Cloning doesn't seem to be as much of an issue now as it was back when this film was released, particularly since the famous Dolly didn't actually live for that long. Okay, there was been a ban on cloning in place since then, but you don't seem to hear as much about it anymore. Anyway, back then it is not surprising that an Arnie action movie, and this is basically what this film is - an Arnie action movie - came out with this idea in mind. It also isn't surprising that the bad guys seem to be the biotechology firm because, well, as one person told me the biotechnology department at his university seemed to be like some sort of James Bond super villain's lab. So, Arnie comes home one day to discover that there is an identical replica of him in his house. Now, cloning animals has been going on for some time, but cloning humans is a big no no. In fact not only is it illegal, but clones are considered to be void of any rights whatsoever and are to be terminated on sight. This is why these thugs appear to basically get rid of Arnie because they don't want anybody to know that they are actually cloning anybody. Well. We can pretty much guess what happens from there - Arnie goes on a rampage, kills the bad guy, and everybody lives happily ever after. The problem with cloning is that there seems to be an assumption that when we are cloned we pretty much become the clone, but honestly, I'm not actually convinced about that. In truth, there is so much we don't know about the brain, such as what makes us, us, that if we were to create a clone then we are probably just creating a completely new person. There is no suggestion that we are going to be able to transfer our consciousness into that new body, which means that if we are using clones to prolong our lives then we are probably just acting in vein. Okay, I am probably going a little too deep into what is basically an Arnie action flick, but we can't ignore these ideas because films like this are actually exploring these ideas. If we clone ourselves are our clones us, or are they completely different people. Moreso, if we are running around while our clone is running around do we experience both bodies - if not, then I guess this whole creating a replica in case we die isn't going to do us any good - we are still going to die. Interestingly though, there is this idea that it is not so much the rich and powerful protecting themselves, but protecting their investments. At the opening we have a multi-million dollar football player suffer a serious injury that will sideline him for, well, forever. So they kill him and bring in his clone. As such, it is actually working to make humans more of a commodity than they already are. Further, there is this idea that they have built in diseases to limit their life span, just in case they decide to do something that we don't particularly like. If that happens, well, we just kill them and then wheel out a clone that hasn't had that revelation yet - a great way to protect one's investments. Sure, they might not be the same person, but in reality that's probably what they want. As for the film, well, as I mentioned, it's an Arnie action flick, and if you like these types of films the you are surely going to be entertained for the two odd hours that it takes for this film to run.

In the near future, pilot Adam finds he has been cloned and the people responsible are looking to kill him. Solving the puzzle and lots of action follow.If Arnold Schwarzenegger is the top box office draw in the work (in 2000), then a film featuring 2 Arnies must be twice as good, right?Well, it's not bad. Its sci-fi plot serves as a satisfactory vehicle to hang lots of action sequences on, as well as the entertaining sight of Arnie meeting himself and acting surprised. Twice. At the same time.Tony Goldwyn is his usual slimy baddie, Robert Duvall is classy in a take-the-money-and-run kind of way, and Michael Rooker contributes a nasty piece of work.The science contains large chunks of utter nonsense, and contributes to the widespread misconception of armies of Hitlers - if you clone a human being, what you get is a baby, not a fully functioning adult with all the memories of its DNA source.But if you put your brain in neutral, then this is fun.

