RZA’s directorial debut The Man with the Iron Fists was the promising launch of a filmmaker with unique Black perspective. Inspired obviously by the works of Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez, with a style that blended hip-hop, wuxia kung fu, and classic crime flicks equally, RZA’s work is always intriguing and often exciting. His latest, One Spoon of Chocolate, has more of grindhouse/exploitation feel than the others. And while it shows flashes of potential, it’s the least successful film he’s done so far, bogged down by poor performances and a surprising lack of energy despite a racially-charged revenge plot.
Shameik Moore stars as Randy “Unique” Jackson, a military vet released from prison, who returns home to Karensville, OH to find it overrun by violent, bat-wielding white supremacists. The film begins with someone close to Unique being lured by a bunch of honeypots into a beatdown by masked skinheads. He wakes up in a morgue, with pictures of the slave trade plastered all over the walls, while a white doctor surgically removes his organs. It’s up to Unique to figure out what happened, and get vengeance on those who are doing this to Black men all over the city.
Eventually. One Spoon of Chocolate labors to get the plot moving. Unique is positioned as a sort of Rambo-like figure, soldier with a thousand yard stare and a whole lot of pent-up aggression. He just wants to move on with his life, but the world just keeps on poking at him. Moore is a very good actor, but brooding tortured soul isn’t his bag. He’s best with unassuming, gifted, underdog characters as seen in The Get Down, Dope, and as Miles Morales in the Spider-Verse movies. Here, attempting play a Steve James-like role, it’s just not the right fit. Still, Moore is far and away better than his supporting cast led by RJ Cyler, Paris Jackson, Blair Underwood, and Orange is the New Black actor Michael Harney as the racist town sheriff. For some of them, it’s like they never got past the script reading phase.
Things improve slightly once Unique finishes building his manmade weaponry, and goes on a rampage through the bigots’ party house. Baseball bats, guns, blades, a slapjack, and eventually swords are employed in the brutal combat, with RZA settling on the extreme bloodshed of a grindhouse flick. Moore is most impressive in a final showdown with Harry Goodwins as the racists’ leader, Jimmy, who steps down off a literal throne to engage in the film’s most intense conflict.
One Spoon of Chocolate is RZA’s fourth feature as a director, and he still seems to be figuring out the best way to blend all of his cinematic and musical passions. I would argue that he found it with his first movie, when he was least experienced behind the camera. On a technical level, he’s a much better filmmaker now, and with a renewed focus on his strengths, RZA could finally become the groundbreaking director we know he can be.
One Spoon of Chocolate opens in theaters on May 1st.
