The One

Starring: Jet Li, Delroy Lindo, Jason Statham, Carla Gugino
Directed by: James Wong
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Action, Science Fiction, Thriller
2001

Times Seen:
Tim: 2


Summary: A murderer (Jet Li) travels between multiple universes, murdering the different incarnations of himself. Each time he kills one of his parallel universe selves, the energy of that person is split between the remaining ones. Now, only one (Jet Li) remains between him and possibly becoming like a god. Only two Multiverse Agents (Delroy Lindo, Jason Statham) stand in his way.

Review:

Tim: I want to first stress that it is entirely possible that there are multiple universes out there. The basic idea of this movie is not as implausible as it sounds. I love the premise of this movie- that by killing the other "you" in a different universe, you would absorb some of his power. I think that is a crazy cool science fiction idea, and I love that there is a movie about it. I find no fault in the difficult-to-grasp plot. The fault with this movie is that it fumbles the execution. I love the idea of this movie, the film itself is less than I expected.

I like the concept of Jet Li fighting Jet Li. Li is such a talented martial artist, that it sounds to me like a brilliant idea to have him fight himself. The problem here is that Li is not exactly a great English speaking actor. I had a hard time buying or enjoying his performance. Any time he has his mouth open and is speaking, this hurts the movie. Luckily, the scenes when he's not talking, but fighting- those are amazing. I love the special effects as Li jumps, flips, kicks, and fights in jaw-dropping fashion. This movie would have been better with a bigger special effects budget. As is, there are still a few pretty impressive scenes.

Besides Li's good-and-bad performance, the supporting cast is mostly good. I like Delroy Lindo and Jason Statham as the two multiverse agents. They aren't spectacular because they don't really have a great deal to do, but I enjoy both men and their roles in this film. Carla Gugino is pretty good as well. It is completely unbelievable to think her character and Jet Li's character would be in a serious relationship. They have next to no chemistry together and represent one of the biggest weaknesses of the film. I place the fault more with Li than with Gugino. Still, she is a welcome addition to the cast.

The biggest problem with this movie is that it should have been an effects-boosted, giant action movie that simply blows our minds. However, it is far too small of a movie. The story seems to be bursting out of the movie, because it's simply too small to contain it. Li is both a strength and a weakness. I wish the movie had a much bigger budget and more attention put into the special effects. The biggest problem with this movie is that it feels like it borrow heavily and is inspired by The Matrix. The problem is that that movie is so superior to this movie in every single way that it hurts this film in comparison. I enjoyed The One to an expect, but more than anything else, I lament what this movie could have been.



Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 6.5



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: The Matrix, The Forbidden Kingdom, The Transporter, Cradle 2 the Grave