John Chard
6.5/10Apr 12, 2014
If you really believe that then you should clone yourself while you're still alive. Vilified when it was released, one of the small handful of films that came at the end of Arnold Schwarzenegger's film career before he went into politics, The 6th Day, it was argued, was a good cause for Arnold to retire from film. Yet viewing it now on its own chaotic sci-fi terms, it's a surprisingly brisk and enjoyable picture. Directed by Roger Spottiswoode, it's a futuristic collage of outrageous set-pieces and thought provoking thematics. Plot has Arnie as an ex-fighter pilot who discovers he has been illegally cloned, and thus he embarks on a mission of carnage and high paced machismo in a bid to get his identity back whilst exposing the evil corporation at the core of such nastiness. So, two Arnie's for the price of one then! It's not a plot that would hold up under close scrutiny, but then is that what we go into a Arnold Schwarzenegger action movie for? Quite. With some nifty surprises, kinetic action and an ending of some considerable chilling substance, The 6th Day is classic popcorn munching fodder. No it's not in the top tier of Arnie movies, and no it's hardly shaking the foundations of sci-fi cinema, but sometimes comfort food sci-fi has its own rewards for an undemanding occasion. 6.5/10
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