Mini-movie review: Chocolate (2008)

This is not a review for Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, or Like Water for Chocolate, or even Chocolat. This is a review for the kick-ass, ass-kicking 2008 Thai film, Chocolate. Holy moly - is this movie fun!

Since this is truly a mini-review, I'm just going to be lazy and give you the IMDB plot summary:

An autistic woman with powerful martial art skills looks to settle her ailing mother's debts by seeking out the ruthless gangs that owe her family money.

That's all you really need to know storywise. What is cool - so cool! - is the action. I don't know martial arts from a hole in the ground, but I'm guessing that what's on display here is a mixture of Muay Thai kickboxing, taekwondo and a bunch else. The star is young JeeJa Yanin (born in 1984) who, like Jackie Chan and Tony Jaa, does all her own stunts without mechanical aids or CGI. She's tiny, this girl, and adorable, and the action scenes (thankfully, this movie is mostly action scenes) are stupendous. If you like action movies, at all, you must see Chocolate.