Ah-nuld cloned. Scary.
It's a Brave New World where cloning is so common that people get their pets replaced. (Not only that, but it's so movie-plot efficient that it's accomplished in two hours thanks to "blanks". These are generic fetus-like dog blobs imprinted with Rover's DNA.) Then the replacement critter is imprinted with the original memories so the clone automatically knows everything the original knew. (This is movie-efficient and takes mere seconds to suck out the memories and implant them. Isn't movie science wonderful?)
It's a future where human cloning is outlawed. But we know from the movie's ads and trailers that ain't gonna be the case here.
Arnold plays a helicopter pilot. And before you can say, "Xerox", Arnold finds there's a copy which has taken over his life. Then bad guys come out of the woodwork wanting to off either Arnold--one person, then no clone.
The movie raises some very interesting moral and ethical issues. Suppose this level of cloning was possible. Would such a person have a soul? Would they count as a person or be relegated to less status--such as slaves were in the Constitution. Would a rich person be within his rights to grow clones which he would kill to harvest their organs whenever he desired? The ethical/moral/legal quagmire is endless and as the movie points out, this day will be here before we know it.
Arnold is of course a One Man Army tracking down whomever has his destroyed his life, so yeah, this role isn't a stretch.
The 6th Day does a great job of extrapolating what everyday life is like in the near future. Hi-def TV panels are ubiquitous. (I've seen hi-def plasma TV panels. The picture is unbelievable.) The panels are everywhere: embebbed in fridge doors, mirrors, you name it. Electric cars whirr on the streets. Men (of course) have superlooker virtual girlfriends, so why put up with flabby real girlfriends? Girls have dolls which (ick) have skin and grow hair. People pay for services with a thumbprint to a panel. The helmets used by the XFL's players have heads-up displays built into them.
Bad guys and gals have to have weapons. So to hell with something as reliable as plain-jane guns. They use some sort of pistol which shoots a charged beam that burns thru about anything. (Considering how often the battery on my portable drill runs low, I'd love to have the pistol's battery.)
The whiz-bang helicopter figures strongly into the plot. Unfortunately the CGI F/X are not quite there. The copters are too cartoony. Even some of the snowscapes that the copters shoot over are not terribly realistic, so someone's F/X budget got cut.
At least the movie gets credit for being tightly written. Certain elements introduced all thru the flick pay off later.
Acting is typical for an Arnold flick, nothing to write home about, nor anything to be ashamed either. Robert Duvall plays the head mad scientist. His love for his wife gives the movie an emotional depth you usually don't find in action flicks. At least Duvall is able to atone for the sin he committed in Gone in 60 Seconds with its atrocious dialogue and acting.
The 6th Day is Arnold MOR--middle of the road. It's not the worst Arnold flick, but not his best either. If you want an R-rated action flick, then the movie fills the bill.
Movie's suitability for: