User Reviews

This is an unstoppable action movie plenty of violent fights , thrills and emotion . Over-the-top Chop-Socky in which wild fighting scenes provide an overwhelming view of JeeJa Yanin's skills . Colourful , Bangkok-set , well budgeted , leave no cliché untouched , but fights are perfectly staged . This is a Martial Arts action as never seen before in which an autistic girl called Zen (Yanin) with powerful martial art skills looks to settle her ailing mother (Ammara)'s debts by seeking out the ruthless gangs that owe her family money . She watches the neighbours next door and Muay Thai films , absorbing every martial technique . As young Zen and Mangmoom watch a picture , it results to be : Ong-Bak: Muay Thai warrior , among other movies . Furthermore , Zen also watches Thai Dragon . Later on , her father (Hiroshi Abe) , a Japanese gangster , returns Thailand seeking vengeance against a Thai mobster .

This violent Chop-Socky displays action-packed , thrills , fast-paced and wild fighting images . It is a thrilling , action-filled and violent film , being filmed in Thailand . Breathtaking combats filled with bounds and leaps , Knock-outs , punches , kicks . Actors made their owns stunts ; some of the players got injured and to had to be hospitalized during the shooting . Impressive fights and embarrassing acting , the whole thing was spectacularly shot . Overwhelming final duel in Bruce Lee's Game of death and Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill style .

This thrilling film has various homages to Bruce Lee , Jackie Chan and two films starred by Tony Jaa and were also directed by Prachya Pinkaew . The film originally included Zen watching scenes from Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan movies , but these scenes were eventually cut due to licensing problems ; these licensing problems also caused other scenes to be removed from the original movie . The ice factory scene was originally shot as a split screen of Zen imitating the exact same moves she had seen Bruce Lee do in a fight scene from the movie Fists of Fury or Big Boss. The motion picture was well directed by Prachya Pinkaew who is President of Thai Film Directors' Association . Pinkaew is an expert filmmaker on art martial movies , being mostly starred by his fetish actor Tony Jaa , such as 2012 The Protector 2 , 2011 The Kick , 2011 Elephant White , 2008 Chocolate , 2005 Thai Dragon , an the successful 2003 Ong-Bak: the warrior Muay Thai .

In this part of the world, there's no dearth of male action heroes, you know, those with real martial arts background. Think Jet Li, Jackie Chan, Donnie Yen, Wu Jing, and closer to home, Tony Jaa. How about a female counterpart? You're likely to struggle hard to name a credible one, Michelle Yeoh notwithstanding. So Thai director Prachya Pinkaew is probably shrewd enough to identify this golden opportunity, and so introduces us to Yanin Vismistananda in her debut feature Chocolate.

Those familiar with Pinkaew's martial arts extravaganzas with Ong Bak and Tom Yum Goong, will know roughly what to expect from Chocolate. Since the rumoured falling out with his main star of those movies, there's definitely some big shoes to fill, and Yanin fills them quite nicely, martial arts wise, though there were certain scenes which were quite clear that she's still a diamond in the rough with many edges left to polish. But that's not to put down her effort, except that I thought as a lady, her final delivery of those choreographed punches and kicks lacked some really hard hitting edge to them, and the curious observation that some required some speeding up, was left to be desired. What could also be improved, is the transitions between fights, because each seemed pretty much stand alone, even though you know that she's supposedly to be battling enemies continuously, but with each combatant, there seemed to be a "reset" to on-guard mode.

But what was learned from the earlier two Thai action movies, was that it was no longer necessary to repeat the action from different camera angles. This would stem from confidence in showing off the stunts from a single viewpoint, and not feel sore from not being able to cover it from multiple angles. And Chocolate had some really nice buildup in the complexity of these set action pieces. It teases with what's over the horizon starting from a few thugs at a street performance, and sets up carefully crafted action sequences for our heroine to flit from one to another, each being an excuse to dispatch goon after goon coming at her.

