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Adam Gibson (Arnold Shwarzenegger) enjoys both worlds: that of a family man and that of a
professional pilot.
He is a traditional father to his young daughter Carla and a devoted husband to his wife Natalie. He reluctantly gives in to get a lifelike doll for Carla but disapproves his wife's request to have Carla's sick pet dog, Oliver, cloned. On the other hand, as a former military pilot, the high tech Adam operates a charter helicopter service with Hank (Michael Rapaport) for wealthy skiers.
Unknown to Adam and Hank, they are both cloned when they submit to apparently routine finger
printing and eyesight testing as requested by a special customer Michael Drucker (Tony Goldwyn), a genetic engineer tycoon.
His amazing technology of cloning is the brainchild of scientist Dr. Graham Weir (Robert Duvall) who works for Drucker. Through the quick eye scan, the cloners can make a "syncording" of the entire contents of the brains and download them into the clones – that is, "blanks" or "new bodies" of protoplasm. These are kept floating in nurturing fluid, ready for the total mind and body information of human plugged into them.
The movie allows and encourages cloning of pets to save children from suffering over a pet's
illness or death. However, human cloning is strictly forbidden by the "Sixth Day" law of the USA. Nevertheless, Drucker runs a sinister biotech company, an
illegal cloning empire that could have continued its very lucrative billionaire business, were it not for Adam, the "original" man with a conscience. Cloned and
displaced from his legitimate place beside his wife and daughter, Adam uses his creative survival instinct to save himself and to recover his family.
A lot of computer graphics serve to divide chasing and confrontational scenes. Adam Gibson exterminates his pursuers only to meet the clones as a second, third and even a fourth time. "Doesn't anybody stay dead anymore?" Anyway, the "invincible" god-like Drucker meets his equals when he is confronted by two Schwarzeneggers, the original and cloned Adam Gibson.
The usual dose of violence in Schwarzenegger's series of films has been toned down in "The 6th Day."
Furthermore, Arnold's communication beyond words and phrases includes straight dialogues with even a philosophical slant.
As a whole, the movie puts the fun back into going to Schwarzenegger adventures. It has a generous share of good highlighted stunts with magnificent fast track computer graphics which, however, sometimes distract. You begin to wonder why they are placed there at all and why so often.
The movie ad/poster has three striking items: the title "The 6th Day,"
the image of Schwarzenegger with queer eyeglasses on and this provocative question: "Are you who you think you are?" The first clone still believes that he/she is the original; beyond that, however, the clones know they are clones, and somehow they can share the feeling of one of Drucker's trusted clones, Talia (Sara Wynter): "Takes the fun out of living, doesn't it?" Even the cloned wife of Dr. Weir reaches a point when she just wants to be allowed to die. Would we want ourselves cloned over and over again to the extent that we will continue life on earth forever and ever? And that our own genes and not that of our offsprings, children. Grandchildren, and so on be the one perpetuated? On the sixth day according to the Creation narrative God, God created man and woman to His image and likeness. How much of God's image and likeness is found in clones.
(Date reviewed: January 8, 2001)
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