The 6th Day
Hey! It doesn't suck.

Is it live or is it Memorex?

Remember The Terminator and its sequel? Remember Total Recall and The Running Man? Remember when Arnold Schwarzenegger made genre movies that had great action sequences and thought-provoking ideas in the script? Okay, so maybe, like me, after Batman and Robin you just wanted to forget that Arnold existed, but thankfully The 6th Day is nothing like that other movie that I just mentioned whose name I try not to type more than I have to. It's not perfect, but I would definitely say that it is good-ish.

The story is that of independent business co-owner and family man, Adam Gibson (Arnold Schwarzenegger) who comes home to find a duplicate of himself is used to examine the larger issue of cloning. The movie shows that there are indeed great advantages to be had by experimenting in cloning, but also doesn't shy away from showing how such a powerful tool could be abused. In a less obvious and thorough manner the film also deals with the concepts such as "self" and "humanity" as the Adam-clone must face the fact that although he has the memories, instincts and feelings of the original, he is not really Adam Gibson.

Schwarzenneger is a little awkward in some of the more dramatic moments in the film, but shows that he can do more than just action scenes. No one but he and Maria Shriver (and their kids) could say for sure if Arnold is a good father, but in his interaction with Taylor Anne Reid (who plays Adam's daughter Clara) he comes off as affectionately paternal. They seem to have a comfortableness around each other that translates well onto the screen.

Tony Goldwyn's Michael Drucker (the main baddie) isn't quite substantial enough to come across as a real threat to even a single Adam Gibson, much less two. His polished exterior is a little too slick to let any emotion directed at him do anything more than slide right off. Even at his most dastardly, he's too frosty for the burning hatred you should feel for him. His dilemma of being caught between a rock and a hard place should have probably been played up more, giving Drucker a more desperate -- and therefore more threatening -- edge.

My, what interesting piercings you have. Rodney Rowland as Wiley.

While the other assassins came off as barely sketched characters, actor Rodney Rowland (billed as Rod Rowland) in the role of Wiley proved to be a great source of comic relief and got to express another in the many deep questions asked by the film. Like his Looney Tunes namesake, Rowland's Wiley is a humorously inept, bumbling assassin, shooting when he should wait, and waiting when he should shoot. In contrast, Rowland is equally adept at handling the broad comedy of the role and giving Wiley enough personality to lend his remark about a "white light" some resonance. Despite his apparent flexible morality, Wiley comes across as the only assassin to have truly contemplated the implications and complications of his virtual immortality. (Which is quite a feat considering the guy had only about fifteen minutes of screen time.)

DROOL FACTOR: Rodney Rowland. 'Nough said. Oh, and there is that moment when Arnold flexes his arm in front of the mirror. Hoo-boy. Who knew I was so susceptible to hot flashes when faced with huge, gigantic, bulging, rippling muscles?

GROSS-OUT FACTOR: Head baddie Michael Drucker's malformed clone is pretty icky, but nothing too shocking. Except maybe SimPal Cindy. Man, that doll was creepy.

STRONG CHICK FACTOR: Nope. Sorry. Even assassin chick Talia comes off more cranky than strong.

-- Linda M. Najera

The 6th Day is currently playing.

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