Influences from Hong Kong action movies are without doubt, as you can recount similar settings in various HK movies being incorporated here, such as Fong Sai-Yuk's half- crouching styled fights under a stage. What was internalized in Chocolate, was probably from the Jackie Chan styled school of action, which fuses some bit comedy, with the utilizing of everyday objects in one's surroundings to throw off opponents, or worked into the action piece as a prop for acrobatic stunts to be performed. I'd bet there are numerous sequences here that Jackie Chan himself would approve and be proud of.

And in true Jackie Chan culture, besides the end credits featuring some of the NG shots and injuries to the stars and stunt folk, you'll be glad to know that Yanin did most of her own stunts, and it's indeed no mean feat fighting in a skirt of that length, without it getting in the way. While the finale battle involves countless of Crazy88 types ala Kill Bill in wave after wave of attacks, culminating in battling it out on the facade of a multi-storey shophouse building complete with smashing windows, ledges and neon signboards, my personal favourite had to be at the abattoir. In reddish hues, the villains are sans shirts, meaning risks of personal injury are higher without padding that can be hidden underneath the clothes. And with menacing looking meat hooks hanging, and using cleavers as projectiles, just make your job drop at how these fights were choreographed and filmed, especially the slamming of bodies against concrete stalls.

Action aside, the first 30 minutes or so was devoted to developing Yanin's Zen (heh) character, a young autistic girl born of gangster parents - Dad Masashi (Hiroshi Abe) is a non-self-respecting Yakuza member who doesn't have a body full of tattoos, and Mom Zin (Ammara Siripong) belongs to the Thai triads, and ex-moll of its head honcho. In a Romeo- Juliet styled love springing from only hate, only in Singapore do you have the sex scene severely edited, which I thought was important as that's how Zen was conceived. Violence is OK, but sex is zero here. Anyway Dad had to exile himself back to Japan to avoid an all out gang war, and Zin now becomes an outcast single parent, who has to struggle with cancer, as well as raising an autistic child.

Children of such nature are usually referred to as special, and the specialness of Zen is her ability to pick up martial arts by observation. Hence thanks to DVDs of Pinkaew's earlier movies, and having to reside beside a Muay Thai school, Zen picks up the skills necessary, and get to use them when she goes hunting for her mother's debtors in order to pay for chemotherapy sessions. Money's everyone's problem, so Zen gets to use her fists, knees and elbows on her opponent's face, body and shin. I'd always love watching knees and elbows connect to deliver blows on opponents and inflicting excruciating pain, and in her lithe form, Zen delivers them with balletic grace.

Anyway I'd guess no one's really interested in how the story gets developed, which is not without its fair share of loopholes, but we're all here to watch Yanin Vismitananda kick some serious butt. And she does so convincingly enough to warrant a fan following onto her next movie, and make it an action one please!

I must have seen a totally different film than Kazuo_Kiriyama and archip57, I found it to be an exciting,entertaining and at times even touching martial film chock full of well choreographed and cringe inducing fight scenes. I'm not pretending it's Lawrence of Arabia (which, by the way contained a lot of historical inaccuracies)and its a notch below Ong Bak, but it does what it sets out to do and succeeds where so many Hollywood films fail in that it simply delivers the goods: well choreographed, bone crunching fight scenes. Its the kind of film that makes me feel giddy like a kid again and I felt the same way watching Ong Bak,Born to Fight, and Tom Yum Goong. I found the lead actress Jeeja Yanin to be demure and her performance very charming and sympathy inducing, not irritating in the least.

Also contrary to other claims made by one reviewer , there are no wires used in this movie and the blooper reel at the end of the film reveal that Miss Yanin's kicks actually did hurt some of the stunt men (did you happen to watch that Kazuo_Kiriyama?) and not all of her kicks were stationary as I recall she did many flying kicks, spin kicks and multiple kicking attacks, but I guess some people we're too busy thinking of stuff to criticize the film about to really notice the great fight choreography or maybe they should be watching something more cerebrally challenge and artistic fare like "The Diving Bell and The Butterfly" and stay away from immensely entertaining films like Tom Yum Goong, Born To Fight, and this one.

