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RATING:   
Chocolate is a curious title for an action movie. But after two kick-ass gongfu flicks, Ong Bak and Tom Yum Goong, Thai director Prachya Pinkaew is probably hoping for this movie to provide more sweet success.
Chocolate's primary purpose, though, seems to be letting 24-year-old first-time actress "Jija" Yanin Vismistananda showcase her gravity-defying flying kicks and fists of fury. Everything else plot, acting and soundtrack is secondary.
Jija plays Zen, an autistic girl who is the daughter of a Thai mafia boss' moll and her Japanese yakuza lover Masashi (Abe Hiroshi).
But Zen has a special gift she can emulate gongfu moves by watching Muay Thai fighters and playing video games.
When her mother is diagnosed with cancer, Zen puts her "power" to good use, fighting her way into the seedy underworld to collect debts to raise money for medical fees.
Sure, there's lots of action, but you've probably seen it all before in Jackie Chan movies even the end-of-show "blooper" scenes with Jija performing dangerous stunts. But for that alone, she deserves one star for herself. - TODAY/ar
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