Wow, what happened here?
A Mulan remake had so much potential but it seems like they really phoned this one in. I'm totally cool with them going in a new direction compared to the first one as do the other live action remakes (except for the butchering of Mulan's backstory and turning her into a generic chosen-one), but there are many aspects that make this not a great film on its own.
Not only does the film have no personality or engaging qualities, but the directing and editing are just kind of bad. It's clear this is a high budget film based on the set pieces and costumes, but the cuts are choppy, with weird camera angle decisions and times of poor framing. The pacing is also weird- it's a two hour movie that has a long ramp up with quick climax and ending. This leaves the audience little chance to get attached to the characters. The writing and acting also leave much to be desired- often times empty, awkward, emotionless, and full of plot holes.
If this didn't have the Mulan and Disney brand behind it, it'd instantly be forgotten. This could have been so much better.
Mulan mixes the original story with Kung-Fu fantasy and it works. Definitely beats Disney just making another live action scene for scene musical remake.
Which doesn’t leave you thinking you just watched the same exact movie again. Like the Lion King.
Mulan, the live-action adaptation of the beloved 1998 animated film, has finally hit screens after being one of the first movies affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite the production controversies and pressure to live up to the original, Mulan offers strong performances from its lead Yifei Liu and supporting cast of Donnie Yen, Tzi Ma, Gong Li, and Jet Li. The visuals are also striking, with an emphasis on grandeur and color. However, this version lacks the heart and spirit of the original, with the songs and energy replaced with action, adventure, and drama. While these new elements add different dimensions, the overall feeling is that it is polished but surface level and is style over substance. Despite the impressive visuals, performances, and action, Mulan struggles to fully conceal its empty core.
Mulan, la adaptación de acción real de la amada película animada de 1998, finalmente llegó a las pantallas después de ser una de las primeras películas afectadas por la pandemia de COVID-19. A pesar de las controversias de producción y la presión para estar a la altura del original, Mulan ofrece sólidas actuaciones de su protagonista Yifei Liu y el elenco de apoyo de Donnie Yen, Tzi Ma, Gong Li y Jet Li. Las imágenes también son llamativas, con énfasis en la grandeza y el color. Sin embargo, esta versión carece del corazón y el espíritu del original, con las canciones y la energía reemplazadas por acción, aventura y drama. Si bien estos nuevos elementos agregan diferentes dimensiones, la sensación general es que está pulido pero nivelado en la superficie y es estilo sobre sustancia. A pesar de las impresionantes imágenes, actuaciones y acción, Mulan se esfuerza por ocultar por completo su núcleo vacío.
This is one terrible acting!
Hypocritical woke and Mushu-less ... prefer the cartoon version any day
Visually stunning... but that's all, the fight scenes looks bad for being a Disney movie, if this would be directed by Zhang Yimou then things would be different.
I for one enjoyed it. Thankfully it does deviate a bit from the original and that lends it a unique flavour of its own. The original is a childhood favourite but this one is pretty good in its own right. The visuals are pretty good, the locations are terrific! The movie had a sweet and simple message to convey, which I felt it did so nicely....
This movie, right off the bat, makes some smart creative decisions: it doesn’t try to imitate the original too much, and it’s not a musical.
They even steer away from the usual Disney formula by taking away the funny sidekick.
And while the film is technically quite impressive (cinematography and score are top notch), I found it to be ultimately unengaging.
Also, there seems to be a correlation between big, feminist action movies and poor lead performances.
I mean, just do the math: Wonder Woman, Captain Marvel, and now Mulan.
Yes, I also find it important that more of these movies get made (not corporate, tame Disney films, but female driven action movies in general), but they deserve to be a lot better than this.
Problem is, if nobody sees it, chances are execs will take the wrong lesson from it, and think people don’t want to see female/Asian representation, or feminist themes.
So, we’re kinda fucked regardless, but I still don’t find that an excuse to give a heavy push to this mediocre movie, as I see some journalists doing.
5/10
[7.0/10] Mulan is fine. It is a gorgeous thing to look at. Its action set pieces are thrilling. Its story is solid. The core components are there. It does nothing to embarrass the legacy of the 1998 original and takes enough chances on its own to make it more than just a lazy live action restaging.
That’s the film’s greatest strength. Unlike other Disney remakes of its animated classics, Mulan has the gumption to chart its own path. You still have the story of a young woman running away from home, pretending to be a man to join the imperial army, and saving China from foreign invaders. There’s some familiar beats and remixed characters and musical stings that call to mind the animated predecessor.
But there’s also scads of new setups, new storylines, and new twists on the old scenes. Say what you will about what parts of the movie succeed or fail, but the film has the good sense to follow its protagonist’s lead and do so on its own terms.
Unfortunately, for all that independence and laudable effort to do something new and different, the 2020 Mulan can’t hold a candle (let alone a torchlight to let all of China know it’s here) to the 1998 Mulan. That a remake can’t quite live up to the original is nothing new, and the new movie makes commendable attempts to update the old one for a new era. And yet, despite all those praise-worthy efforts to make the current release its own thing, its very existence invites comparisons to the film’s animated precursor, comparisons which aren’t flattering.
