The One (2001)

Jet Li as "Gabe/Yulaw/Lawless"
Delroy Lindo as "Roedecker"
Carla Gugino as "T.K./Massie Walsh"
Jason Statham as "Funsch"

Written by Glen Morgan and James Wong
Directed by James Wong

Jet Li is The One, a painfully obvious proclamation plastered upon the posters, the DVD case, and the special features on the disc. After all, he's here fighting himself, in what has been the filmmakers have billed as one of last year's most thrilling screen battles. I'll admit, it does look impressive, but the entire spectacle seems hollow. I attribute the lack of substance to the simple fact that Li doesn't have another opponent to act as a foil. Thanks to the magic of CGI, he's fighting himself, but these sequences lack the weight, unpredictability, and overall magic of Li's better fights.

In a plot containing about as much depth as a Sci-Fi Channel episode of "Sliders," we are once again exposed to a theoretical multiverse. Yes, on every parallel Earth, there is an alternate version of each of us. The twist here is that if a person dies, his or her power is divided among the alternates, making them stronger. This means that (a) the temptation to do one's other selves could become pretty serious and (b) this movie is ripping off "Sliders" and Highlander.

However, to prevent these possible homicides, special Multiverse Agents patrol the universes, traveling by way of forecasted black holes or some nonsense. Gabriel Yulaw (Li) was one of those agents, until he killed one of his other selves. Realizing that he would become more powerful, he went rogue and ventured through the universes, killing almost every one of his duplicates. Only one, police officer Gabe Law, remains, so Yulaw escapes capture and travels to our universe in order to become the only one of him in the multiverse. His old partner, Roedecker (Lindo) pursues him, along with hotshot Funsch (Statham), in order to prevent this from happening, lest a potential catastrophe (like the end of the Multiverse) occur.

It's an interesting setup, and the movie's brisk pace keeps it from getting to stale, but the plot can't avoid the tired mistaken identity clichés, as Gabe's fellow officers believe he has gone rogue. Thankfully, his wife believes him, which is good for us too. The relationship between Gabe and his wife T.K. (Carla Gugino) provides a believable center to the film, which makes it a little harder to watch after she is no longer on screen.

The film's biggest selling point is one of its greatest weaknesses (aside from its story), and I'm talking about the fight scenes between Jet Li and...well, Jet Li. Go rent Ultimate Fights on DVD and watch his classic battle from Fist of Legend (or better yet, rent Fist of Legend). It's easier to believe he's fighting for his life when he's confronted with another foe (even in the final fight from Black Mask, also on Ultimate Fights). A predictable story is bad enough. Taking the onscreen spontaneity out of a fight scene is just...wrong. Even if fight scenes are heavily choregraphed nonetheless, I just prefer seeing more than one person do the fighting, no matter how much wire work or computer effects are involved.

Between the disappointing story and the lack of real chemistry in this picture aside from Gugino and Li, I just can't recommend this for more than a rental. It isn't horrible, or even that bad, but it didn't really work that well for me. I guess it's worth seeing once, since Li is a decent actor when he isn't busting his own head in. But if you want a really thrilling Jet Li picture, go rent Fist of Legend, Once Upon a Time in China, or even Kiss of the Dragon. Those are much better showcases for the incredible Jet Li.

7.16.02