# 6th Day, The (2000)

### reviewed by
Homer Yen

    "The 6th Day" -- Twice the Ah-nold, but Only Half the
    Fun
    by Homer Yen
    (c) 2000

Imagine the following fascinating but profoundly challenging ethical issues surrounding the topic of cloning.

* World population explodes to such an extent that food levels decrease to dangerously low levels. By cloning fish and livestock, however, new food supplies could be easily reintroduced into the food system to eradicate any future shortages.

* Your precious 10-year old daughter would be heartbroken if she found out that her adorable pet pooch has gone to Heaven. To save her from the pain and yourself from the excruciating task of explaining to her what happened, you visit a business at the local mall that specializes in cloning pets. Within two hours, Rover is 'resurrected'. Your daughter never knows the difference and life goes on.

* Deion Sanders, a talented football player acquired by our Washington Redskins for an ungodly sum of money to help ensure a championship season, suffers what seems to be a career-ending injury. With that, the hopes of winning the Super Bowl and the $50+ million investment die. Miraculously, Deion appears in the next game looking as if nothing had happened. The pursuit of the coveted Super Bowl championship continues and all seems normal.

These are all compelling quandaries regarding the future of Man and would certainly make for an interesting sci-fi yarn. However, despite the fact that "The 6th Day" is layered with philosophical undertones, the moral issues are much more compelling than the film itself.

Starring a somewhat subdued Arnold Schwarzenegger, this moderately entertaining science fiction/action adventure film takes place in the "not too distant future and sooner than we think." Science and technology has advanced to a point that the lines between reality and artificiality are becoming increasingly blurred. Virtual girlfriends are becoming as acceptable as the real thing. SimPals (lifelike but eerily ugly dolls) are the hottest holiday toy. Meanwhile, there is heated debate that rages over the legitimacy of human cloning. Although it is currently banned under law, a greedy businessman, Michael Drucker (Tony Goldwyn), wants to have the laws overturned.

Our hero, Adam (Schwarzenegger) gets caught up in a bizarre and dangerous situation when he learns that he's been cloned. Wait…perhaps he's the clone and the other guy is real. It's another absorbing question. But no matter how interesting this film could've been, the basic DNA of any Schwarzenegger film sacrifices ingenuity for eye candy and a bit of action. You can expect several gunfights that make it look like a sort of revved up commercial for Laser Tag. There are some cool sci-fi effects that will surely please the men-who-love-cool-gadgets population. And, there are some pretty good performances. Of note is Michael Rappaport as one of Drucker's henchman, and there is a tender turn from Wanda Cannon who plays the dying wife of a key scientist within Drucker's firm.

But where "The 6th Day" goes awry is that it is basically a toned down version of the typical Schwarzenegger movie. It doesn't have over-the-top action sequences, the violence level is somewhat subdued (although there is one graphic scene), and our hero even displays an uneasy gushiness. It's even rated PG-13. Perhaps seeing so many of his other cartoonish but action-packed films have caused me to consider this project a step in the wrong direction. While it tries to be more than just a mindless action flick, the movie doesn't really have anything to get excited about. You'll walk out of the theatre thinking that you saw a preview for Playstation 3.

    Grade:  C

    S:        1 out of 3
    L:        2 out of 3
    V:        2 out of 3

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