By Larry Hodges
James Wong’s (of "Final Destination" fame) new film, "The One", has great action scenes, flashy special effects and an awesome soundtrack. It seems like Sony was very generous with the budget for the film’s media, but cut corners on the script. If you’re a poor man, "The One" is your "Matrix." It delivers "high octane sequences" and "cuts right to the chase."
"The One," which is reminiscent of the Fox television show, "Sliders," stars martial arts extraordinairJet Li as Gabriel, the hero, and Jet Li, martial arts extraordinaire, as Yulaw, the villain. The two characters are the same identitity hailing from parallel worlds. The opening scenes take place in an alternate world (of which there are 125 in this movie) in which Al Gore is president. Yulaw goes from universe to universe killing his other identities. With each alternate self Yulaw kills, he and Gabriel get stronger, smarter and faster. Yulaw finally kills number 123 and Gabriel is last on the list. Chasing Yulaw on his homicidal missions are inter-universal detectives played by Delroy Lindo and Jason Statham. Yulaw is on a mission to kill his other selves in these parallel worlds because once he kills them all, he believes he will be a God. The inter-universal police believe the balance in the universe could be destroyed if he succeeds in killing all his alternate selves. Yulaw is finally caught by the detectives but escapes his sentence to life in a hell-like universe. He finally gets to Gabriel’s universe and once he meets Gabriel, the film turns into a battle between good and evil. The climax of the film is the final fight scene between the two characters.
James Wong uses smooth, first-rate special effects to have Jet Li fight the worthiest of all opponents from any of his other movies — himself. Never before have I seen a fight scene between two characters played by the same actor choreographed so well. At times, they are both intense and refreshingly simple.
Jet Li’s performance in "The One" is one of his best. It contains more special effects than most of his movies, which adds to the film’s appeal. The video game-like action sequences only enhance Li’s lightning quick action. His acting performance is excellent as he emphasizes the contrasts between the two individuals very well. As he had done in his last film, "Kiss of the Dragon," Li has shown that he has depth as an actor. The film seems like it was scripted almost entirely for him because it seems like the rest of the characters didn’t have much to do as actors.
"The One" blends science fiction and action/adventure, but the concept of transporting characters from one parallel universe to another could have been taken a step further. Instead, "The One" seems more like a popcorn movie and vehicle for Jet Li. Even though the conclusion of the movie suggests a possible sequel, we don’t need another one.