In the 1980s and the first half of the 1990s, Arnold Schwarzenegger's name always meant big and loud action. But since the second half of the 1990s, things weren't the same anymore with Batman & Robin (1997), End of Days (1999), and Collateral Damage (2002). So, at the time, I skipped The 6th Day (2000) since I wasn't so enthusiastic about it. However after 16 years, I watched it. And – sorrowfully – the result wasn't any better than what I expected !Schwarzenegger looks rundown. While he was 53 year old, he seemed like 65 at least (how about 53 as older than his character already !). I believe he was recovering from a heart surgery that he had before filming. So you can touch the heavy make-up which tried to hide both his age and exhaustion. It's bad that there is no one beside him in the whole movie. Although Tony Goldwyn was fine as the cold-blooded evil guy, but he lacked the star power and the high charisma. Robert Duvall was pale, doing it for the paycheck. Michael Rapaport wasn't funny, and seemed strangely confused all along. Michael Rooker played the same nervous, weary, and sweaty baddie in nearly 2 million movies in the 1990s alone. And this round, nothing was enjoyable about his performance, as usual !The action is all about endless, no dazzling, laser shootouts that take place in half dark garages. Everything feels cheap. I didn't run into production values that could be called grand. Even the climax, with saving an helicopter from crashing into skyscraper, was exposed as something done inside the studio ! Director Roger Spottiswoode, who I adored back then; thanks to his action masterpieces Shoot to Kill (1988) and Tomorrow Never Dies (1997)—did it no less poor. I don't know why he got that fetish over the slow-motion ? He drowned his movie with it, unnecessarily and pointlessly. Then those gaudy electronic-ish cuts, like we're watching hallucinations of a robot ! And in some moment, he chose to distinguish one of the killers' failure by playing a somehow lengthy rock song in the background. So what was that about ?! As if the MTV interrupted the movie suddenly ! Sadly, Spottiswoode wanted to be "hip", but lost "cool" in the way.The story is similar to Schwarzenegger's previous movie Total Recall (1990), yet with less imagination and surprises. It has a consumed plot, which its timeworn skeleton is visible behind every event, to the extent that you become bored with the movie very fast. For instance, the lead becomes a fugitive, while he's innocent, so he runs away from his chasers by jumping into watercourse; well.. IT IS, indeed, The Fugitive's same scene 7 years earlier ! Moreover, it opens the door for plenty of logic questions : While the lead is cloned to cover up assassinating the company's owner, which might expose the human cloning business—wasn't killing him more practical and less expensive ?? And considering the ending, what about that clone's presence in one country with his original self ?! Wasn't his death, while sacrificing for his original, more dramatic and less complicated ?? The movie says that cloning is bad; when the lead explodes the evil guy's laboratory. Then, the movie says that cloning is good; when it leads to human heroes who deserve life (therefore the lead's clone is left alive in the end). Contradiction.. Right ?! Also, notice well that the lead hated how cloning could give humanity the gift of immortality, while he accepted eventually the cloned cat; namely the cloning that could give humanity the hated immortality !! SO WHAT IS THE MOVIE'S MESSAGE ABOUT CLONING EXACTLY ??!! The climactic sequence dragged a bit. The one-liners were so limited. The evil guys were mostly meant as comic relief, but that was done pathetically, to end up as not menacing or comedic either. The "Sim doll" was meant as a relief as well, however served as an awfully creepy factor instead; OH MY GOD, I still have the shivers !Trevor Rabin's theme music is a clear play on John Barry's theme music of On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969). Just listen to the 2 of them, and you'll easily find out that the first stole the second, yet after changing couple of notes. I think that was an early example of the "Temp Music" which fills Hollywood's movies nowadays, as masked plagiarism that proves nothing but frightening bankruptcy.The movie's "good" side can be existed by a few advantages. The make-up of Tony Goldwyn's last imperfect clone was perfect as an execution and as an idea; since it revealed his truth as an ugly monster, or Dr. Frankenstein who turned into his grotesque creature. I loved that long list of futuristic inventions which the movie cleverly created and snappily showed as daily life details : The mirror / TV, the refrigerator that has a memory, the remote controlled helicopter, the holographic lawyer, therapist, and girlfriend.. etc. And the visual trick which gathered 2 Arnies in many cadres was semi-flawless.Cloning Dolly the sheep in 1996 send the world into a frenzy. Hence, Hollywood kept producing one movie after another, to exploit the heck of the issue, in every possible way, for the next 10 years. Just remember : Multiplicity (1996), The Avengers (1998), Repli-Kate (2002), The Adventures of Pluto Nash (2002), The Matrix Reloaded (2003), Godsend (2004), and The Island (2005). The 6th Day (2000) was part of that cycle, as an action with satire, made under the name of super star. But it had bland action, muddled satire, and star who looked anything but super !

"The 6th Day" is a rarity: an Arnold Schwarzenegger vehicle with a plot (with a great reversal in the middle), a weighty subject matter, and something to think about. Even the villain is not just a random psychopath - he has a rationale to his actions. The film is well-designed (the world it creates is both recognizable and slightly futuristic), and sometimes very funny ("loading virtual psychiatrist!"). And how about Robert Duvall's performance - certainly of a higher caliber than we're used to in an Arnold film. It's not flawless: it's too long, some of Roger Spottiswoode's directorial effects are annoying, and the helicopter climax looks very bad! But as Arnold's movies go, it's among his better ones. *** out of 4.