She Was the Next Tony Jaa | Video Essay 

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The first thing I noticed about Jeeja's fights in Chocolate was that each fight was a homage to a particular martial arts legend, the fact she can mimic other actors styles so accurately shows that she's a well rounded martial artist herself. Chocolate is a really good movie and you really care about Zen. That said Raging Phoenix is the better movie and the fights are a lot more brutal.

The fight between Zen the autistic versus Thomas the boy with Tourette's syndrome was quite amazing for me to watch...as each used their wits and talents to defeat each other.

One more thing, thank you for talking about this movie. I am autistic and the martial arts were where I learned a bunch about life. This movie spoke to me on a different level. Also being in the West I never heard any of the marketing, so I had no expectations. Also listening to your analysis about why the direct callbacks to other martial art movies. Great Channel.

Chocolate was such a great film. I remember watching it when I started exploring more SEA action films in high school

Great video! I loved Chocolate and Raging Phoenix when they were released and was kinda disappointed that Jeeja never became a massive star.

I saw her fights on RU-vid back then. She was crazy talented I’m surprise she didn’t take off. Glad she’s getting some attention finally.

I will not stop introducing her films to anyone and I will never forget the first time I saw "Chocolate." One of the last projects she did was as a stunt double in a fantasy-action series here in the Philippines.

I remember the final battle to this day. I enjoyed the movie but it's been a while since I've seen it. I was mainly interested in it due to the portrayal of autism. You are absolute right on how it's more respectful than plenty of Western portrayals. Seeing an autistic person become a super badass seemed like a cheesy fantasy to me, but I will take it over seeing someone like myself be seen as "creepy" or as some human computer. Both of those takes have the person be largely defined by the condition, which frankly isn't very good for character writing.

Yet another one of those films that my uncles exposed me to as a kid. I remember this movie for opening me up to how desperate life can be for many people (though the movie brings it to an extreme with the fierce action). I felt sad for her, yet her action was breathtaking.

I was blown away by Chocolate when I first saw it over 10 years ago. The fight scenes, imo, are not only more varied than Ong Bak's, but extremely diverse in their choreography. It's true she can't hit as hard as Tony Jaa did there, but her actual performance comes through so strongly from beginning to end that I feel like the film actually has twice the personality. Chocolate remains one of my all-time favorite martial arts films, up there with Unleashed, Ip Man, and the Raids. As an EDIT: I'm not sure I agree with the conclusion of the video. I think the message is a little broader than just autistic women. It's more like "work hard, do right by family, and do good" or something along those lines. That the main character is autistic makes her different, but not special. What makes he special is her heart and her will and it's from these that the lesson should be derived.

Love this film- the fights were sublime, especially as she picks up and uses the different fighting styles. For me I must have missed any Tony references, so my expectations weren't skewed.

Chocolate is one of my favorite martial arts movies. It has so much heart....criminally underrated. Unfortunately, Jeeja Yanin hasn't really gotten another opportunity like it.

I randomly found this on Netflix a few years ago. This is a great martial arts film that is not talked about enough.

As a person who’s born with autism, I approve this video

Such a well shot film with excellent choreography and an actual plot. I really cared about the character. I thought she did an amazing job, and the action was based on her learning techniques and moves bit by bit. It was brilliant! Bought it as soon as it came out and have watch it many times. ❤

As an autistic adult this movie felt special to me and empowering and you did a good job with this video and it was refreshing to hear you talk about it

this was one of the first movies i saw as a kid that did a decent job of normalizing autism. Jeeja and everyone came together to make this film very very good. i was so happy to see this vid pop up today, love Chocolate and you break down films so well.

I am so happy to see more people enjoying Chocolate! I watched it back when it came out and loved it right away ❤

I remember watching this when I was in college, I enjoyed it very much :D

This movie is great. I remember watching it a few years back on RU-vid. Some of the best action put on screen

I think I am lucky that I sought out the movie just because it was a martial arts movie. When I first watched it back in the day I had no heightened expectations and could go in blind. I enjoyed it a lot

The video essay about Chocolate that the world needed to see. Bless, my guy! I've waited over 10 years for someone to drop this kind of content about Chocolate. Truly, it's an underrated and underappreciated film. I've watched this movie, maybe over 10 times now in this life, and I still love it. Flaws and all. T___T

I love this movie, I've had it on DVD for over a decade and never understood why no one had ever heard of it. Thanks for the video essay and the memories!

Because of the plot and character work I recommend this movie to even non action movie fans as well

Im a long-time of of sub of you and still to this day im constantly surprised and impressed by your film knowledge and criticism. I'm Thai and a martial arts fan to boot so I have seen Chocolate (still have the Thai official DVD to boot) but I have never seen such great analysis from anyone. You Da Man Accented Cinema!

👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾💐💐💐💐💐💐💐💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖 I LOVED this movie! Glad to see it recognized.

