Submitted by Zane W. Olesen 
(Dec 12, 2002)The One
The One What?
In Jet Li’s latest “The One” we yet again are exposed to the ever so popular use of “The Matrix” like fighting scenes. I have said in the past that I rarely find this entertaining, as it is an over-used ornamental device that is used out of legitimate plot context.
“The One” uses some ideas I have read in books by the eccentric science-fiction/fantasy author Michael Moorcock. Moorcock made use of the concept of multiple alternate universes called the Multiverse. In each of those universes is a version of you. The Moorcockian Multiverse made use of “The Eternal Champion” as his main character.
So in the beginning of “The One” a narrator explains this concept of a Multiverse and the multiple versions of everyone.
We then are shown a prison scene where a man is condemned to a form of banishment. The condemned man is Jet Li. During his escort they are attacked. The well-equipped prison guards are attacked by a hidden formidable foe. Shortly we see another Jet Li. This new Jet Li kills the prisoner Li.
We find out that there are 124 universes and therefore 124 versions of our selves. This evil Li, Lawless, has discovered that each time he kills a version of himself in another universe he gets stronger, smarter, smellier (kidding on that last-well sort of).
How he discovered this amazing thing is revealed later in this crazy excuse for a movie.
The next characters are Roedecker (Delroy Lindo) and Evan Funsch (Jason Statham). Roedecker and Evan are enforcement officers in an agency that regulates the unauthorized travel between universes. They have been chasing Lawless around for a while.
Lawless has killed 122 versions of himself and so there’s just one left to kill before he attains what he perceives as a god like state of being. Whatever!
So the last remaining Li dude is a deputy sheriff named Gabe. Gabe has noticed that he has inexplicably become stronger, smarter, stinkier (just kidding-sort of).
What Lawless is just now realizing is that the strength from all the other versions of himself he has killed is actually divided up amongst the remaining living ones.
Yeah okay it makes perfect sense if you don’t think about it.
During a prisoner transport detail that Gabe is on, Lawless shows up and begins kicking the crap out of everyone in an attempt to kill Gabe. Gabe gets sight of Lawless and starts to wonder about his sanity.
Gabe is injured and taken to the hospital afterwards where Lawless again shows up and wreaks havoc and mayhem, in which Gabe’s police buddies think Gabe has gone off the deep end. None realizing the plain simple fact, that a Gabe look-a-like traveling between universes who is trying to kill enough people to become a God is the bad guy, not Gabe.
Roedecker and Evan intervene and save Gabe’s life. They try explaining to Gabe about that Multiverse concept. Gabe ain’t buying it, and neither are we.
So with his bad self, Lawless, running around being mean to everyone, Gabe has to deal with everyone being mean to him.
Yet if you are a total adrenaline martial arts fight fest junkie there is some entertainment to be had. Example, when some chap gets kicked the fellow really-and I mean really-goes flying. Or when Lawless uses police motorcycles to bip-slap some cops around.
Jet Li is undeniably charismatic as both a good guy and a bad guy. Personally I like Li when he does his fight scenes without artifice, which happens rarely here.
There is one part of “The One” that I really, really thought was totally cool. The final scene is a classic piece of fantasy imagery that is little Frazetta, Moorcock, and Donaldson combined. Yet of course ‘the one scene’, no matter how fantastic, cannot make up for “The One” movie.
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(4 ratings)