9 Smartest Decisions In Action Movie History

3. The One - Helping The 'Good' Jet Li

Die Hard Bruce Willis
Columbia Pictures

Does anyone remember 'rookie Jason Statham'? Y'know, back in the early 2000s after he grew bored of being a nationally-ranking diver, male model, and black market merchant and became an actor. After critically enjoyed side bits in Guy Ritchie's crime films Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels and Snatch he was cast alongside Delroy Lindo as a rookie Multiverse Authority Agent - inter-dimensional police tasked with observing and apprehending criminals across multiple dimensions.

In the film Statham is, at one point, tasked with killing Jet Li's character Gabe Law - a police officer and all-around good guy, specialising in Baguazhang Kung Fu. Meanwhile, Delroy Lindo is fighting his old partner, Gabriel Yulaw - also played by Jet Li - who is steadily becoming a super villain due to slowly killing off all the other Jet Li's in the multiverse.

Lindo's character, Rodecker, loses a fight against bad Jet Li - being absolutely decimated by his super strength heightened by his Xing Yi Quan Kung Fu style. Rodecker then attempts to martyr himself by blowing Yulaw up. When Statham's character Funsch realises that Rodecker is dead, he doesn't follow through with his orders.

Instead, Funsch joins good Jet Li and eventually they work together to capture the bad Jet Li. If he'd have followed his orders, presuming he could succeed, bad Jet Li would have succeeded in his goal and become the titular 'One' remaining Jet Li in the multiverse.

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Author of Escort (Eternal Press, 2015), co-founder of Nic3Ntertainment, and developer behind The Sickle Upon Sekigahara (2020). Currently freelancing as a game developer and history consultant. Also tends to travel the eastern U.S. doing courses on History, Writing, and Japanese Poetry. You can find his portfolio at www.richardcshaffer.com.