The One

Jet Li has been able to come out with some good action movies like "Romeo Must Die", and "Kiss of the Dragon", but there is no doubt this has been his best movie so far. I absolutely love the plot for this movie. It's sci-fi, it's action, and above all it's pretty original. Jet Li is the best martial artist in the world. The actual fight scenes in Kiss of the Dragon may have been better, due to the fact little to no CGI's were used, but The One is a much better movie overall. What makes this movie work even more is the great selection of music. How can it get better than seeing Jet Li kick the not out of people while Drowning Pool's "Let the Bodies Hit the Floor" is playing in the background? Other artists in the movie include Disturbed, and Papa Roach so you can get a pretty good idea of what the fight scenes are like. This isn't a best picture, though I'm surprised it wasn't nominated for effects. But in an overall enjoyment grade, I'd say this was one of my five favorite movies of 2001.

After watching most of the recent action movies, I left the theatre with a headache brought on by incredibly tight/shaky shots and edits so fast that any hope of seeing anything is lost. This movie takes a step back from that. It isn't entirely devoid of those annoyances, but is much better than most. In fact, at times, you can even see a whole string of punches and blocks without a cut or a shake! Of course there is the inevitable wire work, that combined with the necessary special effects to allow Jet Li to fight himself. But for once there is an excuse other than "because we can".

The story is pretty simple. A murdering criminal is killing all the copies of himself in all the other "universes". Each time one dies the life force/resonant string thing, gets divided amoungst the survivors. Of course this leaves a ton of questions that aren't addressed at all in the movie, but I can live with that since those are more topics for debate after having fun at the movie. That is one of the strengths of the movie, the progressively more intense action. As the movie progress, rather than trying to deal with any question the viewer might have, the pace and intensity of the movie goes up. The final action sequence is probably ten minutes long all told, which, to me, is a sign of a true action movie, as opposed to movies with action.

Overall I give it a 8/10 for fans of the genre. If you aren't particularly interested in sci-fi/martial arts, especially if you have a problem with wire work and blue-screens, then you might want to skip it.

Jet Li and Jet Li star in this goofy sci-fi flick about a power-hungry sociopath Yulaw (Jet Li) who goes dimension-hopping on a killing spree focused on his alternate universe counterparts. As Yulaw finally comes to what I must assume is our universe to kill the last remaining version of himself - Gabriel Law - both his and his counterpart's strength, intelligence and agility have been increased to superhuman levels by the deaths (quickenings?) of previous counterparts. Predictably, the pace is furious and deadly. Many people are caught up in the violence of the ensuing battle, and , of course, since the honest, hard-working and altogether decent Gabe Law appears to be responsible for all of it, he becomes a wanted fugitive. Besides being pursued by this earth's police, both men are also sought by an inter-dimensional police force seeking to imprison Yulaw on a far-off prison planet.

Gabe Law is a likable character who works as a prison guard and has a loving wife. The few minutes of character development permitted by the furious pace of this film are what makes it work. And although the plot seems a bit like a pastiche of recent sci-fi clichés, at least the combination of clichés assembled for The One is original.

Recommended for sci-fi action and martial arts fans.

If you like action sci-fi movies, you will enjoy this 'One'. It's very well filmed, though the effects are not too original - mostly going on the path open by 'Matrix'. It has a well written script, with some logic for a change. It is not too long, so that it does not get boring. It's simple, and does not pretend to take us into any psychological or philosophical track.

Of course, if you do not like the genre, all the above will be minuses, and you should avoid the movie. I can stand one of these, from time to time. 7/10 on my personal scale.

Hey! Why'd this film get such a low rating?

I hope it's not due to the drama / arty types. I swear they walk into an Arnold Schwartzenegger film and start critiquing the dialogue or the deep cinematic reflections on life. I think they may have formed a false expectation. Action movies don't aim for that stuff, so it's a little unfair to then expect it.

Mostly stuff blows up in "The One", and I'm totally OK with that, being an action movie buff. What's weird is that you know they're using lots of wires and some of the stunts are a little overdone. But forget the fictional character's skill -- just the skill you'd need as a stuntman or stuntwoman making this movie to perform some of these stunts is truly impressive!

Let me warn you that the plot is a pretty stupid, and while billed as a science fiction film it really is not. However, it's nowhere near as bad as sub-intelligent flicks "Independence Day" and "Mission Impossible". It was more like "Mission Impossible 2". And lots and lots of stuff blows up.

Compared to Jackie Chan, Jet Li's films have more action, but it's stunt-like rather than natural, more of an "edge" (including blood and gore), less comedy, and he speak better English. I still prefer Jackie. If you're new to martial arts films, ease yourself in with accessible Jackie Chan action/comedies "Shanghai Noon" or "Twin Dragons".

Who should see this film:

-- action movie buffs and borderline action movie types

who will trade over-violence for under-plotting.

And don't drag along your SO.

-- sci-fi movie buffs who don't form expectations of real sci-fi

and like action flicks

-- I can't think of anyone else.

I'll give "The One" an 8 out of 10.