Jet Li vs. Jason Statham: The One

The One is an underseen sci-fi action movie that featured a face-off between action movie stars Jet Li and Jason Statham. Jet Li established himself as one of the most impressive martial arts movie stars with his breakout role in Once Upon a Time in China. Following his success in China, Li’s American movies helped make him an international star.

Meanwhile, Jason Statham made his debut in Guy Ritchie’s Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, before becoming an action hero who continues to find success in movies like The Beekeeper and A Working Man. Both actors have solidified themselves as modern legends in the action genre while also sharing the screen several times.

Jet Li Battles Jason Statham In The One

The first time Jet Li and Jason Statham met on screen was in the underseen sci-fi action movie The One. Long before multiverse movies were a big thing, The One offered an interesting premise with Li playing a killer who hops between different realities, killing his counterparts and becoming stronger each time.

Jason Statham plays an officer in a law enforcement organization that is very similar to the MCU’s Time Variant Authority (TVA). He is hunting Li’s villain across the different realities, trying to stop him from becoming an all-powerful being by killing his last remaining counterpart.

Interestingly, Li and Statham actually get to play allies as well as enemies in the movie. Li plays dual roles as the villainous Yulaw and his last remaining counterpart, the mild-mannered Gabe. However, the two actors do face off with Yulaw battling Statham’s Funsch in the finale, before taking on Gabe.

Jet Li & Jason Statham Went On To Work In Several Movies Together

Crawford (Jason Statham) holding a gun up to Rogue's (Jet Li) head in War.

While The One can be looked back on as a fun early collaboration between Jet Li and Jason Statham, it was released when Statham was still a relatively new actor and had not even established himself in the action genre. Luckily, it would not be their only movie together, and the next one would see them more as equals.

War is a 2007 action movie that pitted Li against Statham as enemies once again. The movie stars Statham as an FBI agent who is on the trail of a rogue assassin (Li) who killed his partner. While Li’s character in The One was a superpowered villain who easily overpowered Statham’s lawman, this movie finds their fights more evenly matched.

Of course, Li and Statham’s most famous collaboration came as part of the action-packed ensemble of The Expendables. The movie brings together several big-name action heroes in the story of a band of mercenaries who are hired to take down a rogue CIA agent. Li and Statham play teammates, Yin Yang and Lee Christmas.

Statham’s Lee was a huge part of the franchise from the beginning, but while Li appeared in the first three Expendables movies, the first movie was the only time he had considerable screen time. 2010’s The Expendables also sees Li and Statham teaming up for a memorable fight against martial artist Gary Daniels.

It is a fun collaborative relationship that the two action stars have shared over the years, starting with The One, and culminating in a surprisingly long, five-movie partnership.