The 6th Day Review

One of Arnold Schwarzenegger’s final action epics before going into politics, The 6th Day is a fun sci-fi actioner with an attempt at a message. Its humor and lack of deep science doesn’t hammer home the moral issues of cloning, but the concepts are there if you choose to process them. Filled with solid action, energetic story, and a fancy-looking futuristic world, The 6th Day is a worthwhile romp.

Schwarzenegger plays Adam Gibson, a man inadvertently caught up in an illegal human cloning scheme that removes him from his family life. He needs to figure out why he’s been cloned, who is responsible, and how this entire mess can be fixed.

He’ll do that, of course, in a flurry of shoot-outs, car chases, and stunts. Aside from some obvious special effects mishaps, action is always intense. Explosions and sparks give these scenes a nice look, and the sets carry a futuristic style that doesn’t feel out there compared to modern day.

Any movie that begins with the XFL as the premiere football league of the future gains instant notoriety, but it doesn’t take long to recover. A strong supporting cast, including Rodney Rowland as the over-zealous head of the cloning company, help the story build towards its climax effectively.

The moral aspects are more or less hinted at. Scenes of protesters outside various buildings screaming about the cloning don’t go very far. Little touches draw the viewer into this future world, including various signs around the city or the funny virtual lawyer. The 6th Day has a sense of humor about itself which increases the entertainment value yet dampens attempts at delivering a message.

While not on the same tier as Terminator 2 or Total Recall, this is still a fine piece of summer action fare. Its ingredients are perfectly distributed to lead to no dull moments, and the intriguing (if far-fetched) premise has plenty going for it. This is an action ride worth taking. [xrr rating=4/5 label=Movie]

For a film that came out in 2000, this transfer does have its issues. Obvious use of a digital grain filter is evident due to artifacts smoothing out details. In others, the clarity and details are spectacular, and rarely is the grain an issue. Colors are strong without being over saturated, though flesh tones waver wildly between pink and orange. Black levels are nicely tuned. Some edge enhancement is noticeable early on. [xrr rating=3/5 label=Video]

A strong TrueHD mix does make up for the average video presentation. The futuristic helicopters whiz through the sound field effectively along with blasts from the laser guns. Bass could be slightly more powerful, though a nice rumbling is evident when things go boom. [xrr rating=4/5 label=Audio]

The Future is Coming kicks off the extras with a promotional featurette that runs for a little over 15 minutes. On the 6th Day is a collection of nine featurettes that run for almost 50 minutes, though there is a credit roll after each piece, significantly shortening the content. Two animatics, storyboard comparisons, the full fake TV spot for Re-Pet as seen in the movie, and some downloadable trailers if your player is capable finish off a small collection of extras. [xrr rating=2/5 label=Extras]