25 year old globe trotting, movie watching gadget freak! Been travelling about so much but at last, ...
25 year old globe trotting, movie watching gadget freak! Been travelling about so much but at last, now have some time to start reviewing and reading other reviews.
Member since:10.11.2002
Reviews:30
Members who trust:4
I am a big fan of martial arts movies and have a collection of over a hundred movies, with the majority of them being classical Hong Kong cinema titles. In my mind, there are only a handful of modern martial arts movies that can stand-up to the classical ones and a very small percentage of them are from Hollywood. 'The One' is a movie that comes nowhere near the good martial art movies!
'The One' stars Jet Li, Delroy Lindo, Carla Gugino and Jason Statham. Now Jet Li is well known in the martial arts world for being a great fighter and actor, having competed in tournaments and starring in some of Hong Kong cinemas best pictures.
Classic martial arts movies were all about honour and respect. Unfortunately, these qualities aren't Hollywood material. Movies such as 'The Matrix' and 'Rush Hour' are bringing CGI (Computer Graphics Industry) and comedy into this genre. I'm not saying this is a bad thing either, as long as it doesn't play down the skillfull martial arts or acting abilities of the characters.
Jet Li is a great martial artist and has played historical figures and legends in his Hong Kong movies by combining his deadly skill and excellent acting abilities. 'The One' is a movie that tries to combine martial arts with a bucket load of CGI. So, what is it about?
The movie is set in the future and Jet Li plays a twin role in this movie as evil Yulaw and goodie Gabe. Yulaw is a law enforcement agent, who after killing another version of himself accidentally in a parrallel universe, notices that he is stronger than before. The theory goes that as he kills other versions of himself, the power of the dead transfers and distributes amongst the survivors.
So Yulaw is tempted by this and starts to travel through the parrallel universes, killing 'himself' and getting stronger, with the aim of becoming 'the one'. Two agents are constantly in pursuit and chase him through the multiverse (which is a collective word for ALL the universes!) trying to catch him. However, on arriving in a particular universe, Yulaw meets his match in Gabe. Gabe has started to realise that he is getting stronger also (as the power is divided) and when confronted by Yulaw, proves more difficult to kill.
Thus begins a chase between Yulaw and Gabe, with the two agents trying to put a stop to all of this, and Gabe's girlfriend trying to work out what's going on, which the audience also is beginning to do by now!
The martial arts sequences are very well choreographed and watching two Jet Li's battle it out looks pretty realistic. The effects in the movie are excellent but are used in very silly ways. For example, Yulaw fighting policemen by swinging giant Harley Davidson bikes around by the handle-bars is laughable. The dialogue is very weak with some extra cheesy lines put in for good measure.
The acting is also below standard, with only Jet Li's portrayal of Yulaw and Gabe and Delroy Lindo as one of the agents being the highlights. When compared to earlier Jet Li movies, and I don't mean the Hollywood ones, 'The One' is well below par. For fans of the genre who are used to Li's older movies, watching this movie will make you cringe! Maybe he should take Jackie Chan's example and add over a hundred movies to his CV before attempting the western market.
It's probably worth renting this one and not purchasing it. You'll watch it once, appreciate the extreme Matrix-style martial arts and special effects, and forget about it. You'll laugh in places where you aren't supposed to and won't bother rewinding in places to find out what was just said in the dialogue! This is not 'The One' for Jet Li!
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
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I think your opinion is valid, but maybe a little extreme - I might be tempted to give another star, if just for the Hsing I vs Ba Gua fighting styles!! But the film certainly could have been better - I got it for cheap, and am glad I didn't pay 20 quid for it :)
MissOpinion 26.11.2003 11:42
OH MY GOD i could bearly get through the first half hour!!
MostDef 30.10.2003 13:08
I felt that the op you wrote had some very valid points, was concise and well written. I have seen the one, and quite enjoyed the movie itself, to me it said a cross between the matrix, highlander and double team!
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![The One [DVD] [2002]](http://picnicb.ciao.com/uk/78534567.jpg "The One [DVD] [2002]")
Dec 18th, 2002
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