about illegal cloning, guns, action, and explosions seems great on paper, and The 6th Day does have its moments…but it really misses the mark. The movie could have been great, but it comes out an average, somewhat messy movie.
I like the clone aspect of the script, and the ideas that come from the questions of cloning, but the script is undermined by not giving the viewer enough credit. The movie works a lot like Total Recall (which did work) and tries to go for a clever twist like The Sixth Sense. The twist however is made so predictable and is more a matter of “when” rather than actual surprise. The movie also suffers from Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Worst pool party ever.
Schwarzenegger is getting pretty old in this movie, more so as an actor than physically. The story was clever, but it forced Schwarzenegger one lines into it in addition to the obvious twists. Kevin Costner was originally considered for the role but had to drop out due to scheduling conflicts. The supporting cast is kind of wasted by the film including Robert Duvall who does his best with what he’s given.
The movie does look good at points. The cloning stuff is done well and the half-formed clone is effectively creepy. The movie does a good job of not being overly futuristic (it was actually set in 2015 in 2000). It also has one of creepiest film dolls in SimPal Cindy.
I really want to like The 6th Day, but it just isn’t very good. The movie has some decent stuff and if you’d like a generic sci-fi action film, at least the movie looks pretty good. I think I enjoyed other similar Schwarzenegger action films like Total Recall, Eraser, and True Lies more, but if you are looking for a different Schwarzenegger movie that you might have missed, The 6th Day might fill that void.
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