December 20, 2002
The Sixth Day (2000)
[2 - OK]I had the idea that The 6th Day(2000) was a real stinker and waited for my local library to get a copy being curious to see it but not wanting to spend any money on it. I was expecting a brainless action flick with cheap one-liners, wooden acting, big explosions and no redeeming qualities. I got most of what I was expecting to get: The action is brainless, the one liners are cheap, Arnold could be replaced by a synthespian and I doubt many would notice, the explosions were needlessly large but there was also a charm and fun that made the movie rather enjoyable.
As a whole it is unlikely that I will remember this flick in a month, much less a year's time (one of the tests that differentiates flicks from movies). The plot revolves around the muggy morality of human cloning, but deals with it with a science versus god perspective that I frankly found unpalatable. The bad-guy-scientists all seem to share this 'I can create life therefore I don't need god' attitude that felt more like the paranoid workings of an ultra-conservative mind set (did anyone say Arnold) than the mind of a real human being. But the less said about the plot the better.
The real beauty in this flick (at least for me) is in the views of technology in the 'not too distant future'. Ignore the 'instant-clone with all your memories implanted through a picture taken of your eye' fiction babble that takes the science out of science-fiction and you can enjoy an amusing view of life in a few decades along with some good in jokes. The refrigerator that points out you are out of milk as the last of the carton is drained AND gives you a one-click option to order more. The self-directing car that asks with a stern voice 'are you ready to take control' before releasing autopilot. The instant virtual-lawyer that pops up as soon as the cop asks our hero a potentially incriminating question. Best of all, the virtual girlfriend who displays every trait some beer-addled frat boy dreams of (she is always horny, greets your friends with 'would you like a beer' and thinks that passing out on the living room floor is 'cute'). All the future innovations from the overt to the subtle keep the movie amusing and engaging. This may be a matter of personal taste, it is similar details more than anything else that I remember enjoying from Robocop, but for me it gave me something to smile about and enjoy.
