In this part of the world, there's no dearth of male action heroes, you know, those with real martial arts background. Think Jet Li, Jackie Chan, Donnie Yen, Wu Jing, and closer to home, Tony Jaa. How about a female counterpart? You're likely to struggle hard to name a credible one, Michelle Yeoh notwithstanding. So Thai director Prachya Pinkaew is probably shrewd enough to identify this golden opportunity, and so introduces us to Yanin Vismistananda in her debut feature Chocolate.

Those familiar with Pinkaew's martial arts extravaganzas with Ong Bak and Tom Yum Goong, will know roughly what to expect from Chocolate. Since the rumoured falling out with his main star of those movies, there's definitely some big shoes to fill, and Yanin fills them quite nicely, martial arts wise, though there were certain scenes which were quite clear that she's still a diamond in the rough with many edges left to polish. But that's not to put down her effort, except that I thought as a lady, her final delivery of those choreographed punches and kicks lacked some really hard hitting edge to them, and the curious observation that some required some speeding up, was left to be desired. What could also be improved, is the transitions between fights, because each seemed pretty much stand alone, even though you know that she's supposedly to be battling enemies continuously, but with each combatant, there seemed to be a "reset" to on-guard mode.

But what was learned from the earlier two Thai action movies, was that it was no longer necessary to repeat the action from different camera angles. This would stem from confidence in showing off the stunts from a single viewpoint, and not feel sore from not being able to cover it from multiple angles. And Chocolate had some really nice buildup in the complexity of these set action pieces. It teases with what's over the horizon starting from a few thugs at a street performance, and sets up carefully crafted action sequences for our heroine to flit from one to another, each being an excuse to dispatch goon after goon coming at her.

Influences from Hong Kong action movies are without doubt, as you can recount similar settings in various HK movies being incorporated here, such as Fong Sai-Yuk's half- crouching styled fights under a stage. What was internalized in Chocolate, was probably from the Jackie Chan styled school of action, which fuses some bit comedy, with the utilizing of everyday objects in one's surroundings to throw off opponents, or worked into the action piece as a prop for acrobatic stunts to be performed. I'd bet there are numerous sequences here that Jackie Chan himself would approve and be proud of.

And in true Jackie Chan culture, besides the end credits featuring some of the NG shots and injuries to the stars and stunt folk, you'll be glad to know that Yanin did most of her own stunts, and it's indeed no mean feat fighting in a skirt of that length, without it getting in the way. While the finale battle involves countless of Crazy88 types ala Kill Bill in wave after wave of attacks, culminating in battling it out on the facade of a multi-storey shophouse building complete with smashing windows, ledges and neon signboards, my personal favourite had to be at the abattoir. In reddish hues, the villains are sans shirts, meaning risks of personal injury are higher without padding that can be hidden underneath the clothes. And with menacing looking meat hooks hanging, and using cleavers as projectiles, just make your job drop at how these fights were choreographed and filmed, especially the slamming of bodies against concrete stalls.

Action aside, the first 30 minutes or so was devoted to developing Yanin's Zen (heh) character, a young autistic girl born of gangster parents - Dad Masashi (Hiroshi Abe) is a non-self-respecting Yakuza member who doesn't have a body full of tattoos, and Mom Zin (Ammara Siripong) belongs to the Thai triads, and ex-moll of its head honcho. In a Romeo- Juliet styled love springing from only hate, only in Singapore do you have the sex scene severely edited, which I thought was important as that's how Zen was conceived. Violence is OK, but sex is zero here. Anyway Dad had to exile himself back to Japan to avoid an all out gang war, and Zin now becomes an outcast single parent, who has to struggle with cancer, as well as raising an autistic child.

Children of such nature are usually referred to as special, and the specialness of Zen is her ability to pick up martial arts by observation. Hence thanks to DVDs of Pinkaew's earlier movies, and having to reside beside a Muay Thai school, Zen picks up the skills necessary, and get to use them when she goes hunting for her mother's debtors in order to pay for chemotherapy sessions. Money's everyone's problem, so Zen gets to use her fists, knees and elbows on her opponent's face, body and shin. I'd always love watching knees and elbows connect to deliver blows on opponents and inflicting excruciating pain, and in her lithe form, Zen delivers them with balletic grace.

