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The One takes us into parallel universes,
where hundreds of versions of people exist in each universe. An elite
crime unit exists in one of these universes, and this unit monitors the
travel and activity between each universe to ensure they continue to
exist. One member of this elite unit, Yulaw (Jet Li), realizes that when
he kills the copy of himself that exists in each of these parallel
universes, he takes on their powers to the point where he becomes
supernatural. Yulaw goes on a killing spree and 123 murders (of himself)
later, he comes to the final copy of himself, Gabriel (also Jet Li).
Yulaw is determined to kill Gabriel so that he can become "The
One". However, Gabriel has taken on the same superhuman powers as
Yulaw along the way and, although he has very little understanding of
his skills or where they came from, they lead to the ultimate battle of
good vs. evil.
The One is a pretty mindless movie. There is nothing in this movie
except special effects and action. And probably the best thing about the
movie is the fact that it does not pretend to be anything more. However,
it does so to the point where there really is nothing at all to the
movie. There is no comedy, no emotion, no story - just pure and utter
violence. Mind you, some of the fighting sequences are simply
outstanding. But the lack of anything else except violence really takes
away from the movie.
There were some good actors in this movie - Delroy Lindo and Jason
Statham (Snatch) are the two that come to mind. They could have been
used to add some comedy or more of a story or some kind of emotion.
Instead, they are almost unnoticeable in the entire movie. It got to the
point where important characters in the movie were dying in scenes that
could have been a bit more emotional, but I really doubt there was one
person in the entire audience who really cared what was happening.
Then there is Jet Li. This guy could quite possibly be the best villain
to come to the big screen in the last ten years. Those emotionless, dark
eyes and that blank stare are intimidating to say the least. I first
became intrigued with Li when I saw him a few years ago in Lethal Weapon
4. He, and only he, made that movie worth watching a second time. He was
so bad, I almost jumped out of my seat and cheered when he died at the
end of that movie. Unfortunately, in The One, I got to see some of his
acting ability (or lack thereof). It was not pretty. His fighting scenes
are great to watch. But almost all of his other scenes made me want to
make like Bruce Lee - you know, reach in and rip my own heart out.
In the end, I will say this about The One - check your brain at the door
if you go see this movie. There is not much to it. I fear that somewhere
along the line the director must have felt the same way, because some of
the things you see will leave you shaking your head - moments when it is
night time during the movie and thirty seconds later there is complete
daylight; moments when you do not know who the hell is the good Jet Li
and who the hell is the evil Jet Li; moments when the actors are talking
and you have absolutely no clue what the hell they are talking about.
And there is the oh-so-obvious product placement in this movie. However,
if you want to see a little bit of The Matrix, a little bit of
Highlander, a lot of violence and martial arts and absolutely no
substance, go see The One. You will most definitely enjoy yourself.
  
- 6.5/10
Brendan Cullin - Senior
Editor
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