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This film wouldn't be a martial arts film without the wonderful choreographed work by Cory Yuen (Kiss of the Dragon).  Will this make him a god or destroy the universal system?  Alas, that is never fully explained. The only person to believe Gabe is his loyal wife, . 

The One is essentially a martial arts-science fiction film that combines elements of John Woo with The Matrix. The idea of the movie is that there are innumerable parallel universes running next to each other, connected by wormholes.  Jet Li plays dual roles here, evil and good. As the evil Yulaw, he goes from one universe to another, eliminating that universe's Yulaw and in the process, distributing its power among the remaining Yulaws.    However, when he enters our world, in which his counterpart is named Gabe and employed as a Los Angeles police officer, he encounters a problem.  Gabe has been having nightmares about someone just like him and Gabe is gaining strength.  What is going on?  Gabe will soon find out when Yulaw tries to kill him, he is blamed for street violence, and Delroy Lindo (The Heist, Gone in 60 Seconds) and Jason Stratham (Snatch) come from the future to protect him. 

Like all martial arts films, The One is a puzzling film to follow.  My suggestion is to sit back and enjoy the special effects and action scenes. Jet Li picking up two motorcycles and bashing away at police officers, leaping onto rooftops in a single bound or dodging bullets (Matrix) is easy on the eyes.  There are lots of slow motion and speeded-up shots to aid the story, but editing is rough at times and it's a strange story in which little is explained as far as weapons and gadgets or why Yulaw started his quest in the first place.  Then, when you least expect it, there is a dog with an injured leg.  This dog could win an award for emoting and the ending of the film has wry humor. 

The One had several male stars attached to this film before Jet Li (Lethal Weapon 4) got the lead but Li is proving to be a credible actor who can  strut and sneer as Yulaw and look sad as Gabe.  Lindo's role doesn't give him much latitude, except to tell his partner to tone it down.  Carla Gugino (Spy Kids) does the best acting job in her role as Gabe's wife T.K.,  who tries to help her husband under trying circumstances.   All in all, The One is strictly for martial arts fans who don't mind a bit of science fiction in the mix, plus a soundtrack that does its best to hide the dialogue. 

Copyright 2001 Marie Asner 
Submitted 11/25/01