Though the English subtitles on the copy I watched were nearly indecipherable, it seemed to me that the point was that her autism allowed her to absorb the fight skills of whomever she watched, and though the filmmakers couldn't afford to include clips from Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan, and Jet Li movies in the film, I thought it was clear that - in addition to watching Tony Jaa movies, she had been watching Bruce's, Jackie's and Jet's. In the ice-house scene, she's clearly mimicking Bruce, just as she's clearly mimicking Jackie in the next scene with the locker doors and the knee-slide under the glass table. Then, in the next scene, she does some pole fighting that looks to be modeled after moves by Jet Li, and then, she starts doing some Tony Jaa knee and elbow work. She also defeats the spasmodic guy by almost instantly memorizing his style, and then she watches (her dad?) take on a bunch of baddies in a sword fight, and immediately picks up a couple of bludgeons, using them just as he did his sword.

In other words, I thought the mimicry was not only intentional, but intrinsic to the plot.

Well, I’m Thai and there is something foreigner needs to know is that no matter what, Thai people will only (I meant ONLY) opted for action movie over everything else. So I guess the studio mostly made this kind of movie just for the marketing scheme.

For what I see this isn’t that bad of an idea, only which it has not been executed that properly. How can anyone complain about its story, it is like a bloody riff off Kill Bill plus Rain Man, and I see no one complain about that.

For what I see the movie has some potential (too much riff off) but it was an Asian action flick, so I won’t go serious on it. At least I feel the story has something more than trying to bring back the statue head to the village (Talk about Ong Bak). Zen was trying to get her money back to look after her sick mother.

Anyway the real action seems nice but much slower than men so it looks kind of odd and set up for each frame of shot. But it still work, cause if the series like Buffy the Vampire Slayer can make it big, this will put girls into an awe. Jeeja is so cute!!! A fight scenes seem a bit too long.

The acting was so-so as expected, Thai actors are never was good, even years in the business; they are still as horrible as they first day on the job. Why this movie will work more than anything else was the casting of a female protagonist: Jeeja. A girl that kick ass; girls always love that. And she is so cute!!!! Did I say that already???

The direction and editing was so-so but at least there are no repetition of each stunt from different angles shot which he did in Ong Bak, which I must say dated and lame!! So that is good news. The used of cartoon like in Kill Bill add some coloration to the movie. The score was alright. And the set was very set up.

One thing that is definitely Thai is that, it is always darn hard to get your many back once you loan it out.

Last Words: Don’t take it too serious; don’t make Fight Club out of Rambo. The movie is pretty alright for what it is.

Recommendation: Yes, why not, it was fun.

Reason To Watch: Fight, female protagonist, Jeeja!!!!!

Reason Not To: Close minded, Riff-off, Can’t stand girls beating up men.

Rating: 7/10 (Grade: C+).

Please Rate Y/N After Read.

Note: Check me out as the "Asian Movie Enthusiast" on YouTube, where I review tons of Asian movies.

Chocolate is the perfect "acid test" to determine who are fans of action movies and who are not. How so? Let me explain. A true fan of action movies has the ability to overlook some flaws in film-making (e.g., script, acting, character development, etc.) if the action sequences are exceptional enough to make up for them. This is no different from fans of art-house dramas who can overlook minimal content if the film can portray everyday life in interesting ways. With that said, Chocolate is one of the best examples of an action movie that has such extraordinary fight sequences that they easily overpower any deficiencies in the script.

An autistic girl with martial arts skill attempts to collect on the debts of her sick mother. This movie has a mediocre script, and requires some patience from the viewer to slug through the early moments. Once the 30 minute mark arrives, however, the viewer is treated to one of the most amazing displays of asskicking by a female protagonist in the history of action cinema. Virtually all of the remaining 50 minutes is devoted to high quality choreography and bone-crunching maneuvers. The settings and scenarios change frequently, thereby avoiding any feel of repetition or monotony. This is brainless action at its very finest. JeeJa Yanin – an amazing specimen with her fluid moves and hard strikes – catapults herself into the upper echelon of female action stars with this single movie. Her punches and kicks start off rather basic, but get increasingly more complex until they peak during the jaw-dropping finale that lasts a whopping 20 minutes. Lots of fun to be had here.

