Jet Li was supposed to star in The Matrix to play Seraph. But he turned it down. He does have a good reason, though. They wanted to get ownership of his moves. Another example of greed of the highest order. Why are we still watching Hollywood films? Anyway, he chose to do The One for the following reasons.
Jet Li chose to do "The One" because it presented a unique opportunity to showcase his martial arts skills in a high-concept action film with a complex premise, where he could play multiple versions of himself from different universes, allowing him to explore different character nuances while engaging in visually stunning fight sequences; essentially, it was a chance to push his acting and stunt abilities beyond the typical martial arts movie role.
As much as I like Jet Li and absolutely respect his martial arts skills. As an actor, he is not that versatile. For the roles he played, he was good, but he is not someone who is able to for example do a speech as a military leader to motivate the troops. So it is admirable for him to take on this film where he plays different versions of them. And in this film Yulaw, the ultimate villain, and Gabe the good cop, are adequate performances.
Naturally, the acting in an action film shouldn't matter much. How is the action? I wished I could say that it's stellar. It's serviceable. Fun while it lasts. I mean, sure, Jet Li fighting himself is compelling. But did they really get the most out of it? I don't think so. I have watched this several times now. And I think I was too forgiving. So much more could have been done with the premise. And it's wasted on old double role tropes nobody cares for. I guess, Jason Statham does a good job of the trigger-happy multiverse cop but ultimately he and Delroy Lindo are wasted.
Overall, adequate to at least have fun the first time you watch it. Not sure about the times after!. For me definitely not!
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