Most notably, the 2020 Mulan is an emotionally flat movie. There’s tension in fight scenes and a few heightened moments. But for the most part, the performances and the characters are all restrained or even flat here. That leaves them feeling like action figures to be moved around a beautifully-constructed game board. You rarely get a sense of the major characters’ inner lives, rendering the emotional arcs that were the core of the 1998 release and nominally the core of this one too, much more inert and uninvolving than they should be.
The major exception is Donnie Yen as Commander Tung, Mulan’s military boss and mentor, who manages to inject some life and interiority into a character who could easily come off as just another generic leader guy. And most of all, Tzi Ma as Mulan’s father, Hua Zhou, gives an award-worthy performance, showing an inner turmoil within the Hua family patriarch and, frankly, conveying more of the tension between who Mulan truly is and who she’s expected to be better than the character herself. His screen time is brief, but Zhou is the heart of the film, and its best emotional asset.
Unfortunately, the same can’t be said for most of the other characters, who have flattened or generic personalities. That’s truest for Mulan herself, who comes off reserved to the point of being a cipher, staunching the inner conflicts that are typically communicated through other characters rather than Mulan herself. But it’s also true for the standard issue soldier buddies, the snarling antagonists, and the bland love interests. One of Disney’s trademarks, even in its less-availing films, is a richness of character, something the new Mulan lacks.
That said, it almost makes up for that deficiency with an abundance of stunning images. Director Niki Caro and cinematographer Mandy Walker deliver what is arguably Disney’s best-looking live action production ever. The film provides so many colorful settings, rich with detail and strong choices in lighting and composition that communicate the terror or grandeur of a particular moment. Aside from some conspicuous CGI creatures, the cinematographic approach nicely heightens the reality of this fable while still giving it enough of a root in the genuine to make it feel real. On aesthetics alone, Mulan is a homerun.
The same goes for its superlative fight scenes. Whether it’s plucking arrows from the sky, raiding multi-colored markets, or going toe-to-toe on a perilous set of scaffolding, Caro and company craft an array of breathtaking action sequences. A willingness to rotate the angle of a skirmish, embrace some Wuxia tropes, and give hand-to-hand combat interludes time to breathe makes those larger than life set pieces the highlight of the film and almost worth the price of admission on their own. They work as the equivalent to the musical numbers in the 1998 release as a showcase for what the filmmakers are capable of.
But that’s not the only major divergence from the animated forebear. The 2020 Mulan adjusts the themes of the piece in subtle ways. At heart, both movies have an “embrace who you really are” mentality. But the remake spends more time focusing on the expectations placed on women in these societies, more specifically how they are supposed to hide their power, or chi, because it’s considered unfeminine, when embracing that power makes them stronger and more self-assured than their male counterparts. It’s a more directly feminist movie in its up-front themes, feeling of a piece with Captain Marvel’s similar point made from beneath the Disney umbrella.
That comes through in Mulan’s counterpart, Xian Lang, a “witch” in the service of the antagonist who encourages Mulan to stop hiding her true self and embrace that power, intimating a bond of sisterhood that connects them across the opposing sides of this war. There’s an implicit battle being fought by both of them to be able to take their place in a male-driven society, albeit one they fight with different means. It leads to some Jedi-like pronouncements here and there, but it’s one of the more compelling new wrinkles in the 2020 film, even if the idea’s not quite realized to its full potential.
Similarly, rather than rooting Mulan’s journey in the assertion of individuality, the remake takes on a more collectivist ethos. This Mulan is less motivated by the chance to self-actualize than by her loyalty -- to her fellow soldiers and, most importantly, to her family. There’s a sense of her taking chances and making sacrifices for the communal good rather than as part of personal fulfillment that’s lacking elsewhere. The new Mulan still embraces her true self and self-actualizes by the end of the film, but the framing of it is different.
Difference is good in remakes. The 1998 movie will always still be there for fans and new generations to enjoy, so finding new spins on characters, stories, and arcs is vital to making the 2020 film seem worthwhile in its own right. Some of those choices irk the former preteen with sentimental affections for the original, but I also admire them. This Mulan is its own film, with its own takes on the story and setting, and its own points to make.
It’s just ultimately a less engaging movie than the one it’s following up. Aside from some of the emotional dampening, there’s little to complain about in Mulan. It’s a well-made, visually stunning, thoroughly sound rendition of the legend on the big screen. The movie marks its own territory while bringing just enough honor to the production that came before. But the inevitable comparisons can’t help highlight what this new movie lacks, making a perfectly good film seem like a mere pleasing sparkler in the shadow of a brilliant eruption of fireworks.
In this film the female empowerment was completely disregarded and replaced with a super-power.
Mulan no longer was this woman who worked hard to keep up with the men who were naturally stronger than her in the army but was given the gift of super-powers at birth. Seems like an easy way to disregard plot holes.
Instead of the opposing army being, well like an army, they ran up walls with their super-powers.
The enemy's companion was a woman who also had super-powers but she decided to help Mulan out in the end because women stick together. Nice try at feminism Disney.