Now, a snobby moviegoer will cry about the negatives without even considering the positives. Anyone who does not enjoy the action in this movie seriously needs to get their pulse checked, or at least schedule for a re-alignment of their action movie tastes. There's nothing more scintillating than watching a cute girl kick the living hell out of hundreds (quite literally) of stuntmen in a variety of environments. Basically, if you're not entertained by this, you're not a fan of action movies. (You probably didn't like So Close or Azumi either, right?) Stop fooling yourself and go watch another Tsai Ming-liang film.

Some critics have claimed that this movie "ripped off" other movies. It didn't. There are a few homages that last a few minutes at most (a few Bruce Lee references, a locker scene reminiscent of Jackie Chan, and some footage from Tony Jaa's movies). These few scenes are only a drop in the bucket, because 95% of the action is independent of any references to other movies. The sign-post battle on the apartment complex balconies is one glaring example of a completely novel (and breathtaking) sequence that pays homage to no one but itself.

This is definitely worth a blind buy. True fans of martial arts mayhem will end up re-watching the action scenes about a thousand times.

Fancy that. Thai movies have long been panned by audiences and critics alike. That movies are mostly known for comedies, horror, and (from 2003's Ong Bak up until now) action movies. These movies are made to suit the tastes of Thai people. Made by Thais, for Thais. Not so for their brand of action. Prachya Pinkaew's "Ong Bak" proved Thai cinema can have an audience worldwide. HIs following film, "The Protector" a.k.a. "Tom Yum Goong", upped the ante with more hard-hitting action. Unfortunately, the latter was a mixed bag due to its ridiculous plot (Thai village boy going all the way to Sydney, Australia to find his village's elephant). Thankfully, the latest offering from director Prachya Pinkaew does not have the level of absurdity that "The Protector" did, and it proves to be his most violent film yet.

Set in Bangkok, Chocolate tells the story of Zen ("Jeeja" Yanin Vismitananda), the autistic daughter of Yakuza boss Masashi (Hiroshi Abe) and his Thai wife Zin (Ammara Siripong). Masashi is forced to leave Zin due to threats by the Thai mafia, and poor Zen has to take care of Zin and fend off the Thai mafia alone. As if that's not enough, she has cancer and is dying. Zen, grown up, having lived in a Muay Thai academy and watching too many Tony Jaa and Bruce Lee movies, fights gangsters who owe her mother money to pay for her treatment.

Okay, I admit, the story is a bit absurd, but at least it's better than "The Protector". Granted, Jeeja Yanin is a martial arts force to be reckoned with, and in dramatic scenes she is cute and appears pitiful at the same time. The other supporting actors were okay, though I did find the idea of transvestite gangsters played straight disturbing. But it's all right. Surprised to see Japanese actor Abe in this one, not to mention I did not expect a Japanese subplot in the film.

Now for the action sequences. They are lean, mean, balls-to-the-wall, and downright brutal. Bones are broken. Limbs are shattered. Heads are bashed. Kicks and punches are fired everywhere. People, the action and fight scenes you see on the screen are REAL. As proof, they have outtakes at the end of the movie, showing the injuries obtained by stuntmen and the main actress during filming. Why, some of them even had to be admitted to hospital! When I saw this movie in the cinema, the audience was groaning and wincing at the painful injuries inflicted upon the baddies, and boy did they get it bad! It's clear that director Pinkaew takes great pride in his work, and he shows effort to make it as realistic as possible. Pinkaew, choreographer Panna Rittikai and Jeeja Yanin can take a bow, their work can be appreciated here.

So, if you're looking for a nice, high-octane, adrenaline rush, see this film. It's a must for action buffs. You may turn your brain off before screening, but I definitely enjoyed this in the cinema.

