Arrow in the Head reviews "The Sixth Day"

The Sixth Day (2000)

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Directed by:	Roger Spottiswoode
Starring:	Arnold Schwarzenegger/Adam
	Tony Goldwyn/Drucker
	Robert Duvall/Dr. Graham
	Michael Rooker/Marshall

RATING

PLOT-CRUNCH:

Adam (Arnie) is an old fashioned dude living in a time where technology has taken over: automated cars, virtual girlfriends, remote controlled dogs…the works. One day, he arrives home and finds out that his double has taken his place. Yes, he’s been cloned. That pisses Adam off and he decides to take his life back the old school way: by kicking arse!

THE LOWDOWN:

I love Arnold Schwarzenegger and even his mediocre films put a smile on my face. Yes, you heard me…mediocre. This film is "Total Recall" light. It’s about a man’s search for the truth, it has people hunting Arnie, lots of good one-liners and some kool gadgets. But where Total Recall kicked total butt this Arnie entry feels watered down. The mystery is easy to figure out, the action is ok but nothing more (I expect better stuff from Arnold), the gadgets although gnarly sometimes looked too fake (helicopters) and the script is not as tight as it should be.

One thing I really enjoyed about the movie is the humor: The three goons and the way they dealt with death, the Arnie one-liners (spot the variation on "I’ll be back"), the groovy gadgets (luved the creepy doll), the virtual girlfriend (wish I had one), Michael Rapaport (too bad he’s only in half the film) and the double Arnie scenes (hilarious). The humor is dead on and works.

One thing that is sure is that the film is overlong. It has many characters and some of the subplots (although necessary) slow the film down. The first one that I would have snipped would be the Bobby Duvall thang. Yes, it brings up why somebody would get into cloning humans but it takes too much screen time and I didn’t care about the man’s plight.

The ingredients are all there: The solid first 40 minutes (great character buildup), a good storyline, the chase scenes, great sets ( loved the cloning room…spooky), the laughs and the action. But one thing is missing: spice. The film tries to be too many things at the same time (social commentary, mystery, Arnie flick…) and loses its grasp on all of it. I can’t remember one specific action piece (all about ray gun fights) and the powerful statement made about the ethics of cloning was also forgotten by the end credit roll. I’m still happy Arnold is back though…

ACTING:

Arnold (Adam) looks a bit tired but he still does what he does best: entertain. You rule, dude! Tony Goldwyn (Drucker) is perfect casting, he plays the rich brat with the god complex perfectly. Robert Duvall (Dr. Graham) does good and handles his scenes very well. Michael Rapaport (Hank) is one funny guy and his chemistry with Arnold is on the money. Michael Rooker (Marshall) deserves better parts than this. Here he plays the token bad guy again, kind of boring. Am I the only one that saw "Henry"? Give the guy some real roles! Sarah Wynter (Talia) lets her various hairstyles do the acting.

GORE:

The half cloned humans are very creepy looking…they gave me the willies. A cut off foot, cut off fingers and all kinds of laser blasts.

T & A:

Arnold flexes a bicep and Sarah Wynter walks around naked (side shot).

DIRECTING:

The film looks very slick but has a bit too much flash for its own good. Spottiswoode likes to transition from scene to scene with collages of quick cuts that eventually start to feel redundant. The slow motion sometimes feels out of place and the action scenes are not all they can be (where are the hand to hand combats, the crazy stunts???). Average.

SOUNDTRACK:

Some chill techno and a light score.

BOTTOM LINE:

Looking back, this flick reminds me of a video game. It has the same amount of depth, looks like one and the action is repetitive (ray guns, ray guns, ray guns). That doesn’t mean it’s a total waste of time. All Arnold fans should check it out, you’ll find something to like. It’s too bad cause the film had lots of potential. I guess we’ll have to settle with an average, under whelming somewhat entertaining Arnie flick…

BULL'S EYE:

The film was shot in BC VANCOUVER.

Arnold’s water tank foray: Once he was in the water without the goggles, Schwarzenegger suddenly realized he couldn’t see. Not only had his eyes become irritated from chemicals in the water, but the water had turned milky, diminishing his visibility. Trying to regain his bearings but running out of air, he swam to the top of the tank to refill his lungs, only to find out the opening at the top of the tank wasn’t where he thought it was. "I was in the wrong place, I was almost out of air and I couldn’t get out," says Schwarzenegger. "I was completely lost." Suddenly, he felt a hand grab him and pull him to safety. "One of the divers saw that I was in trouble," he recounts, "and grabbed my arm. He pulled me backwards. It was at that moment when I realized just how disoriented I was."

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