I sit here typing at my computer, careful to save every couple of minutes to make sure I don't lose anything in the event that my computer should freeze, or worse. After I print out my document, I'm fussy about the details. I'm unhappy about one word, so I change it, and print out the whole document again. The font is a tad too small, so I fix that and print again. It's okay, I recycle the paper, so my conscience is somewhat appeased. Sound familiar? Likely so, but only for the past couple of decades. Before that, minor errors were corrected by whiteout, and word changes meant a cut and paste job--with scissors and glue.

Arnold Schwarzenegger's new film, The 6th Day, ups the ante a little. Imagine a world where people are cloned--printed out as easily as a word document from a computer, just at a higher price. In the 6th Day, Arnie plays a man called Adam who returns home one day to find he has been replaced by himself.

The film is set in the future, but the not too distant future, as the preface warns. If they can clone a sheep, a human can't be far behind, and while it's currently illegal, scientists must be curious.

The substance of the film is nicely summarized at the outset when Arnie's dog dies. His wife insists they get it cloned so their daughter won't be distressed at losing her loyal companion. Arnie disagrees, taking the stance that death is as natural as life, an important--albeit tough--lesson for their child to learn.

Nonetheless, he goes to the pet cloning store--it's conveniently located at the mall--to check out the process. There he learns that they take a syncording of the pet--recording all its memories, so that it will indeed be the dog you knew and loved.

I found the topic of the movie and the questions it rose in my mind to be totally fascinating and worthwhile. Unfortunately the movie does not reach the same standard. Arnold is stodgy and labored in his role, and with few of the comic lines we've come to love from him. The popular lexicon will not be expanded here.

Even quality performances from Robert Duvall as the cloning doctor do little to save the film. There is plenty of action, and Sarah Wynter--who hails from my hometown of Newcastle--provides the required eye candy.

But overall the film is decidedly average.


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