Chocolate was the debut for Thai action heroine Jeeja Yanin and was impressive not just for the action, but the story and acting. Her follow up Raging Phoenix is again action directed by Panna Rittikrai.
Here he tries to use a diverse range of fighting styles sort of Muay Thai mixed with break-dancing and some drunken style and it doesn’t really gel.
The story is very weak, Jeeja is a lost and lonely girl who finds herself kidnapped by a band of notorious criminals. She is saved by a group of victims that are after the same criminal organization. Battle lines are drawn.
The film looks rushed and her co-stars are un-interesting and even the final battle against her woman adversary suffers from over use of wirework and over the top choreography.
There are some stand out action moments. Her fight with a kung fu stylist towards the end just shows the potential that the film was capable.
Worth a watch certainly, but let’s hope that Thai films can just step up a notch and produce a film with a good script to match the action.
5 OUT OF 10
