The One (2001)

Very very predictable, including the post credit scene !!!

Bad Acting and worse Bad Screenplay

This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

Very good movie overall, highly recommended. Most of the negative reviews don't have any merit and are all pollitically based. Give this movie a chance at least, and it might give you a different perspective.

Apparently there isn't just one universe; there are multiple parallel universes and it is possible to travel between them, although this movement is heavily policed. The agency responsible for the policing is the Multiverse Authority. Gabriel Yulaw was one of the agency's officers but after he killed another version of himself in another universe he realised he got stronger and smarter… he then went rogue and started hunting all other versions of himself. Now there is only one left; Gabe Law of the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department. Since Yulaw began killing his doubles Law has also started feeling stronger and smarter; he also senses when Yulaw is around. Yulaw isn't bothered who he kills so Law's colleagues think he has gone rogue. The only people who believe that there is a double are Law's wife and Funsch and Rodecker, two Multiverse Authority cops who have been pursuing Yulaw for some time.This is hardly a classic film but it is a fun enough was to pass the time and like sci-fi/martial arts. As others have mentioned the plot feels like a cross between 'Highlander' and 'Time Cop'; this isn't really a problem though as it is done effectively. The action is pretty impressive; the final confrontation between Law and Yulaw where we see Jet Li fighting himself was particularly well done… it really did look like there were two versions of Jet Li fighting. There are also shootouts and explosions. The only weakness in the action is when Jet Li's characters display their superior strength; sometimes the effects used don't look as real as they might… although the sight of Yulaw picking up two motorbikes and battering a cop between them was so silly it was funny! Jet Li is pretty good in the lead role and is ably supported by Carla Gugino as his wife, Jason Statham as Funsch and Delroy Lindo as Rodecker. Overall this is fun sci-fi action; not a must see film but worth checking out if you are a fan of Jet Li or Jason Statham.

The One is about the 'multiverse.' For anyone not up on modern sci-fi, that's the premise that there are countless different universes, all running parallel to our own. Here we see Jet Li, travelling from one universe to the next, killing the other versions of himself until there is only one left. The One, to be precise.However, he comes up against some resistance in the form of his 'last self' (also played by Jet Li), plus the ever reliable hardman, Jason Statham, as a multiverse FBI agent.The One came out between the Matrix 1 and 2 and many people said, why wait for the Matrix's sequel, just watch The One. I can see where they're coming from. The two films are certainly in the same genre, mixing science-fiction with slow-motion martial arts fight scenes.Personally, I don't think it's as good as the (first) Matrix and it may not have quite the budget of the sequels, but it's definitely worth a look for those sci-fi/martial arts fans.I'm not sure whether women would be The One's target audience, it may be more for the boys to cheer on as hapless extras are punched and kicked in all manner of unrealistic directions to the sound of pumping rock anthems.

The basic premise of The One is actually pretty elaborate and could have been spun out in numerous different ways.Most of them probably would have resulted in better films than this.In short there are apparently numerous parallel universes running simultaneously, in each of these exists another version of you. Each time one of these variants dies that person's essence, vitality, strength and abilities is immediately absorbed into the remaining 'yous'.It turns out that a man named U-Law (Jet Li) has discovered this and has set about destroying all other versions of himself 'Highlander' style until there can be only (the titular) One.There are a grand total of 125 U-Law variations.He has killed 123… Only Gabe Law (also Jet Li) remains.Now apparently this mustn't be the first time someone came up with this fiendish theory of Law domination, as inter-dimensional travel is strictly policed, and a team of agents has been tailing the ever-stronger U-Law for some time, lead by the duo of Jason Statham and Delroy Lindo.Once it is evident that only one remaining Law stands in between U-Law and his domination they decide to short cut the procedure and head straight to his dimension – to cut U-Law off at the pass – so to speak.Gabe Law is actually different in all ways from U-Law, he is in fact not that naughty at all, but a cop, happily married to his loving wife TK. He also is struggling to come to come up with reasons as to why he feels about 61.5 X stronger lately… Gabe understandably takes the news that he is being hunted by himself from another reality with the proverbial pinch of salt, until U-Law shows up and starts blazing away.Now with the two remaining Law variants having approximately 50% of the strength of 123 guys each, The One has every excuse for indulging in some over the top action sequences, and it has these in spades. Unfortunately it is also lumbered with some bad angst ridden neu-metal (disclosure: some of which I liked), wire work galore in the often terrible fight sequences, and some lamentably dated 90s CGI.Delroy Lindo does his best to remain interested and Statham's performance is most notable for an awful US accent (which perhaps explains why in every subsequent film he has essentially played each character as himself), and Jet tries as hard as he can to make it easy to differentiate the two 'Laws' from each other, but it's fair to say he mostly fails because he in real life I am positive that Jet Li is simply a nice guy – he just doesn't do 'surly' well at all. It is also a huge (and repeated) failing by the US filmmakers to ignore Li's natural abilities and athleticism in favour of obvious wire-work and el-cheapo computer assisted enhancements.Final Rating – 5.5 / 10. The One should have been so much better, there is a solid film in this premise which probably exists in a parallel universe somewhere, but alas in ours this variant is teen-friendly wannabe tough mindless pap.By the way if you can bear it the best line in the film is actually the last, though it is hilarious in a way that likely differs from the intent of the filmmakers.

This zippy little action pic doesn't do anything exceptional, but it is fast and fun with a number of entertaining fight sequences. And I always like Jet Li. The premise is also pretty cool, although I think any scientist would say that it makes utterly no sense.Not making sense is actually a bit of a theme in this movie. It moves so fast that I really didn't have time to be bothered by much of that, but certainly the holes are easy to spot.For me the most annoying thing was that the authorities were off on the number of victims of the main bad guy, probably by several hundred people, because they ignore all collateral damage. It's just weird that no one making the movie thought that through.All the same, I enjoyed it.