Jet Li has been an icon overseas, but it seems that in America Li has become a fall guy for the new martial arts. Naturalists will boo The One for its effects that have taken martial arts the way Bruce Lee presented to a film that looks to be more trickery than truth.
Saying all that and my disappointment in not seeing Li in a real action film, The One is entertaining nonetheless. The Matrix did a lot for the film industry, most of it to ruin action films from that point on. Crouching Tiger didn’t help any. These films were far beyond the curve, but now everyone else has done their best to rip-off each and every aspect for themselves. Most seemingly write in scenes just to show off all their gimmicks and gadgets hoping to awe inspire, but instead frustrating and daring us to ignore. Perhaps my biggest problem is that I expected a lot more from director James Wong.
There really isn’t much left to say about The One. Through some cool effects that don’t stand the test of time and all the slicked back nonsense, it’s really lost in what seems to be a new genre: Matrixasy.
+ charlie craine
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