The One (2017)

Fun and Disfunctional

This movie is hilarious, but unfortunately it is lacking when it comes to story and pacing. Comedy is great, but a movie is still a movie. And, although I enjoyed many parts of it, I often found myself confused, whiplashed, or struggling to keep up with what was going on.

From the beginning, you're thrown into a scene which is completely bewildering, covering a showdown of inscrutable stakes and between unknown characters. In fact, despite the relatively high pace of the movie, it is quite some time before the second main character and main setting are introduced. In a movie with non-stop action, conflict, or comedy gags, it can be hard to follow along, and many things which the audience should have been told about are not revealed until much later on.

To me, this is like the embodiment of internet humor in film. Random humor, visual gags, and subverting expectation are used ad nauseum, which does provide a frankly hilarious show, but unfortunately comes at the detriment of the story.

Now, this review sounds quite negative, but I must say that I did enjoy the show. To enjoy it, you just have to accept it for its flaws and be aware going in that they tried to cram a whole season of a show into a single movie. As a result, it moves a lightspeed, but it's still pretty darn funny. So, provided you're here for comedy and not story, I recommend this show. And, if it's not funny enough or you do want story, just watch Gintama or something, I don't know.

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