The One

By RUSSELL BAILLIE

(Herald rating: * * )

Great movie. The Matrix, that is. And obviously those behind this latest vehicle for martial arts star Jet Li thought so too.

Not only does it look like they've got a pirated copy of that other movie's special-effects software, the one that does all the slo-mo bullet dodging and stop-start aerial chop-socky, even the title seems a homage. After all, the big question in The Matrix was whether Keanu Reeves' character Neo was the one.

In this "the one" refers to what might happen if bad Jet Li from another universe kills good Jet Li from the Los Angeles County Sheriff's department. It seems, we are told in the opening voiceover, that we don't live in a universe but a multiverse and there are 123 other versions of ourselves running around out there.

However, Yulaw (bad Jet Li), a rogue cop from the force assigned to protect the cosmic ducts between the universes, has found that the more of his alter egos he kills, the stronger and faster he gets.

Last on his list is martial arts enthusiast deputy sheriff Gabe, who's a bit quicker than he used to be, though without the overwhelming desire to be a master of the multiverse like Yulaw.

The villain has been pursued by Multiverse Bureau of Investigation agents Roedecker (Delroy Lindo) and Funsch (Jason Statham). And also in danger is Gabe's wife (Carla Gugino) who, of course, must end up in a scene where she has to tell bad Li and good Li apart.

While the action is certainly kinetic, especially during the Li vs Li bouts and shoot-outs, the rest of it just sits up and begs you to poke holes in his logic. And while it wants to be The Matrix, thanks to Li's limited ability to do much more than hit things, himself mainly, in eye-catching ways, it ends up a B-grade sci-fight flick which will probably do for Li's stateside career what the similar Time Cop did for Jean Claude Van Damme's.

You diehard martial arts fans might appreciate Li's yin and yang role, but should you miss it before it finds its natural home on the video shelves, don't beat yourself up about it.

Cast: Jet Li, Carla Gugino, Delroy Lindo, Jason Statham

Director: James Wong

Rating: M (medium level violence)

Running Time: 90 mins

Screening: Village Hoyts cinemas