The One [DVD] [2002]

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The One sets a martial arts milestone by pitting action star Jet Li against his greatest enemy: himself. This sci-fi thriller establishes a "multiverse" consisting of countless parallel universes, each populated by variants of every individual. Li plays a renegade from the Multiverse Agency, illegally travelling through "quantum tunnels" to eliminate all versions of himself until only two remain, each sharing the cumulative strength of their "parallel universe versions". This mumbo jumbo inspires a variety of dazzling special effects, and director James Wong (with cowriter and fellow X-Files alumnus Glen Morgan) injects clever humour into the Matrix-derived premise. Carla Gugino is wasted as the "good" Li's obligatory love interest, but The One will appeal to action fans with its fast-paced pursuit between the evil Li and two agents (Delroy Lindo, Jason Statham) assigned to stop his trans-universal killing spree. It's a one-gimmick movie, best enjoyed with your brain in neutral. --Jeff Shannon On the DVD: The One, as with all martial arts films, needs near-perfect picture quality for full enjoyment; luckily the film's 2.35:1 anamorphic transfer is spot on with no graininess or washed-out colours. The Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack allows you to hear every punch that Li throws. As well as a scene-by-scene commentary from the director and crew, there are extras galore, including a 15-minute behind-the-scenes featurette, "Jet Li is The One"; "About Face", a short feature about creating the fight scene between the two Jet Lis; and the "Multiverses Create The One", which has more about Li's training for the movie. There's also a selection of trailers and filmographies. --Kristen Bowditch END