I watched this film about a year ago and I'm so glad to see you make such a great in-depth video about it.

I never clicked so fast. I'm a huge fan of hers. Thank you for touting her.

One of my favourite movies from Thailand. This one has special place in die hard action fans hearts.

I also loved her in Raging Phoenix

I love this channel's ability to shine a light of new appreciation on the various films and actors it looks at.

Easily one of my favorite martial art films, thank you for talking about it. It’s so cool

This movie is in my top 10 list ! JeeJa was fantastic. I never thought the action to be worse than Tony Jaa's movies, on the contrary. Different yes, worse no :)

Happy to be one of the few who saw this when it came out and also enjoyed on the first watch. Even more glad people are starting to recognise this film

I loved this movie when I first saw it last year!

I’ve watched a lot of Jeeja’s films and I’m so glad a video essay is being done about her. Chocolate, This Girl is Badass, Raging Phoenix (among others), are my favorite action films.

I'm so glad you covered this movie and Jeeja. I really wish she had become a bigger star because she has all the right tools to do so. I had the pleasure of seeing her in person years ago at Busan International Film Festival 2011 in Haeundae when she was promoting a Korean/Thai coproduction called The Kick. I really hope a director takes note and gives her a real breakout role she rightfully deserves.

This movie was great but I had forgotten about it. Also amazing from around the same time was "Born to Fight" which has absolutely outrageous scenes of stuntmen putting their bodies on the line like 1980s Hong Kong stuntmen.

I still have the DVD from when it came out. One of my favs. I also have Raging Phoenix. I never heard from her since.

I still have the DVD for this movie! I love Jeeja.❤❤❤

I sometimes wonder about how many great movies are out there that I don't even know of. But it's so hard to find these gems, because doing a search for something like "underrated movies" often leads to the same titles that you already know. So thanks for bringing my attention to this one.

I love this movie. The plot is a little strange, but the action is top notch. I assumed it was well-known to martial arts movie fans. I suppose the title is kinda vague and doesn't scream "action movie". Probably doesn't help that there was some some European drama movie that cam out around the same time with a similar name. It is a shame the star never became well-known. I did see her in a couple other movies, but nothing as big as Chocolate. I did read she took some time off to focus on starting a family. Maybe her momentum slowed because of that.

This is one of my all time favorite movies, and I'm so happy to see it get some recognition!

Oh wow I watched over a decade ago. Thanks for reminding me this existed. I need to watch it again.

What a nice commentary. This is a special movie that hasn't been seen by enough people. It's a shame this didn't take off. Thanks for sharing.

I started to watch this vid last night but stopped because I wanted to watch the movie as cold as I could. Now that I have seen it. This is a must watch for any martial arts fan. A solid movie.

Another underrated all female action movie is Hong Kong's (So Close 2002) imo also ahead of its time. It also have pretty decent written gay character romance representation as well 🏳️‍🌈

This movie is GOLD! I found it in 2010, in some "legal" webpage and I love it ! Now I cant find the movie anywhere, not even in those "legal" webpages... Thank you for bring back those fighting scenes to my memories!

I remember being very young and loving to go to the movie rental stores in the States. I loved browsing the Asian Foreign Cinema section looking for Martial Arts movies. They were a lot more entertaining than anything made anywhere else. I can confirm that Tony Jaa movies were just on a different level at the time and nothing came close to what he did in those movies. I haven't seen anything even come close. I haven't seen this film but I am glad you made a video about and will check it out. This is why I love this channel.

I saw this movie sooo long ago....this is a blast from the past.

One of my favorite movies of all time since it was first released. Seen it countless times.

I'm one of the few who have seen the movie and liked it. Seen it a long time ago, and I had quite a trouble searching for it again.

After Ong Bak I tried to find any and every Thai action film possible and that led me to Chocolate. I was very impressed but always wondered where she went but I guess she’s popped up in a couple things since (that one clip looked like Raid 1 or 2). I generally feel like over sexualized female leads is not only disrespectful but corny so this was refreshing. Furie starring Veronica Ngo was dope af too!

as i was watching the footage, i did notice a lot how her outfits looked kinda like "everyday" clothes. some variants like those really baggy shorts (which i almost thought was a skirt at first). basically, the outfits all looked pretty comfortable to wear so i'm glad you brought it up. (although i wonder how much harder they made it to fight)

I had seen this before ong bak. So I didn't have the comparison in my head between yanin and jaa. I absolutely love this movie, and rewatch it every so often.

LOVE chocolate, & Raging Phoenix had some fun stuff in it, too!

I saw Chocolate when it first came out and was floored by the film. As a parent of a non-verbal autistic child they captured most of the behavior an autistic child has in real life little emotion but very caring. The fight scenes I picked up right away the styles of Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan. and her fight with Thomas was something I'd never thought I would see autism vs tourette syndrome. I still rewatch chocolate today and it's in my top 15 martial arts films.