Entertainment value: 10/10

Overall value: 8.1/10

Delton

Without divulging the plot or the ending, I want to share my thoughts about Jeeja Yanin, so that people will know what they are getting. Her father died when she was young, 11 or 12, and given that she was a gold medalist in Tae Kwon Do as a child who had achieved 3rd level Dan, (equivalent to Black Belt) she helped support her mother and brother by becoming an instructor of TKD at age 14. She auditioned at age 18 for a small part in Born To Fight, and was noticed by filmmaker Prachya Pinkaew, and action stunt trainer Panna Rittikrai, when they decided she was special enough to make an entire film for. This girl quit University studies and trained for this film for four years. She trained under Rittikrai, the mentor of Tony Jaa, and Jaa himself. She trained for 2 years in preparation and 2 years while making the film. She also studied the symptoms and behavior of autistic children, staying with them and working with them, and reading up on everything she could in available literature and film on the subject, including Rain Man, etc. In addition to this, she had to overcome fear of heights (you'll see why) and subjected herself to constant injury, including life risking stunts. Watch the movie and enjoy her spectacular debut, and remember that you were there when a star was born. Enjoy the fact that she is a very special person, who put heart and soul into making the movie.

The title had me mistaken it as some sort of movie relating about chocolate but it turned out to be a fighting thai movie directed by the guy behind Ong Bak. As a guy behind all the action-packed moves, you should know that this will be one hell of ride. Kicking and punching everywhere and smashing into people's heads. If that is the kind of action move you want, this one suits you very much.

The story is straightforward but in these kind of movies, we don't expect to have a complex story line but good action scenes. Though the story is boring or I don't even want to know the story but see action, I have to give credit to the fighting scenes, people get hurt for real as you see in the blooper like they bleed or got injured for real while making this movie. It is why when you look at the fighting scenes, they look real. The main character even had cuts on her face and bled. That is the thing I had to credit for, they all have the guts to make this movie. On the other hand, I don't know what to say about the director, either the director is crazy or he wants to make the fighting scenes look real. If it is either one, at least, the director has made the effort to make this movie.

Overall: It is okay for an action movie, at least I am thrilled with the fighting scenes and nothing else. I don't know what to comment on the story but it is an action movie, leave your brains at home when watching this or not you won't have fun.

Zen (the spunky JeeJa Yanin) is a young girl with a crazy kind of autism - one that makes her all but inarticulate yet gives her near-superhuman skills in the area of martial arts. When her mother, a former-gangster-turned-straight single mom, is diagnosed with cancer, Zen uses her unique fighting skills to collect all the money owed to her by a band of cutthroat criminals.

"Chocolate" is a damn silly movie at times, but there's no point in denying that there is at least some purgative and entertainment value in watching a sweet, innocent kid consistently beating the living crap out of a bunch of surly, burly bad guys - at least, that is, until the novelty wears off and monotony and redundancy become the order of the day.

The martial arts sequences are exceptionally well done, but this overly repetitive Thai movie could use a little less fighting and a little more variety in its storytelling to maintain the audience's interest.

I watched a version that was not sub-titled so I had no clue what anyone was saying. There were a few details that weren't clear till I read the notes here in IMDb after watching it, but it didn't make a real difference. This young actress does a fantastic job of portraying the autistic side of her character, certainly didn't expect to see competition for Dustin Hoffman's Rain Man here - it will be interesting to see her in other roles. As for what most everyone will expect to see, wow. Remember Zhang Ziyi's work in Crouching Tiger - this is like those scenes but for practically the entire length of the movie. I can't think of any martial arts film I've seen that had moves any better than what is here. Roll together all the Jackie Chan, Bruce Lee, Jet Li, Jason Stratham you've seen, blend in both Kill Bill's, and top it with some really brutal work for the stunt guys - and yes it's all being done by a little girl, but you won't have much trouble at all believing she could really do it. It's a shame that most people will probably never see this actress, just because she didn't happen to be born in an English-speaking country.

