12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
A pretty, dumb (or pretty dumb) movie, November 21, 2001
Based on the trailers for this movie, I went in expecting some fun fight scenes between Jet Li and Jet Li, some cool special effects, and a decent performance from the always-charming Carla Gugino. And my expectations were met. The fight scenes were pretty exciting. There were good performances from Jet Li and Carla Gugino, although I'm sure she'd prefer to point out that the much better, much more successful Spy Kids is also on her resume. It was also nice seeing appearances from members of the cast of writers/producers/director Morgan and Wong's TV series Space: Above and Beyond in supporting roles. And Delroy Lindo should thank Samuel L. Jackson every morning that he's gotten too big to appear in movies like these, since Lindo seems to have made his recent career out of Jackson leftovers.
On the other hand, the story isn't very smart. The screenplay is credited to Morgan and Wong, who wrote some of the X-Files best episodes, produced the aforementioned (and underrated) Space: Above and Beyond, and crafted a surprisingly spooky big-screen debut with Final Destination. Credits aside, viewers will find very little evidence that anyone actually wrote this movie (and anyone who did shouldn't go around admitting it in public). Another particularly annoying point is Lindo's (and later Li's) sidekick, speaking stock tough-guy lines in such an over-the-top growl, he's even more of a cartoon character than everyone else in the film.
Still, as the end credits rolled, I went through my mental checklist. Cool fight scenes: check. Cool effects: check. Jet Li and Carla Gugino, still emminently watchable: check. So I got what I came for. Pity it wasn't wrapped up inside a better, smarter story.
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8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
GREAT ACTION MOVIE!, September 2, 2004
The One is a true "man's" action movie, full of fighting which is made better by the great heavy metal music selections. This movie starts out fast and rarely lets up, pitting the baddest martial arts action hero in movies against himself, it's great! Other reviewers are right, there could be a better story line, but with all of that action and one of the best endings in action movie history, story line is secondary.
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7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Original and interesting action movie.(SPOILER WARNING), April 14, 2002
Every once in a while someone films a movie that really does have a new take on its genre. Even if the general idea existed, it either was not, or could not, be done well on film before. James Cameron's _The Terminator_, Ridley Scott's _Alien_ and _Blade Runner_, Lucas' _Star Wars_, and Spielberg's _Jaws_ and _Close Encounters of the Third Kind_ all achieved this in one way or another.
_The One_ enters this select company both by virtue of originality (I have seen the general premise once or twice before, but never on film) and because even had someone attempted this before, it couldn't have been done as well.
The basic idea of _The One_ is that there are a large number of parallel dimensions, each with a slightly different history (in this one, George Bush became president; in another, it might have been Dole, Gore, or someone even less likely). In each of these universes exists a parallel version of ourselves, as we would be if we'd grown up there. In one of these universes, dimensional travel has been perfected; people can go from one to the other. And one of those people discovers that if he kills off his duplicates, he becomes stronger, faster, smarter; there is some kind of mystical connection between all these parallels, and the power of all is divided up among those that are left; accordingly, he's travelling through the dimensions, slowly eliminating all his parallel selves. The hero of our story is his last remaining duplicate, who has been trying to understand what has been happening to him recently.
Scenes involving such superhuman abilities simply couldn't be done well before this, and few actors other than Jet Li would be able to pull them off convincingly even with special-effects assistance. The pacing is excellent, the plotline fascinating (the bad guy's being chased by a couple of dimensional cops who have an additional concern beyond the fact that this guy's committing multiple homicides: according to some dimensional theory, if he succeeds in eliminating all the others, it will cause a cataclysm), and the action is simply top-notch.
The ending is surprising, and extremely cool. It leaves the possibility of a sequel open, but doesn't require one, either. Highly recommended. If action's your thing, this one will deliver.
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