I don't always agree with your pov in these essays, but I feel like you really nailed this one! Such great observations, especially in how the story and character serves to set this film above and apart from later movies that haven't served Jeeja as well. This is an absolute stunner of a film and probably one of the most underseen and underappreciated Martial Arts movies of the last 20 years.

Your videos are always so high-quality. I love your channel.

I watched this after seeing your community post and the fighting is insane. It's like a mix of Jackie Chan and The Raid. Definitely recommend if you like good fight scenes, which are hard to come by now-a-days, and all the fight scenes are bomb 💯

Thanks for featuring this. I remember the martial arts magazines in the US talking about the movie before it came out, again with the idea that she was going to be the "next Tony Jaa". I've been curious about the movie but need to actually track it down; this video reminded me about it, and renewed my interest.

I've always admired this woman. I am pleased to see her honoured in your video. Thank you.

what an emotional movie this is, and feels very grounded

Saw this movie years ago. Great movie, great action.

the world needs more people like you. the world needs more people seeing this video and watching this movie. i have wanted to say this while in the middle of the video, but i also wanted to finish watching

4/10/23 ( Wednesday ) 6.08 pm. I randomly stumbled upon this video. I remembered enjoying the movie once. As the narrator revealed, 2008 ! Time flies. I wondered what happened to the actress at the beginning of the video, and was glad that she's still kicking asses till this day.

bought it way back when. i did enjoy all the different action scenes. style variations etc.

Really love this movie. I hope JeeJa gets her time to shine some day like you said, I still remember being so let down to see her star alongside Tony and Iko Uwais in Triple Threat only to have her unceremoniously exit the film.

Thank you for this feature. I'll watch this soon. Your channel never disappoints. ❤

So underrated. The actress and the movie.

Thanks for educating me on Chocolate. I will be sure to catch it!

i loveeee this movie, so happy to see your video pop up in my feed!!

I saw this when it came out. I was impressed then and to this day, it is my favorite Martial Arts movie.

I had never heard of this movie before. Thank you for making us aware of it.

She was very very good. Her fight scenes are refreshing and like what the video said, there is consistency in the character. Something I only remember seeing in the "club-leg" character in the old Wong fei hong movies.

This has been one of my favourite movies since it came out.

i'd thought NO ONE would cover this! I thought i was the only fanatic for modern action films (back in the day mis 2000s) i've kept up with this girl and studio also. definitely was an inspiration for me to try to become a stunt actor until all martial arts just stopped out of no where.

Watched this movie so many times. Her other movies are enjoyable but I would still say this her best.

Thank you for seeing this movie for what it is and shining a light on it, one of my all time favorites.

I remember seeing the trailer for this and searching everywhere for this movie. I own it. It's crazy

The final melee on the three story apartment complex is one of the most impressive stunt sequences ever put on the screen. Bone-crushing and operatic. What a hidden gem. So glad you highlighted this film.

THIS was the BEST & ultimate favorite movie of all time, hands down!

I watched ot right after your community post, thank you for bring it to my attention!

Thanks for reminding me about Chocolate, I loved that movie.

She's way more convincing in fight scenes than any of those typical Hollywood female "badassess".

This is your first video that makes me cry watching it 😭

I didn't know about this movie till a friend of mine showed me it and she wasn't even a huge martial arts fan like me. It was a great movie and I'm happy you brought it up again because I forgot about it. Need to re-watch it now. Thank you.

This movie is EXCELLENT. I still own the blu ray that came out ages ago... somewhere lol. I have to find it. I remember having a viewing party at my house (my friends were/are huge martial arts fans) and we were blown away. Had a taste of Born to Fight, which is also incredible.

I remember seeing this on Netflix years ago and loving it. I remember going on a rant about it to my friends because I loved the story and how it lead to the final action scenes.

Chocolate is so entertaining. I like Raging Phoenix too. I've read that this actress wanted to focus on her family life over her movie career.

I remember my mother and I stumbled upon this on netflix over a decade ago, and watched it with no more info than what the description provided. We both really enjoyed it, for many of the reasons you mentioned in this video.

When Chocolate was out, i enjoyed it more than Ong Bak or Tom Yam Goong. Up yo this day, still my fav thai action movie, wathcing it every now and then. Years later, i got diagnosed with autism, quite late in my life. Probably that's why i love the movie and feel somewhat related to her struggle in the first place.

Absolutely underrated movie and absolutely underrated actress

I remember picking this up on dvd about 10/12 years ago and being absolutely floored.

LOL I love your last line. Another movie for me to watch. Thank you for the recommendation!

Growing up on Shaw brothers 60-70s Flix,this was awesome to see 🔥

I love this movie! Great story and action 🙌🏾

God this is one of my favorite Martial arts films I got it from blockbuster a very very long time ago and loved it ever since

One of the most underrated martial arts movie.