The 6th Day (2000)

(In theaters, November 2000) The nineties have been a rough decade for superstar Arnold Schwarzenegger. Not only has no one learned how to spell his last name right, but he’s gone from career highs (1990’s Total Recall, 1994’s True Lies and most famously 1991’s Terminator 2) to mega-bombs (1993’s underrated The Last Action Hero), pathetic comedies (from Kindergarten Cop to Jingle All The Way) and severely average action pictures (Eraser and End Of Days). The 6th Day isn’t much of an improvement over most of his 90s output, but at least it’s better than End Of Days. Here, we get two Arnolds for the price of one, as we delve in an ambitious future marked by cloning. It’s not all that successful, but it works rather well, isn’t as completely routine as you’d think it would be and provides one or two good concepts. The actions scenes are okay, though they seem almost dated. (Note to screenwriters: To be clever, hip and postmodern, it’s not enough to have a character say to another “Cool, a car chase!”) Faint praise, but not every film has to be exceptional. A decent enough choice, provided you haven’t seen Total Recall enough times already.