From James Wong, the writer and director of Final Destination and
one of the producers of Willard, comes an action adventure yarn set in
the not so distant future. Jet Li stars as, well, several characters.
In this world we discover there are multiple universes in different
dimensions, all operating in real time. This, in turn, means there are
multiple versions of the same person living in each of these worlds.
The dramatic conflict arises as we discover that the evil version of
Jet Li is killing off his counterparts and absorbing their life force,
a la the immortals of Highlander, thus spreading supernatural powers
among the remainder of his likenesses. Soon, there are two left and
the dimensional wormhole traveling cops are keen to avoid there being
only one.
Lots of action, lots of stunts, lots of interesting
special effects and very little story based on a somewhat unique idea
from Mr. Wong and co-writer Glen Morgan (who also co-wrote Final
Destination, among many other projects with Wong). Grossing nearly $44
million at the domestic box office (just under breaking even), The One
wasn't a blockbuster but still demonstrated that Jet Li can draw in a
reasonable audience. Other familiar faces to be seen here is the
always up for action Brit Jason Statham, and the can't-seem-to-get-
into-a-decent-movie-without-the help-of- David Mamet stalwart, Delroy
Lindo. Also here is the lovely Carla Gugino, Spy Kids regular and
player in Nic Cage's under achieving Snake Eyes, as Jet Li's
accomplice/girlfriend/wife. Perhaps the most notable aspect of
The One are its special effects, which were supervised by Terry
Frazee, whose work can be seen in the last four Star Treks, Air Force
One and currently Pirates of the Caribbean. The music isn't much to
get excited about and the heavy metal songs included can be very
annoying. (What is up with the monkey noises in chapter 8?!) But while
it may be far from great, The One is still a thrill ride worth taking
for Jet Li and sci-fi fans alike.
Video: How Does The Disc
Look? 
The Superbit series continues with an anamorphic
transfer marked at its original theatrical ratio of 2.35:1. This
release improves upon an already good transfer, having done away with
all of the superfluous extras included on the "special edition"
original release and freeing up some bit space. There isn't a full
screen version available as there originally was, but that's neither
here nor there. Most noticeable is the eye-popping color and wonderful
saturation. Blue hues are pristine and the contrast of them with dark
blues and blacks are perfect. Blacks, too are deeper and richer.
Detail levels were already very high and are only ever so slightly
improved here. Edge enhancement is cleaned up a bit for the most part,
but is still apparent also this transfer doesn't exhibit any chroma
noise or smearing. There is also an overall crispness that was absent
from the original release that is clearer in this transfer. This is a
very fine transfer.
Audio: How Does the Disc Sound?
Here in typical Superbit fashion is an excellent audio
presentation. With the inclusion of a DTS mix (that was not available
on the first release) your viewing experience is now complete.
However, there aren't as many differences between the DTS and Dolby
Digital tracks as you might think. The Dolby track is the same as the
original and was recorded at 448 kbps with the new DTS track at 754
kbps. I compared several scenes for several different aspects. First I
listened to the opening sequences (chapters 1-3) for very active
surrounds and some nice bass extension. Rear activity including
ricochets and empty bullet case bouncing was nearly equal with an
almost imperceptible advantage going to the DTS mix. The LFE channel
was a bit tighter and prominent while experiencing the DTS track. Next
up was chapter 8 for a little explosive and glass shattering
comparison. Again, almost no difference. Lastly I checked out chapter
17 for some motorcycle crushing pans. While the sound design isn't as
stirring as one might hope for it does offer a few great pans. Here
the DTS track only slightly improved upon the already good DD track,
with slightly more separate sounds and smoother movements. All other
aspects were nearly identical including excellent dialogue and score
reproduction.
As is representative of other Superbit releases
an overabundance of subtitle options are available: French, Spanish,
Portuguese, Chinese, Korean and Thai, plus English Closed Captions.
Supplements: What Goodies Are There?
There
aren't any extras included here, but I can't say I miss many of them,
nor the very obnoxious menu and selection transitions of the previous
release.
DVD-ROM Exclusives: What do you get when you pop
the disc in your PC?
No ROM extras have been included.
Parting Thoughts
The One is good fun, plain and
simple. While not the greatest of sci-fi or action if you are a fan of
either this should be high on your rental/purchase list. Here Columbia
has put out another fine Superbit title and it is easily
recommendable.
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