hatteras61 CAUTION, THIS REVIEW MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS!!! As far as martial arts films go, this film rates about a 7 or 8. However, Jeeja Yanin in the staring role was, in my opinion, a brilliant move by the director. Her portrayal of an Autistic Child was spot on (having cared for a few, some severe, some less so, and some considered "functional). I was VERY impressed by her ability to portray autism as realistically as she did. Not to mention her very real skills as a martial artist puts the rating up to a 10 IMHO. The fight scenes in the movie were, I feel, very well done, and her final fight scene (WARNING: SPOILER ALERT!!!) against a boy with Turrettes Syndrome was, I believe, not only well done, but realistically done as well. I was very glad to obtain this movie and watch it on a fairly regular basis.For those reviewers who felt the acting was poor, script poor, or the storyline "stilted"... that, of course is their opinion and they are entitled to that opinion. I, however, found no fault with any of the parts of the film, save one: it might have been longer. I would have loved to see more action and possibly a more in depth explanation of the early relation between Zin and her Yakuza lover.

ma-cortes 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 .

Stephen Lindsay-Neale The narrative of this film follows much of the usual conventions of most heartbreak stories, forbidden love, gangsters and money. However the focus of the film then completely shifts to the story of the daughter of this forbidden love, with the introduction of its main character Zen. At birth we see her diagnosed with a brain deficiency that causes her to learn slower than other children, despite this seemingly life altering condition she becomes fueled at the thought of learning martial arts. While watching others practice around her and obsessively watching martial arts movies and learning as much as she can, she becomes ever more the fighting machine. When hard times befall her mother, who is seeking treatment for cancer, Zen and a friend try and get back money they find out she has been owed. Setting out against crooked businessmen she confronts hers fears and spares no punches to get the money to save her mother. This film brilliantly delivers a mix of story and action while at the same time managing to keep the feel of the action authentic, hard hitting, realistic and nothing over the top, as can sometimes be the case with even the best martial arts films. Demonstrating just how painful the stunts are in this film becomes especially obvious toward the end, where a montage of a few of the films more dangerous moments highlights the risks people will go to deliver a great action sequence. As someone who has always been a great fan of martial arts films this one has high praise from me for its uncompromising start from the beginning until the end.

Abyss47 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.