Mulan

I approached the live-action version of Mulan with a clean slate, so I decided ("for peace of mind") to watch the original film as well to have some comparison. Unlike the new Jungle Book and The Lion King, the live-action adaptation of Mulan is in many ways different from the animated original, which has its pros and cons. The film's comedic-fairytale line has been replaced, in a rather non-violent way, by a primarily war-drama-action dimension, and there are some changes in the cast of characters (here I very much appreciated the presence of the witch). The film offers some audiovisually impressive sequences (the avalanche or Mulan's encounter with the witch), while the plot is a bit more grounded and at times is too blatantly laced with feminist overtones. On the other hand, I appreciate the camera work and the pleasant musical score. Personally, I think the new Mulan definitely deserves a more favourable assessment. (09/04/2020)

I’m not sure it was a great idea for Disney to remake all the classic 90s films that made them famous. Some work, some don’t—it really depends on the execution. With Mulan, not only was the talking dragon missing, but it felt like everything was off. The movie seemed to contradict the spirit of other similarly styled Chinese historical films. On top of that, it was overwhelmingly feminist, to the point where I couldn’t tell if I noticed it because the current times make me hyper-aware of it, or because the director consciously pushed that angle. Either way, it’s clear Mulan had an impact on me—just not in a good way. (05/14/2021)

This movie lacks not only vision on the part of the director, but also consistency. Scenes strangely jump around a lot and are confusing. The motivations are as variable as the weather. The visual style relies on beautiful locations, but the scenery is a bit makeshift. However, the relationship between the father and daughter works beautifully. Liu Yifei is cute and knows how to act, but the Chinese aces such as Jet Li and Donnie Yen are inexcusably left on the sidelines and are practically unused. If they wanted a realistic version, they should have gotten tougher. Why couldn’t at least the training sequence be as hard-hitting as The 36th Chamber of Shaolin? (10/13/2020)

$200 million down the drain. It's baffling how a movie with such a massive budget can look so bad. The sterile green screen screams from almost every scene, making it impossible to get immersed in the film. The battle scenes are laughable, lacking any hint of epicness. The talking dragon is out, but somehow, there's even more magic than in the original animated version. Disney's unwillingness to take risks and support original projects is shameful. I'm done with their sad adaptations of beloved, still-great animated classics. (09/11/2020)

Mulan lost its fairytale quality while failing to turn into an epic adventure for the whole family. A lot of scenes are completely unrelated to each other, the characters' motivations and goals change depending on how the film needs it, the action scenes are lousy, and the spectacular battle is downright ridiculous. Yifei Liu isn't charismatic or particularly convincing, Jet Li clearly would have liked to be somewhere else entirely, and Donnie Yen practically doesn't need to be here. And as a bonus, the typically ridiculous Asian pathos. Bad film. And if it really cost $200 million, they should hire some handy auditors at Disney, because it's actually pretty ugly too. The star is for the costumes. (09/03/2020)