The One (2001)

A rogue Multiverse agent goes on a manhunt for versions of himself, getting stronger with each kill. With only one version remaining, he races against the clock to finish him and become "The One."

Director:

James Wong

Writers:

Glen Morgan, James Wong

Stars:

Jet Li, Carla Gugino, Delroy Lindo

4 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jet Li	...	Gabe Law / Gabriel Yulaw / Lawless
Carla Gugino	...	T.K. Law / Massie Walsh
Delroy Lindo	...	MVA Agent Harry Roedecker / Gas Station Attendant
Jason Statham	...	MVA Agent Evan Funsch
James Morrison	...	LAPD Officer Bobby Aldrich / 'A' World Inmate #1
Dylan Bruno	...	Yates
Richard Steinmetz	...	D'Antoni
Steve Rankin	...	MVA Supervisor
Tucker Smallwood	...	Prison Warden
Harriet Sansom Harris	...	Nurse Besson
David Keats	...	MRI Technician
Dean Norris	...	Sgt. Siegel
Ron Zimmerman	...	Rotten Ronnie
Darin Morgan	...	Hugo
Mark Borchardt	...	Cesar

Storyline

There is not one universe, but there are many, which is a multiverse. Supposing you are just one person, there are many other versions of you in the other universes, there are ways to travel, but only a police agency, MVA, can travel only for police procedures. Gabriel Yulaw is a former MVA agent, who killed another version of himself in self-defense. It made the other versions of him stronger. When Yulaw found out about this, he became power-hungry killing the 122 other versions for two years. After killing Lawless and getting captured by his former partner Roedecker and a new MVA agent Funsch, Yulaw managed to escape the prison and is trying to kill his last target, Gabe Law who is a police officer. He is also at Yulaw's strength. Roedecker and Funsch now have to arrest Yulaw before he can kill Gabe. There is a possibility that the universe could die or make Yulaw invincible. After encountering Yulaw for the first time, Gabe thought that it was his split personality, but it wasn't. ...

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Plot Keywords:

criminal | convicted criminal | law enforcement officer | multiverse agent | running from police | 

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Taglines:

Stealing the power of the universes one by one.

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Genres:

Action | Sci-Fi | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for intense action violence and some language

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

2 November 2001 (USA)

Also Known As:

The One

Filming Locations:

Edison Generating Station, Redondo Beach, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$49,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$19,112,404, 4 November 2001

Gross USA:

$43,905,746

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$74,005,691

Company Credits

Production Co:

Revolution Studios, Hard Eight Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

87 min 85 min (cut)

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Each of the universes that are listed along with Yulaw's charges is named after a star or constellation (in keeping with the idea that a new universe is formed when a star collapses): Monoceros, Tucana, Canopus, Serpens, and Shaula. The one exception is Lawless's universe. His, along with the other universes that are actually shown in the film, are all named after mythological gods (a possible allusion to Yulaw's hope to become a god himself, by absorbing the energy of his other selves). Lawless is from Anubis universe, after the Egyptian god of mummification and the afterlife. Gabe is from Charis universe, after the Greek goddesses of charm and beauty. The penal colony is in Hades universe, after the Greek god of the Underworld. The colony itself is called Stygian Penal Colony: the word Stygian refers to the River Styx, which was located in the Greek Underworld. The location of the Multiverse Agency is called, simply, "Multiverse."

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Goofs

While talking to Gabe and describing the multiverse, Funsch says "In another, you're married to the same woman. In another, to a different woman. In another, you're married to a man." This illustrates a significant plot hole within the premise of the film. Since over time people would not marry the same people, would not marry, or engage in homosexual marriage which would likewise preclude the same parents, each universe could not be populated by exactly the same people as was shown. While films do have artistic license, a character mentioning this within the film negates any such artistic license.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Narrator: There is not one universe. There are many: A multiverse. We have the technology to travel between universes, but travel is highly restricted and policed. There is not one you. There are many. Each of us exists in present time, in parallel universes. There was balance in the system, but now a force exists who seeks to destroy the balance so he can become The One.

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Alternate Versions

German theatrical version was edited for violence to secure a "Not under 16" rating.

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Connections

Referenced in Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (2003)

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Soundtracks

Train Of Dreams
Written and Performed by Jesse Dayton
Courtesy of Windswept

User Reviews

A fun movie

After watching most of the recent action movies, I left the theatre with a headache brought on by incredibly tight/shaky shots and edits so fast that any hope of seeing anything is lost. This movie takes a step back from that. It isn't entirely devoid of those annoyances, but is much better than most. In fact, at times, you can even see a whole string of punches and blocks without a cut or a shake! Of course there is the inevitable wire work, that combined with the necessary special effects to allow Jet Li to fight himself. But for once there is an excuse other than "because we can".

The story is pretty simple. A murdering criminal is killing all the copies of himself in all the other "universes". Each time one dies the life force/resonant string thing, gets divided amoungst the survivors. Of course this leaves a ton of questions that aren't addressed at all in the movie, but I can live with that since those are more topics for debate after having fun at the movie. That is one of the strengths of the movie, the progressively more intense action. As the movie progress, rather than trying to deal with any question the viewer might have, the pace and intensity of the movie goes up. The final action sequence is probably ten minutes long all told, which, to me, is a sign of a true action movie, as opposed to movies with action.

Overall I give it a 8/10 for fans of the genre. If you aren't particularly interested in sci-fi/martial arts, especially if you have a problem with wire work and blue-screens, then you might want to skip it.