The world of the martial arts action film has been, for the most, mostly male-dominated. While the scene continues to be dominated by men, there have been a number of women over the decades that have dared to stand up and be noticed in the genre. Ladies like Cynthia Rothrock, Veronica Ngo, Michelle Yeoh, Amy Johnston, and Angela Mao Ying have made a name for themselves in some pretty awesome action flicks, proving that they are just as capable as men in action films. Some of them I will be getting to later in this series, but the one lady that I would like to talk about in this post is Jeeja Yanin. Born in Bangkok, Thailand, Jeeja has trained in Tae Kwon Do since she was 11 and currently holds a 4th degree black belt. She made her on-screen debut in the action film Chocolate and her star has been rising ever since.
Chocolate – Jeeja Yanin Vs. Dojo
When Chocolate was released nearly a decade ago, it was the first Thai action movie that I saw that didn’t have Tony Jaa in it. That didn’t stop me from enjoying the hell out of this one. This one has a pretty unique setup. Jeeja Yanin plays Zen, an autistic girl who apparently has a natural talent for the martial arts by watching movies with Bruce Lee and Tony Jaa, ironically enough. I really liked this movie because it didn’t make fun of people with disabilities, but rather, gave them unique gifts because of their affliction. That was fantastic. The action scenes in this film are pretty good, and some are brutal, especially this sequence in the dojo, where she fights the local Yakuza, and eventually another “disabled” person with a flair for capoeira. It’s one of the most unique martial arts flicks that I’ve seen in years. It has its issues, sure, but I really liked it.
Raging Phoenix – Jeeja Yanin Vs. Gang
Having seen a huge success with Chocolate, Jeeja Yanin was not going to do another action flick like Chocolate. Jeeja Yanin chose Raging Phoenix as her next project, which is a bit of a kidnap/martial arts film. While some people have issues with this film, I loved it, because it’s very different than what I’ve seen before. Raging Phoenix features a fighting style invented specifically for this film, which I would describe as Drunken Boxing meets Muay Thai with a little bit of hip-hop thrown in. It’s bizarre, but it’s very well-choreographed. Jeeja Yanin shines as a potential victim-turned-martial arts bad-ass named Deu. While the movie definitely gets really weird towards the end, a lot of the initial fight sequences are fantastic, including this fight against a small gang. It’s definitely worth seeking out.
The Kick – Jeeja Yanin
While The Kick is definitely focused on a family of Korean martial arts performers, some of the best fights in the film belong to Jeeja Yanin. While there’s a lot of flashy Tae Kwon Do moves being thrown around by the Koreans, Jeeja’s Muay Thay is….mostly grounded and direct. There’s really not a whole lot to say about this film aside from the action sequences, and while it is far from Yanin’s best, it is by no means her worst. The Kick is definitely worth a rental if you’re into Thai action films like me.
The Protector 2 (Tom Yum Goong 2) – Shipyard Brawl
Truth be told, I was debating whether or not to put this one on the list, as The Protector 2 was simply not a good movie. It was a huge step backwards for the director, the fight choreographer and Tony Jaa. It did have a few good things going for it, including pitting Jeeja Yanin against Tony Jaa. The fight scenes with Jeeja Yanin are pretty decent and definitely worth a watch. You may have to get through a pretty bad movie to get to the fights, but they are definitely worth it…..mostly.
While Jeeja Yanin doesn’t have much of a filmography right now, she’s definitely got some pretty good ones under her belt. She’s got a couple of films coming up, Triple Threat and Red Cargo, so we will be seeing more of her in the future. I’m expecting some pretty great things from her.