For anyone that has seen Tony Jaa in Ong Bak and The Protector you already have an idea of what you are expecting from a film in which an autistic girl who has the power to mimic and learn from what she sees will turn into after watching a couple of Tony Jaa and Bruce Lee features. However, don’t get your hopes too high as this film does manage to deliver some healthy blows from its 100 pound protagonist, but it is not at all like the bone crunching brutality of a Jaa feature even though the sound effects artists are working just as hard to make it seem like it is.
Directed by Ong Bak and Protector helmer Prachya Pinkaew we watch as he takes 24-year-old “Jija” Yanin Vismitananda under his wing as something of a female Jaa successor. Despite a reported five years of preparation for this film Jija still isn’t as fluid or powerful as Jaa, but Prachya and his team still know how to cut an action film together to make for some engaging scenes.
Jija plays Zen, the autistic girl at the center of the story who along with her mother, Zin, has been separated from her father as a result of criminal actions the couple engaged in earlier in life. Zin is now suffering from cancer and with the family strapped for cash Zen and her cousin come into possession of a list of old contacts that owe Zin money and they intend to collect. From this point on the film wastes no time in getting to the action as each scene dissolves into fight sequences which usually begins with Zen shouting, “Money!” and ends in bodies everywhere. Can’t complain too much, that’s what we came to see.
The film indirectly asks an audience member that has seen a Tony Jaa film to draw comparisons and while there are many to be had there are certain differences between the Jija and Jaa. Jaa is a powerhouse when it comes to delivering blows and Jiji’s are more precise, but she doesn’t hesitate to introduce her knee or elbow to a combatants head, both options making for a satisfying ending. While the film did earn an R rating from the MPAA it is extremely tame in comparison to what Jaa brought in The Protector. The one true similarity between the two films is the excessive volume added to the sound effects ensuring every punch that is dealt out is heard and almost felt by the audience, it can become a bit overbearing but it also adds to the fun.
The story Chocolate uses to pass its young fighter from scene to scene is actually quite weak as it seems people are being bad just to be bad and serve the purpose of the plot. The fact it is called Chocolate is silly enough in the first place since the only connection it has to the story is that it is Zen’s favorite candy and has nothing to do with the plot. It would be like calling the next James Bond film Martini. However, considering the tagline to this one is “A Special-Needs Girl With a Special Need To Kick Some Ass” I don’t think the plot was something anyone ever considered a high priority.
Chocolate hits limited theaters on February 6, 2009 while debuting on DVD and Blu-ray only a few days later on February 10.
