Rating of
2/4
"Chocolate" by Yojimbo
Yojimbo - wrote on 01/30/12
An autistic young girl with a natural aptitude for martial arts uses her skills to recoup money owed to her cancer stricken mother, unaware that they were all members of the criminal underworld. The Karate Kid meets Rain Man in a film from the producers of Ong Bak, famous for the remarkable physical performance of its star that relied on pure skill rather than SFX and wire work. The fight scenes of Chocolate are similarly bone crunching and the brutal reality of the violence on show is underlined by the out-takes reel; it's painful to even watch! The major difference between the two films is the fact that the protagonist is a sweet natured girl which does away with all the posturing, macho bullshit that usually accompanies this kind of thing; it's a lot more fun watching a young girl matter of factly flattening bad guys than the usual testosterone soaked meat head. JeeJa Yanin's remarkable athleticism - not to mention bravery - is the only real reason to watch the film however as the plot is nothing but simplistic sentimentality populated by over-acted stereotypes. In the end martial arts junkies may find Chocolate worth a watch it for the action sequences and stunt work, but there's very little else to it.
