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Columbia TriStar Home Video presentsThe 6th Day: SE
(2000)
"I'm not going to have some freak of science sleep in my daughter's bed."- Adam (Arnold Schwarzenegger)
Stars: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Michael Rapaport, Tony Goldwyn
Other Stars: Michael Rooker, Sarah Wynter, Robert Duvall
Director: Roger Spottiswoode
MPAA Rating: PG-13 for strong action violence, brief strong language and some sensuality
Run Time: 02h:03m:25s
Release Date: 2002-01-22
Genre: sci-fi
Style Grade |
Substance Grade | Image Transfer Grade | Audio Transfer Grade |
Extras Grade |
---|---|---|---|---|
A- | B+ | B+ | A- | A- |
DVD Review
There's nothing like a good ol' Arnold Schwarzenegger action film. If the guy's not taking an unwanted stab at comedy (the questionable Twins, Junior or Jingle All The Way), it's a pretty safe bet that said film will feature a fair amount of spectacular set pieces, a few nifty villains, and enough quotable taglines to make for a decent way to spend a couple of hours. Action-friendy director Roger Spottiswoode (Tomorrow Never Dies) does not disappoint with this one, and though it takes a little bit too long to reach it's predictable finale, it is pure testosterone-fueled Ahnuld. Two Ahnulds, actually .Set in the near future ("sooner than you think" according to the opening credit sequence), the world has made major advancements in the science of cloning. Human cloning is technologically feasible and possible, but world outrage has decreed the passage of the biblically-titled "6th Day" law, which has put a criminal ban on the practice. Ahnuld is Adam (get it?) Gibson, a self-professed "old school" kind of guy who runs a whisper-jet (think CG helicopter and jet combo) charter service with his buddy Hank (Michael Rapaport). Adam is sort of a neo-Luddite, and he is dead-set against many of the sophisticated advances that the future holds, such as the clever RePet service, which allows the cloning of a dead family pet. A scheduled charter with ultra-powerful, but mysterious, multi-billionaire Michael Drucker (Tony Goldwyn) is the necessary start to a chain of events that eventually ends up with Adam coming face to face with his very own clone (shades of Total Recall!) upon arrival back home. A trio of menacingly nasty killers, led by Marshall (Michael Rooker), do their best to try and eliminate the real Adam before he can expose the clandestine conspiracy of underground human cloning that has far-reaching implications. Raise your hand if you think Ahnuld is hard to kill? In a nutshell, Ahnuld and his clone kick some major bad guy butt along the way. Being set in the near future, The 6th Day can conveniently interject futuristic hi-tech conveniences into the fabric of what looks like everyday life, and the impressive visual effects here make these accoutrements look not only natural, but thematically believable. Either that or I'm just a sap for good looking sci-fi films. Anhuld's whisper-craft is a hip mutation that finds its way into a couple of pivotal actions sequences (natch!). Guns don't fire bullets, but instead emit some type of cool blue laser; that does make gun battles a little more visually interesting. Don't forget the abundance of the requisite flat-panel computer monitors, auto-pilots for cars and sexy holographic images (I want a Virtual Girlfriend NOW!), which give the world of The 6th Day the necessary futuristic feel without going too far into the tacky jumpsuited realm of Logan's Run. Things like the aforementioned RePet (check out the eerie infomercial and TV spot included as extras on disc 2), or the Sim Pal Cindy, which is a damn creepy animatronic doll that grows real hair and talks, are the type of little inventive details that make this big, bloated thriller just that much more fun.I imagine you might even be able to sift through the wonderfully mind-numbing explosions and chases to wrestle with some of the, at times heavy-handed, cloning questions raised in the screenplay from Cormac and Marianne Wibberly. But what's the point in that? This is a noisy good time, and why wreck it with too much thinking? Did I mention I want a Virtual Girlfriend NOW?Rating for Style: A-
Rating for Substance: B+
Image Transfer
One | |
---|---|
Aspect Ratio | 2.35:1 - Widescreen |
Original Aspect Ratio | yes |
Anamorphic | yes |
Image Transfer Review: As with the 2001 single disc release, this 2-disc set features a 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen transfer. Colors are bright and vivid, and as with a lot of sci-fi themed films, there is a preponderance of ethereal blue light, especially in the cloning lab, that looks unusually sharp. I noticed some ringing in spots, but nothing too drastic. Fleshtones look natural, and black levels are dead on, and provide detailed contrast. The source print appears to be pristine, as there were really no noticeable blemishes.
Image Transfer Grade: B+
Audio Transfer
Language | Remote Access | |
---|---|---|
DS 2.0 | French, Spanish, Portuguese | yes |
Dolby Digital 5.1 | English | yes |
Audio Transfer Review: A big, noisy movie needs an equally big, noisy audio transfer, and the 5.1 mix provided here is more than adequate. Making full use of all available channels, especially the rears, with a blend of helicopters, gunfire, squealing tires and Trevor Rabin's techno score. Excellent directional imaging spread across the fronts really makes for an engaging sound field. Dialogue is crisp and well-mixed.2.0 surround tracks in French, Spanish and Portuguese are also provided.Thumbs up to Columbia TriStar.
Audio Transfer Grade: A-
Disc Extras
Animated menu with musicScene Access with 28 cues and remote access
Subtitles/Captions in English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Chinese, Korean, Thai with remote access
Cast and Crew Filmographies
1 Original Trailer(s)
3 Other Trailer(s) featuring Spiderman, The One, Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within
Production Notes
Isolated Music Score with remote access
1 Documentaries
Storyboard
1 Feature/Episode commentary by Trevor Rabin
Packaging: Amaray Double
Picture Disc
2 Discs
1-Sided disc(s)
Layers: dual
Extra Extras:
- RePet Infomercial and TV Spot
Extras Grade: A-
Final Comments
This flick got panned during its theatrical run, and that may have been a bit harsh. All the major components are here for mindless escapism. Its got Ahnuld. It's in the future. Its got lots and lots of action and cool effects. So what if it's a little long?Recommended.Rich Rosell 2002-01-22