After Ong-Bak and Tom Yum Goong with Tony Jaa, Prachya Pinkaew moves towards "Chocolate", this time with a remarkable female lead JeeJa Yanin.

Chocolate is about a bedridden mother (Ammara Siripong) and her autistic daughter (Yanin Vismitananda) with impeccable martial art skills. She goes on a rampage to collect the money from those who owe her mother (to cover her medical expenses).

First 30 minutes take the story and characters to develop and you will see how Zen learns to kick the ass i.e. by watching The Protector (2005) and Ong-bak (2003). You will be amazed by her ability to pick-up the moves by just observation and applying them. She grows into a warrior, who can defeat 50 fighters nonchalantly.

While Yanin did most of her own stunts and you will love the fight at the abattoir. The choreography is breathtaking and action is all over with a breathtaking pace.

It is highly recommended that you watch this to the credits and the scenes will leave you dazed, how these actors perform the stunts and risk their lives to meet the perfection? You will appreciate their meticulous work in every frame of the movie.

Highly recommended My vote 8/10

I saw a 90 minute version of the film. Apparently there is a 110 minute version.(it was also really badly subtitled) The plot of the film has a Thai gangster's moll falling in love with a visiting yakuza soldier. The soldier is forced to leave and the woman, pregnant, begins to live a life alone. She give birth to a daughter who is autistic but with great physical skills. the young girl learns martial arts from watching movies. When her mom becomes sick with cancer the young girl and a friend find a list of debts, long uncollected, that the mother held when she was still in the mob.Daughter and friend begin to collect the debts and move toward a nasty confrontation with her mother's former boss.

The film as a whole isn't that good. The dramatic scenes are often quite bad. They are soapy and silly in ways I don't think they intended. But you're not going to watch a movie about a girl who learned martial arts from movies for the the action sequences. There are four or five action sequences in this film and they are, with one exception really good. Lets face it the girl that is starring in this film really can kick ass. One fight is in an ice plant and its really neat as people and blocks of ice slide about. The other fights are equally fun and most of the reason to see the film. The real reason to see the is the final fight which is the exception to the "really good" rule of fights in this film. The final fight, a fight which lasts about 25 minutes of screen time beginning as a gun fight, moves to a fist fight and the escalates from there, is one of the best action sequences of the year- possibly more. Its a "holy s#$t! where can this go next" fight. Its amazing. To be certain camera tricks and wires were used, but at the same time its an amazing piece of work (and one that caused people to go to the hospital as the video during the end credits shows).I don't know how to describe the fight without giving away too much, and I don't want to do that since you really do want to see this fight. Echoes of the end of Kill Bill (minus the missing limbs) and then some... then it goes beyond it.

Action movie lovers you will want to see this.

Ten out of ten for the fights. five out of ten for the film as a whole.

Imagine Ong-Bak or The Protector with better production values and a young girl as the main character instead of Tony Jaa. That's Chocolate, in a nut shell.

As a martial arts movie, it's not bad. Zen is an autistic girl who has the amazing ability to perfectly copy the fighting moves that she sees, be they on television or from watching students practice across the street from her house. And she uses them to great effect to help her mother get the money she needs for her expensive medicine, as well as to fight off various thugs and bad guys from her mother's past. The fight scenes are pretty good, even though really the only thing separating them from the fight scenes in the movies I mentioned earlier is that the impressive attacks and acrobatics are being done by JeeJa Yanin instead of Tony Jaa. She clearly is quite talented at fight choreography and acrobatics, and she's not a bad actress, either. Playing a person with a disorder with as many variations as autism can be a tricky thing, but I think she did pretty well.

My main issue with Chocolate is that it's a less brutal movie than Ong Bak, and because of that, the novelty of the unique situation of the main character is really the only thing that sets it apart from the many other decent martial arts flicks that are available. It's solid fun the first time around, but there's not enough here to warrant additional viewings.

JeeJa Yanin makes for one of the strongest and most believable heroines I've seen in an action film in a long, long time. On top of having screen presence and natural acting ability, she can kick some major ass without even breaking a sweat. Case in point.

