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- "The 6th Day"
(Reviewed November 5, 2000)
- Arnold Schwarzenegger always fails miserably when he tries playing a "normal guy" (as opposed to a comic-book-type hero, a robot or an out-and-out cartoon). This movie is no
exception. As a charter pilot caught up in a cloning conspiracy, he has several scenes that call upon him to actually, gulp, act in "The 6th Day." Trust me, you have not seen awful until you have
witnessed the big A trying to assay the role of an average, middle-class family man (who just happens to have biceps as big around as his head). In a scene toward the end of this film that is supposed to be
sentimental and moving, a LARGE segment of the audience laughed derisively. It's that bad.
There are plenty of loud, flashy, stuff-blowing-up action scenes, but nobody involved in this fiasco seems to have his heart in the proceedings. It's just another by-the-numbers exercise, one that
drags on and on and on long after it should end. And if you can't guess the moronic "surprise" ending, welcome to this planet, stranger, and don't take any wooden nickels. (Actually, in a way it was a
surprise
-- I was flat-out amazed that the writer was crazy enough to think he could get away with using it!)
This movie is not only pointless but stupid, which is really a crying damned shame. A really decent SF movie could have been made using the same sort of subject matter, if a little intelligence had
been employed. Imagine a Philip K. Dick-type treatment of this topic, with urban paranoia and oppressive urban atmosphere and believable characters having philosophical dilemmas about identity and
humanity and the soul. Oh, wait a minute, they already made that movie and called it "Blade Runner." Okay, replicants aren't clones, but close enough.
I can't say this about many movies, but there is absolutely nothing in this film that I liked. Usually there is some hot actress, or SOMETHING. But in this one...oh, wait a minute. There's a sexy
blond "virtual girlfriend" who pops up in one scene, looking like Kylie Minogue on a really good day. Gosh, I guess nothing is entirely bad, after all.
Back Row Grade: F (even with the virtual girlfriend)
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