More Martial Arts than Sci-Fi... Review on The One Movie

Director James Wong has tried to create another ‘Matrix’ type sci-fi thriller with his new action flick ‘The One’. Starring the martial arts expert Jet Li, the movie basically ends up being more of a traditional Chinese martial arts movie rather than a sci-fi thriller discounting the astounding special effects and innovative choreography. There exists not one universe but many and not one person but many identities living in parallel universe. This is the theme of the movie. When one persona dies, the energy possessed by that persona will be distributed between the other identical personas existing in multiple universes, as such making them faster and stronger. One universe possesses the ability to travel between universes, but various laws strictly govern the travel.

The Jet Li of this particular universe is a crazy psycho who dreams of being the only unique identity in the entire universe thus making him equivalent to God. He succeeds in killing all the rest until only one is left. That’s the Jet Li who’s present on Earth. Then follows the battle of good against evil. The story is not really as complex as it sounds. It basically ends up being a martial arts movie. But, then again, who’s complaining? I love the action flicks. What is special about this movie is its amazing special effects, which is, I believe the first of its kind. On the honest side, if you are expecting another ‘Matrix’, you are bound to be disappointed.

This movie is strictly for the die-hard martial art fans; the rest might find it rather dull and boring. But hats off to the director for experimenting with something new and coming up with some unique special effects.