Anyway I'd guess no one's really interested in how the story gets developed, which is not without its fair share of loopholes, but we're all here to watch Yanin Vismitananda kick some serious butt. And she does so convincingly enough to warrant a fan following onto her next movie, and make it an action one please!

CHOCOLATE is the latest offering to come from Thailand's top action directors: the same guys who brought us ONG BAK and WARRIOR KING. This film changes the mould slightly, with the shift from Tony Jaa to a new female lead actress, Jeeja Yanin, who seems just as skilled as Jaa to me. Otherwise it's business as usual, as our heroine takes on multiple bad guys in huge, brawling action set-pieces that get progressively more elaborate and more exciting as the story goes on. As for the story, it's a little more believable than in the other films, and the idea of having the main actress playing an autistic character is a brave one that ultimately pays off.

However, this is a film all about the action and strictly one for the action fans. The first half hour makes for slow build up, with plenty of the melodrama you expect from these productions. Then we hit the first set-piece, a simple battle in an ice factory. This recalls THE BIG BOSS and is quite good, although Yanin's moves seem deceptively simple. The second time – a battle in a warehouse – and it's much better, with great style and great stunts. Yanin proves athletic and powerful and does some seemingly impossible stuff. The third set-piece is inside a butcher's, and is the best yet, with great use made of props – painful spikes, cleavers and all manner of implements ready to impale the unwary. By this time, so much emphasis has been made of the action, we're almost at the climax, which lasts for an incredible half an hour. It starts off with a rerun of WARRIOR KING's one-against-many showdown, as Yanin tackles loads of thugs, before moving into swordplay and some bloody deaths. All that's left is the lead villain to deal with – and I was ready for the film to be over; I'd already marked it 4 out of 5 in my head. Pretty good, if short.

How mistaken I was. We have another full ten minutes out of this and it's the best part of the film – indeed the best part of any Thai film I've seen. Full of originality, this is yet another set-piece, set up in the air as Yanin tackles the bad guys on the outside of a building! It's an elaborate set that Jackie Chan would be proud of, as characters jump from sign to sign, get thrown through glass or just fall painfully to the ground. The hard-hitting stunts are powerful beyond belief and I had to immediately rewind this bit to watch it again – and I still can't get enough of it. What a brilliant ending! It makes the film and is something I'll come back to time and time again, even if I do end up fast-forwarding through the non-action stuff (not that I would really do that). CHOCOLATE is a great film and I hope we get more like this soon.

In Thailand, during a tense meeting between the Yakuza Masashi (Hiroshi Abe) and the powerful boss of Thai mafia No. 8 (Pongpat Wachirabunjong),his mistress Zin (Ammara Siripong) falls in love for Masashi and becomes his lover. When No. 8 discovers their affair, he orders Masashi that does not know that Zin is pregnant to return to Fukuoka, Japan, alone. She delivers a baby girl named Zen and sooner the doctors diagnose that she is autistic. Zen is raised watching the students of a martial arts school nearby her home and Kung Fu movies on television and she learns how to fight by herself. When Zen (Yanin Vismitananda) is a teenager, her friend Moon (Taphon Phopwandee) uses her accurate reflexes to raise money to help Zin in her treatment of cancer. The snoopy Moon finds a black book with people that owe money to Zin, and he decides to collect the loans with Zen to pay the treatment of Zin. The girl is forced to fight with the henchmen of the businessmen to receive the money, attracting the attention of No.8 that captures Moon to force a meeting with Zin that tells Masashi that he has a daughter and is returning to Thailand.

I have just watched "Chocolate" and it definitely is the best action movie of 2009. The martial arts skill of Yanin Vismitananda is very impressive and the choreography of the fights is perfect, giving the sensation that they are for real. Along the credits, it is possible to see some accidents during the filming inclusive with the lead actress; in the end, the crew with a lady wearing a shirt written Brazil says good-bye to one injured actor or stunt in the hospital. Quentin Tarantino has recently provided his list of the eight best films of 2009 to the magazine Hollywood Reporter and "Chocolate" is ranked #5 in his opinion. My vote is nine.

Title (Brazil): "Chocolate"