Righteous fury comes to a racist town in RZA’s ‘One Spoon of Chocolate’

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Robert Diggs, known professionally as RZA, has been a highly influential figure in music for over three decades. He’s shaped the sound of the Wu-Tang Clan and composed music for acclaimed directors like Jim Jarmusch and Quentin Tarantino, creating a unique and recognizable style. However, his work as a director hasn’t reached the same level of mastery. While his latest film tackles important issues with passion, it doesn’t quite live up to its potential as a powerful, politically charged action movie. Heavily inspired by films like “First Blood” and classic kung-fu movies, “One Spoon of Chocolate” examines America’s history of racism, but lacks the creativity and impact of his best work with the Wu-Tang Clan.

RZA is working with Shameik Moore again. Moore previously appeared in RZA’s 2020 film, “Cut Throat City,” and portrayed Raekwon from the Wu-Tang Clan in the Hulu series “Wu-Tang: An American Saga.” In their new project, “One Spoon of Chocolate,” Moore plays Unique, a man just released from a New York prison after serving time for assault and battery. He maintains his innocence, claiming he was defending a neighbor from her husband’s abuse.

Unique, a war veteran who served three tours in Iraq, is searching for peace and reconnects with his cousin, Ramsee, in the small town of Karensville, Ohio. However, beneath the town’s quiet surface lies a dark secret: it’s controlled by a racist sheriff named McLeoud. Unique’s other cousin, Lonnie, died there recently in a suspicious attack – a brutal assault by a masked gang revealed in a flashback, motivated by the illegal harvesting of his organs. Now, Unique finds himself targeted by the same group of prejudiced locals who don’t want him in town.

Like the first “Rambo” film introduced audiences to a troubled veteran, “One Spoon of Chocolate” places a former soldier in a hostile environment where his past service doesn’t earn him any special treatment. However, the situation is even more difficult for Unique because of racial prejudice. His main opponent is Jimmy (Harry Goodwins), a white supremacist and the sheriff’s son who leads a violent gang. The film’s villains, directed by RZA, aren’t just portrayed as evil; they’re depicted as unsophisticated and deserving of the beating Unique is about to give them.

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Shameik Moore first showed his talent for playful charm in the film “Dope” and as the voice of Spider-Man in the animated movies. In “One Spoon of Chocolate,” he plays an ex-convict experiencing freedom, but facing societal barriers. While Moore has good chemistry with Darla (Paris Jackson), the film suffers from underdeveloped, cartoonish characters. Despite his character’s name being Unique, he comes across as a rather ordinary and uninspired figure simply seeking revenge.

Quentin Tarantino executive produced and hosts “One Spoon of Chocolate,” reflecting his and RZA’s shared love for edgy, genre films. As a result, the film doesn’t shy away from nudity, violence, and sexual content, eventually escalating to intense action. However, the film’s attempt to be alluring and gritty falls a bit flat, largely because the action sequences aren’t particularly original. Despite this, the film is fueled by a palpable anger, as RZA draws a clear line between historical slavery and the current high rates of incarceration among young Black men—a connection visually reinforced by the film’s violent plot. The character of Unique is intended to represent this racial trauma, but the actor doesn’t quite convey the necessary depth of pain and sorrow to make it truly impactful.

RZA, the creative force behind classic Wu-Tang Clan albums like 1993’s “Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers),” built a unique world where gritty stories of hardship blended with the fantastical imagery of martial arts films and comics. His film “One Spoon of Chocolate” best captures this mix, drawing inspiration from Blaxploitation and Hong Kong action movies to offer a commentary on contemporary America, despite being set in the 1990s. The film’s depiction of the town of Karensville and the behavior of a character named McLeoud feel unsettlingly relevant to issues in modern America.

Even if “One Spoon of Chocolate” doesn’t quite succeed as the intense, action-packed film it aims to be, you can still see why RZA spent over ten years developing it. His anger at the unfairness in America has only increased as racial divisions have become more pronounced and ingrained. However, much like the film’s main character, RZA seems unable to overcome the difficult circumstances around him.

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2026-05-01 20:01