| Arnold
Schwarzenegger is, and has always been, a
crowd-pleaser. Let's face it. He shoots a few
thugs, blows a few buildings up, breaks a couple
of necks, and rarely fails to give the audience
good, old, unadulterated, action fun. Although
his latest film suffers from mild disappointment
and a few uninspired sequences, “The Sixth
Day” is still an exuberant and engrossing
ride. Director Roger Spottiswoode (“Tomorrow
Never Dies”) brings this futuristic action
thriller to life without attempting to fascinate
the audience with inane camera tricks and
unnecessary digital effects.
The
mayhem begins when the sixth day ordinance (the
ban on human cloning) is broken, and pilot Adam
Gibson is illegally reproduced by a corrupt
genetics company. Why they would do this is never
really discussed, but it is not really important
(c'mon, it's a sci-fi).
The
bottom line is, they screwed with the wrong man.
Destroying the evidence (his existence) proves
more difficult than they anticipated, and before
long, Adam single-handedly faces an entire legion
of henchmen bent on quickly and quietly
destroying him.
The
events that proceed are predictable and
reminiscent of past projects, but that doesn't
seem to harm the film too much. It's still fun to
watch Arnold do the things we always expect him
to do.
The
bland supporting cast includes Michael Rooker
(“Mallrats”), Robert Duvall (“A
Civil Action”) and Michael Rappaport
(“Men of Honor”).
The
PG-13 rating hindered “The Sixth Day”
from being the film it tried to be. The violence
was noticeably contained, giving the movie an
annoying censored feeling. This feeling also
tainted the dialogue in many scenes. Obviously,
this movie does not cater to the adult market
that Arnold usually connects with but is able to
divert attention from this fact by leaning
heavily on the plot.
“Terminator
2” this film is not. It's not even
“True Lies,” but it's certainly not
boring, either. Arnold fans may want to go enjoy
what may be one of his last shoot-em'-up
adventures. The fleeting era of action superstars
is rapidly coming to a close. Perhaps it's time
to jump on the bandwagon one last time and wave
goodbye to a man who gave us two great decades of
dry one-liners and fiery explosions.
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Copyright
2000: The Northern Light
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