Plot: What’s it about?
In the near future, cloning has become a standard practice and though laws have been passed to prevent human clones, underground experiments still take place. The average man on the street has no clue however, although one such man, Adam Gibson (Arnold Schwarzenegger) is about to discover the truth. Gibson is a crack helicopter pilot and after a nearly fatal accident, he finds himself lost in a world where his place has been taken by another. When Gibson returns home, he sees that he is already inside his home with his family, but the man inside is not him, because he is still outside, looking in. Soon, Gibson is sucked into an underground world where he learns the truth, a ruthless corporation seeks to replace humans with clones, on a global scale. Of course, Gibson was the target of such a plan and when the men behind the idea discover he isn’t dead, they’ll hunt him down to finish the task. Now Gibson has to remain ahead of the assassins sent to silence him, as well as delving into the mystery behind this clone conspiracy, in order to reveal the truth to the masses. But can one man do all this and in the end, how can Gibson be sure of what’s really happened to him?
I’ve always liked the films of Arnold Schwarzenegger and although his star seems to be slipping, I’ll still head out to the theaters to see his latest pictures. He was once the prime draw of the action genre and while he is not what he used to be, Arnold still delivers the goods better than most, which is enough in my book. So when The 6th Day was released, I went to see it and while it wasn’t an explosive return to the top, it wasn’t as bad as I had heard. Maybe it is because the whole cloning concept interests me, but I found The 6th Day to be a fun ride and while it wasn’t a classic, I never expected it to be. So perhaps that’s why I wasn’t let down this movie, I wanted a good action movie and that’s what I was shown, nothing more and nothing less. I know this is no True Lies or even Commando, but come on, Arnold is still more than capable and this another good resume addition for him. But if you want the next action blockbuster, look elsewhere, as The 6th Day is just a fun action flick, with some cool sci-fi elements tossed in for good measure. This movie is well worth a rental and if you’re interested in a purchase make sure to grab this two disc special edition, as it is the version of The 6th Day you’ll want to own.
This might not be his most shining moment, but superstar Arnold Schwarzenegger still does his best to deliver in terms of action thrills. Although I do think The 6th Day is one of his weaker films, Arnold still supplies some good moments, more than you’ll find in most action flicks. I do wish this was more action oriented of course, but I suppose you have to stuff the plot and characters in there somewhere, which takes up time. Arnold is as impressive as ever, which means he handles the action sequences well, but his dialogue is ever in need to work. But since this is an action flick, I don’t think Arnold’s dialect can be cause to knock his performance. As I said, this is by no means his best effort in front of the cameras, but as Arnold goes, his turn isn’t that bad in the end. Other films with Schwarzenegger include The Running Man, End of Days, Terminator 2: Judgment Day, Total Recall, Predator, and Commando. The cast here also includes Robert Duvall (The Apostle, Days of Thunder), Wendy Crewson (What Lies Beneath, Air Force One), Michael Rooker (Mallrats, Cliffhanger), Michael Rapaport (Small Time Crooks, Higher Learning), and Sarah Wynter (Species II, Lost Souls).
Video: How does it look?
I’d never seen “The 6th Day” until its debut on Blu-ray and after going over our previous reviews of the title, it had a lot to live up to in terms of video and audio quality. This is both good and bad in that the 2.35:1 AVC HD transfer does look good, but the movie is now eight years old and we’ve progressed by leaps and bounds in terms of what’s “good” and what’s “perfect”. As it stands, “The 6th Day” does look good, with strong, bold colors and very intricate levels of detail but something about it just didn’t “pop” with me. All of the right elements are there, but we’re missing the very clear and pristine look that some of today’s newer movies have. As it stands, this movie certainly doesn’t look bad by any means, but it won’t be getting a five-star rating this go around.
Audio: How does it sound?
Sony has taken to delivering more Dolby TrueHD soundtracks and that’s never a bad thing. “The 6th Day” is an action/adventure thriller with a bit of science-fiction mixed in – the result is an amazing soundtrack that’s right up there with some of the best I’ve heard. There seems to be a depth to the tracks that really engrosses you in the film. Dialogue is very strong and natural and I was amazed at how often the surrounds not only came into play, but really added to the scenes. There’s plenty of gunfire, chases and things blowing up (as should be the case when there are not one, but two Arnold’s present) and it all sounds outstanding in this new uncompressed mix.
Supplements: What are the extras?
Owners of the previous special edition DVD of this movie won’t find much of anything new. This is one of the two inaugural titles to feature the “BD-Live” functionality (the other being “Walk Hard”) and when I tried it, it worked though there was nothing that was currently available to download, save for some movie and other Blu-ray trailers. Only time will tell if this functionality will catch on and I will say that “Walk Hard” does have three music videos available for download. There’s also a DBox function, but I’m not equipped with the technology so I can’t comment on that. The rest of the supplements are intact from the two-disc special edition with the featurettes, score and storyboard comparisons all available in standard definition.
