THE ONE

Starring: Jet Li, Carla Gugino, Delroy Lindo and Jason Statham
Director: James Wong
Running Time: 87 mins
Certificate: 15

What if you found out that there was more than one universe, in fact there were hundreds of parallel universes? What if you then found out that in each of these universes was a version of you and if you killed each version of yourself the energy from them would be divided amongst the survivors, making you strong, faster and more intelligence. This is what Yu Law (Li) has discovered and he has systematically killed one hundred and twenty-three versions of himself and he only has to kill one more to become the most powerful being in existence.

Jet Li is without question one of the best martial artists on the big screen at the moment, but you have to question his movie choices. He turned down The Matrix sequels to do this and Kiss of the Dragon (released late 2001) but the problem is that neither film really showcases his true potential. By opting to be the star and not a cast member, this could have cost him in the American market as neither film has taken anything like what The Matrix sequels will make at the box office.

The film itself comes from the writing team behind some of the best X-Files episodes, James Wong and Glen Morgan, so I really was expecting more. What I was greeted with was a plot that is just a combination of Time Cop, Highlander and a dozen other mediocre Sci-Fi movies.

Its main flaw is that the movie is just far too short. At just 87 minutes long you get a quick introduction to the characters and the situation, then the two Jet Li's meet, then they have the final battle and it is all over before you seat is even warm. Everything seams rushed. I would have liked to have seen when Yu Law discovered that he gets more power when he kills a version of himself or more on the "Multiverse" police.

Jet Li is excellent in the fight sequences, especially when he is fighting himself but when it comes to delivering a large string of dialogue, you can tell he is still struggling with his English. The worst thing in the movie however, is Jason Statham's American accent. British actors are usually good at accents but Statham's is the worst I have ever heard. It makes you think that the America's will use him as an example of a bad movie accent as the British do with Dick Van Dyke's so-called cockney accent in Mary Poppins.

This is just a dumb popcorn movie at the end of the day, which is a shame, as Jet Li deserves far better roles that this. Maybe he should get a better agent.

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