It seems that Arnold Schwarzenegger has become a caricature of himself. Which is certainly the case with his new film The Sixth Day--a futuristic thriller with obvious shades of his own Total Recall and Eraser. Of course, these things aside, you gotta love the big guy, and this is a pleasant return to form following the ludicrous Batman and Robin and the dismal End of Days.

The title makes reference to the bible (on the sixth day God created man) as cloning becomes a reality in the near future. Of course, the cloning of a human being is strictly prohibited, a law that a smarmy villain (Ghost's Tony Goldwyn) and his group of scientists (headed by veteran Robert Duvall) completely ignore. They mess with the wrong guy in the form of Schwarzenegger, a helicopter pilot who's life is plunged into utter chaos when he returns home from work one day to find a clone in his shoes.

Roger Spottiswood (Tomorrow Never Dies, Shoot to Kill) directs The Sixth Day in a lighthearted manner, leaving much of the violence on the cutting room floor, which, at many times, kind of hurts the film. As in many of his pictures, Schwarzenegger makes plenty of jokes, mostly in regards to his past movies. The Sixth Day also has a satirical edge running throughout, bringing to mind Paul Verohoeven's Robocop and Starship Troopers.

Thankfully, The Sixth Day is never really dull, just painfully familiar. The action moves along at a brisk pace, although some of the sequences don't flow the way they should. Duvall adds a big dose of humanity that we're not really accustomed to seeing in a routine action picture.

Schwarzenegger remains a charismatic showman on camera. When he's kicking someone's ass, your right there rooting for him. Still, I find myself yearning for the big, epic, in your face action pictures he used to make. Hell, even another comedy would be nice. Instead, we get recycled action. That's a shame, because somewhere in this calculated actioneer was some true potential. Instead, we see exactly what's coming, leading to an ending that is unsatisfying. Like the sporadically entertaining Multiplicity, The Sixth Day chooses to play it safe with this compelling subject matter.

The Sixth Day is pleasant, but hardly The Terminator experience your probably hoping for. And although Schwarzenegger has rebounded slightly from a couple of big duds, I'd like to see him do something far more grand. The rumor mill suggests that he will start shooting Terminator 3 sometime next year, minus director James Cameron. It's a bit to early to speculate, but that doesn't sound too promising. On the other hand, when a sequel to Alien was announced, minus Ridley Scott, many fans were furious. So you just never can tell. Until his next project, The Sixth Day will have to tide Schwarzenegger fans over.