"Chocolate" is full of dazzling fight sequences that are as brutal and hard-hitting as they are well choreographed and coherent. They get more and more creative as the film goes on before reaching a chaotic climax that takes full advantage of the actors' physical abilities.

The story is a dramatic one, dealing with Zen's (JeeJa Yanin) quest to get the money that is owed to her family by various gangs in order to pay for her dying mother's hospital bills. Zen has a problem of her own. She is autistic and emotionally unstable. She is able to use this to her advantage, though, as her reflexes are incredibly precise and more advanced than the average person's. She spends some of her time watching martial arts movies, and she's able to pick up on the various moves she sees in the film, which carries into her own move set.

I haven't read too deeply into the issue of autism, but the film seemed to treat it with care and respect; nothing came off as laughable.

The film's photography has a washed out look that I wasn't necessarily the biggest fan of, but I suppose it works in the long run, given the film's moody subject matter and melodrama.

Another thing I liked about the film was the severe lack of slapstick and goofy humor. I've seen to many martial arts films that are full of this sort of thing, and it usually comes off as more annoying than funny.

Director Prachya Pinkaew also made such martial arts flicks as Ong-bak and The Protector, which are somewhat modern classics in the Asian film community. I haven't seen them yet, but if they're as well put together as Chocolate, I see no reason why I would dislike them.

Despite the film's many strengths, it was hard for me to find it amazing. It's probably because I've already seen movies like this and was expecting something truly groundbreaking for the genre. Either way, it works.

JeeJa Yanin is undoubtedly the film's greatest assets, and it'll be interesting to see what future projects she takes on. Hopefully they take full advantage of her talents more often than not. Seeing her fight, I was reminded of past female martial arts experts such as Yukari Oshima (My personal favorite) and Moon Lee. She even has a similar look to these women. So it's great to see a somewhat younger version of them living up to their legacy.

Well, fans of the director's other work and martial arts films in general should give this a look, if only to witness a fresh new talent with a bright future ahead of her.

Chocolate also known as Zen, Warrior Within, is a martial arts action film. The film is directed by Prachya Pinkaew and stars Yanin "Jeeja" Vismistananda, Hiroshi Abe, Pongpat Wachirabunjong, Taphon Phopwandee and Ammara Siripong.

An autistic girl uses her martial arts skills to collect the money from the debtors of her mother as she desperately needs money for the treatment of her mother.

The best way to describe his film is an high octane action filled ride. The film has lots of misses such as a proper script, acting, plot development and character development but is filled with lots of action scenes with a pinch of emotional melodrama.

The plot of the film is mediocre but the action scenes and the stunts saves this film from everything, the high octane action scenes will not give the viewers the time to think about anything else.

Acting in the film is decent and screenplay is fast paced, action scenes are choreographed beautifully. The climax of the film is also decent.

A must watch for hard core action film lovers for others a decent one time watch.

For a start this movie has a story line without to many hickups and the main actors show a certain sensibility not common in a martial art flick. Basically it's about how athletic a human body can be and, if you put behind the idea of a young girl capable to fight a LOT of men, quite enjoyable. The truth goes on in the end, where they show a couple of scenes from production, making people understand this is a movie, not the real life. The acrobatic scenes on the building and the fight are the best scenes, even if ripped from Ong Bak and The Protector, but it's good to see there are many people capable to do this. Sit back and enjoy a good ride from the Thai cinema.

This movie that exceeded my expectations. Not only did it have better action than your average martial arts movie, but it also had a good story with great drama.

It was a mix between exciting and exceptionally-executed action and emotionally resonant yet really sad drama. The action scenes were shot and done well, even with a budget of only about 4M USD. The drama was surprising for a martial arts movie. While not that complicated, it managed to be really sad and interesting in the way that it made you feel for the characters.

When compared to all those other martial arts movies out there, it's hard to believe this didn't become a worldwide sensation.

Don't miss this movie. The action is great. The drama is better than even your average drama movie.

