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Cast
Adam
Gibson (Arnold Schwarzenegger)
Druckier
(Tony Goldwyn)
Dr. Weir (Robert Duvall)
Hank (Michael
Rappaport)
Marshall (Michael Rooker)
Directed
by Roger Spottiswoode
Written
by Cormac and Marianne Wibberley
Rated
PG-13 for strong action violence, language and some sensuality
Running
Time: 124 minutes
Distributed by Columbia Pictures
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the Poster!
The 6th Day is an okay science fiction
film that could have been a lot better. The film takes place in the near future and
is centered around the 6th day law, which refers
to the Bible passage, “God created man on the sixth day.”
The law implies that God creates humans and it is unlawful
to clone a human. The main character of the film is Adam Gibson
(Schwarzenegger), who is helicopter pilot and doesn’t believe
in cloning at all. While
coming home one night to his own birthday party, Adam discovers
that his family and life have been taken over by a clone of
himself. As Adam finds
clue after clue, his life becomes more and more in jeopardy. However, he chooses to find out who cloned
him, why and then he plans to take his life back.
The 6th Day has a current and futuristic
idea of cloning as the centerpiece of its story.
Unfortunately, the story opens strongly but lingers
at the end of the film.
Screenwriters Cormac and Marianne Wibberley had an
established futuristic thriller on their hands when they wrote
The 6th Day. On the downside, the story didn’t end considerably with a bang like
it started out as. The
end sequence just sort of gets out of hand and leaves you
wondering how the film could end like it does.
Of course the script is full of typical Schwarzenegger
lines, which adds an unintended comedy to the film.
Director Roger Spottiswoode’s direction for the most
part is suitable for a science fiction or action film.
The only real choices of Spottiswoode’s direction that
I didn’t like were his use of computer generated effects and
props. Examples of
the computer effects are the fake and toy looking helicopters
that Adam flies throughout the film.
As for the props, there is only one and it is the satanic
looking doll that Adam buys for his daughter.
The doll looks like a possessed demon from the X-Files
or something. The doll gains all of the attention in a few scenes because it is
so ugly. However,
even the overall aspect of the doll itself is not too important
to the storyline.
Arnold
Schwarzenegger delivers a typical action-a-minute one liner
role from his own genre. Even though I seem to be the only person that
thought he was actually acting in End of Days, I see
Schwarzenegger’s roles becoming better.
On the other hand, he is selecting better roles since
his days as the terminator.
Robert Duvall steals every scene he is in as the knowledgeable
scientist behind the some of the cloning.
His partner, the man who believes he is God because
he can clone someone is Druckier, who is played very slithery
by Tony Goldwyn.
The 6th Day is a film that I believe
teenagers will love if they catch all the twists in it.
The story has some very good ideas, but the movie ends
disappointingly lame.
Report
Card Grade: C
Beastman’s
Movie Reviews
Copyright,
2000 Joseph C. Tucker
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