One, The (UK)

Have you ever played that game where you combine the concepts of 2 random movies in order to come up with an entirely different movie? However you answer that I think it`s painfully obvious that Hollywood has been playing that game for years. You can just see the meeting going on in your head right now. A major company looking for another hit hires all of their best writers, the writers then place a bunch of movie names into a hat and randomly take 2. They end up with "The Matrix" and "Highlander", they throw in a few parallel universes, mix in the best martial artist since Bruce Lee, allow to simmer and bingo they had a script for "The One". That`s OK though because The One makes no attempt to hide it`s reference material and instead uses it to the best advantage in producing a stylish, exciting movie.

Now tradition dictates that this is where I start complaining about how the movie is nowhere near as good as it`s reference material(whichever one is your favorite), but I just can`t do it. I personally prefer The One to both Highlander and The Matrix, because it`s a combination of the story of Highlander and the FX and action of The Matrix. These are definitely the best elements of the 2 films and however you feel about originality you would have to admit that 2 rights make an even better right. I mean just look at the evidence, I love The Matrix but it`s plot was absolutely riddled with major plot holes that ended up giving you a headache, and although The One still has a few minor plot holes they`re not as offensively obvious as they were in The Matrix. Then The Ones overall concept of a guy who got superhuman through killing different versions of himself is better (not more believable but better) than The Matrix concept of Aliens locking us up in a supercomputer to use us as batteries.

However you have to look beyond The Matrix and look at Highlander. Again I love Highlander for it`s concept and story, however the action while good is nothing special and the FX are severely dated now. In The One though the main character is played by Jet Li, a man who has been training in the martial arts since he was a child and this allows much bigger stunts than Highlander could dream of, and these skills are complimented by some excellent modern FX. Want to see him kick a bunch of guys while they are still in mid air, or see him fight himself in slow motion with sparks falling around him/them, you got it. Unfortunately though the FX are a bit of a 2 edged sword, because they often get in the way of characters. This is particularly true of Jet Li`s movies because the FX can never look real next to the actual stunts that he performs. If you are going to think like this then you probably shouldn`t watch The One because it probably features more FX than actual fighting. However if you can forget that it`s a Li film and enjoy things like The Matrix then give it a try and you`ll have a ball.
Extra`s
Extra`s wise this is actually not a bad disk. I`d put the quality up there with the original Matrix disk, so while it certainly doesn`t have the amount of extra`s as something like Se7en it has enough to please. Good news is that there is a commentary by the director, but there are also some cool documentaries that inform you on things like The Rock was the original choice for the role before they gave it to Li. The best extra though has to be a hilarious comparison between the motorbike fight in the film, and the original test footage that used Action men.

GOOD FILM.

EXCELLENT ACTION BY JET LI.

COULD HAVE BEEN BETTER.

Jet li, the bruce lee of today, uses special fx to the max.
And it is `to the max` as this film goes.
A really good idea, and a really enjoyable film but the length spoils it, as its only on for a short while, the scenes seem kinda rushed and a lot is left to your imagination to work out, if this was longer and more thorough then this would be a class A movie. Good special fx but can be a bit dodgy somtimes, like the 2 motorbikes....ha.

The One is a good film, nothing more, nothing less. It really is frustrating as with a larger budget, this could have been like the Matrix.
As it stands, it feels rushed, is far too short and lacks character development. If only, they spent a little bit more time and added a few more fight scenes / character development.
However, you do still have some brilliant use of special effects and bone crunching kung fu from Jet Li.
Well worth watching. The DVD is pretty good as well