+ Great action

+ Drama is sad and engaging

+ Better story than most martial arts movies

• Unrealistic

• Script could be a little better

Score: 10. Great action and great drama.

After having seen the trailer I was looking forward to see the female version of Tony Jaa in action. Well,the female lead does show some talent. But the martial arts she has shown in "Chocolate" is nowhere near the level of Tony Yaa. So people expecting the same action as in Ong Bak and Tom Yung Goong will be disappointed. There are no real surprises in the action scenes. Yanin however has enough skill to make it all believable. Combined with her good looks you can't go wrong. "Chocolate" is pretty entertaining. People who are complaining about the story have no clue what martial arts movies are about. Movies like this should be judged on the action. And from what this movie has to offer the action is decent. There are some stunts that are quite impressive and can be seen in a blooper reel repeated in the credits (like in Jackie Chan movies where they also show how things can go horribly wrong). Yanin shows a lot of promise. I hope we will see more of her in the future.

In Thailand, during a tense meeting between the Yakuza Masashi (Hiroshi Abe) and the powerful boss of Thai mafia No. 8 (Pongpat Wachirabunjong), his mistress Zin (Ammara Siripong) falls in love for Masashi and becomes his lover. When No. 8 discovers their affair, he orders Masashi that does not know that Zin is pregnant to return to Fukuoka, Japan, alone. She delivers a baby girl named Zen and sooner the doctors diagnose that she is autistic. Zen is raised watching the students of a martial arts school nearby her home and Kung Fu movies on television and she learns how to fight by herself. When Zen (Yanin Vismitananda) is a teenager, her friend Moon (Taphon Phopwandee) uses her accurate reflexes to raise money to help Zin in her treatment of cancer. The snoopy Moon finds a black book with people that owe money to Zin, and he decides to collect the loans with Zen to pay the treatment of Zin. The girl is forced to fight with the henchmen of the businessmen to receive the money, attracting the attention of No.8 that captures Moon to force a meeting with Zin that tells Masashi that he has a daughter and is returning to Thailand.

I have just watched "Chocolate" and it definitely is the best action movie of 2009. The martial arts skill of Yanin Vismitananda is very impressive and the choreography of the fights is perfect, giving the sensation that they are for real. Along the credits, it is possible to see some accidents during the filming inclusive with the lead actress; in the end, the crew with a lady wearing a shirt written Brazil says good-bye to one injured actor or stunt in the hospital. Quentin Tarantino has recently provided his list of the eight best films of 2009 to the magazine Hollywood Reporter and "Chocolate" is ranked #5 in his opinion. My vote is nine.

Title (Brazil): "Chocolate"

I am a big fan of HK films, particularly the more gritty and realistic ones of the 80's and 90's. Realistic action where the laws of physics still apply provides more entertainment for me than the fake stunts where the villains always swing high or miss and get trashed.

A 90 pound girl simply cannot kick a person nearly twice her weight across the room. It simply cannot be done, no matter how fast the kick. Normal people cannot see behind their heads. Modern criminals use firearms, not swords or sticks.

This is the basis of my personal apathy about this film. To be sure, the lead actress, Yanin, is very impressive. She is acrobatic and fluid in her kicks. That alone, though, is insufficient evidence that she could do the things she does.

I believe this film was created for those who enjoy the flying feet of Michelle Yeoh and Moon Lee, action heroines of the 80's. To be sure the settings and choreography are certainly competitive with the HK films of that era.

Where the film falls down is that the characters are simply not sympathetic. The father is a gang member from Japan and the mother is a gang member from Thailand. The money that Jeeja collects (in a very violent manner) is dirty money from extortion and drugs and should not be available for use by Mama, regardless of her condition. The fact that Jeeja actually kills people in the pursuit of this money makes her just a step above them.

The ending is particularly disappointing, but I will not reveal that.

My version of the film had very poor subtitles. I simply could not understand some of the dialog, though I got the gist of it through the action. And action there is in abundance.

If action is all you want and you like seeing a 90 lb girl beat up a hundred (severely inept) bad guys, then this is the movie for you.