By the turn of the millennium, Arnold Schwarzenegger was batting away accusations that he was a relic of a bygone era, with the action genre having moved well beyond the specific brand of musclebound heroism that had turned him into one of the biggest stars in the business in the 1980s.
The future Governor of California experienced mixed fortunes throughout the 1990s after the successes of Terminator 2: Judgement Day, True Lies, Eraser and Jingle All the Way were offset by the poor reactions to Last Action Hero, Batman & Robin and End of Days. Come 2000, Schwarzenegger was facing a battle to remain relevant, and his case wasn’t helped by The 6th Day.
The high concept sci-fi actioner finds the star as family man Adam Gibson, who returns home to discover he’s been replaced by a clone. Forced to go on the run, he needs to prove that he’s the real deal while remaining one step ahead of his enemies, all while trying to reveal the cloning conspiracy to the world.
It’s a solid premise, but The 6th Day was underwhelming to say the least. The $82 million blockbuster failed to hit $100 million at the box office, and reviews were middling across the board. However, it’s in the midst of an unexpected resurgence on Netflix having crashed right into the most-watched list, as per FlixPatrol.