They also replaced Mulan's companion with a flying phoenix that'd pop up in the sky every now and then to give Mulan some hope.
This movie felt very plastic and it was more like a super hero movie that took place in a tacky, overly-polished, Chinese, desert village.
Is it a bad movie? No, its alright.
The acting is really bad though and this is not THE Mulan... It's A Mulan!
Some people are fine with a new direction, but I'm not.
I want the original songs, I want Mushu, I want Mulan her old personality...
I was looking forward to MULAN, not this :/
It's not a remake of the 90's Mulan, and that's a good thing since this movie doesn't try to justify its existence unlike the other Disney live-action remakes.
Some of the most obvious changes are are as follows: Mulan is no longer a story about a woman who has to overcome physically stronger opponents by outsmarting them, now it's a story about women being demonised for qualities which are celebrated in men. That's certainly a big change and I assume some people are gonna hate it.
Having said that, the acting isn't great, the lead actress is stiff and I'm 99.9% certain they dubbed some of the actors, which felt really weird.
The lowest of low. The editing is nauseating, the acting is atrociously bad, the stark contrast between reshoots and original photography are obvious, and the story is as devoid as life as you can ruin a such rich legend. How anyone can defend such an embarrassment from the studio has to stem from some blind brand loyalty. There is nothing passionate behind the lens, nothing resonating off the screen, it's a once interesting dramatic take on the story raped in to a 300 million disaster dumped on to Disney+.
The film was bad both to Chinese and Western audiences. Westerners were offended by not having mushu and li shang in the movie (uncomprehensible reason). Chinese were offended by the many cultural mistakes. Apart from that: The movie did quite well in animation and cast. Animation and setting were wonderful. Cast was all Asian. That has to be mentioned since Mulan is after Crazy Rich Asians the second international Asian Movie with an entire Asian Cast. Therefore, Kudo!
Unfortunately, Disney destroyed everything. The story was bad... really bad. Origin of power was explained by the concept of "Chi" which is quite stupid since "Chi" is a form of energy. In Mulan chi is equal to talent and Mulan hat lots of it which makes her invincible. Quite weak explanation. Most of all flaws was the plot. It was unrealistic af. Witch enemy who suddenly helps the protagonist. An emperor with martial arts skills and the fact that the chinese soldiers / commander behave too "white" makes the chinese audience impossible to watch. The whole movie was made to try and please different audiences. In the end, it didn't please a single one of their targets. Since this movie was made by Disney, and is in English, I'm assuming Disney expected majority of their audience to be western. However, Disney still tried to please chinese people, but failed also. Since I got high hopes in it, because it has a full asian cast, this was so disappointing to watch.
The movie is very boring. I was looking forward for great quality China themed movie.
What you get is shallow, superficial, unengaging cinematography.
Minuses
The acting - It was weak, especially when they try to "pose" after what is supposed to be a key moment. It just does not work is rather makes you laugh how superficial it is.
The story - The execution is so weak. The story has almost no struggle and character arch.
The setting / macro-cinematography - Again week. Manytimes it is clear use of set, or s green/blue background set. Takes you out of the story again by breaking 3rd wall.
Pluses:
Some nice visuals.
Mulan entering the army segment - probably the only segment that has struggle and emotion, rather than flourish.
So I actually ended up skipping this movie at its release, but with nothing to do, I caved and gave it a shot. I mean do absolutely love the animations, so why not give this one a shot, right?
I enjoyed this movie from the very start! Sure, it starts off a bit cheesy, but to be honest, that just adds to the movie. It gives a certain direction to it. I do think, the father/daughter relationship could've been a bit more organic. At some points, it just felt forced. Nonetheless, it doesn't depreciate the storyline.
There are clever little twists that deviate from the original and just add so much dimension to the movie. The action scenes are a bit far fetched at certain moments, but if we were able to appreciate the scenes in The Matrix, we should be able to appreciate what they did here.
If you're not stuck up on wanting the exact same storyline as the original and are willing to just enjoy the movie for what it is; this is a must watch. I didn't quite like the open end, but she achieves legendary status, so maybe it's not quite as open...
I think this movie gets a little too much negativity due to real world politics. While sure, some of the stuff surrounding China in the real world is unfortunate, and yeah it sucks that the actress playing Mulan and even Disney themselves didn't stand up to that, but I don't think it's appropriate to judge a movie based on external factors like that.
Looking at the movie itself, I think this is one of the best live action remakes Disney has done. People often asked them why they were making remakes if they're just the same thing. This time they made the right choice and made some significant changes while keeping the core of the story. I loved the increased focus on wire fu style action, and the PG-13 rating really let them take advantage of that action in ways the original didn't as well.
My main complaint is that I don't think Yifei is androgenous enough in either appearance or voice to realistically be believable as male, but I'd say that was true of the animated movie as well. Otherwise, I thought the movie was really well done, was very entertaining, and had fantastic production value. I thought the villain was really cool too.
The original movie is more memorable, simply because of the music and cartoony moments, but that doesn't mean this movie is bad. I think it's a smart remake that's made very well.
This started out as quite the slow burn but developed into something I actually really enjoyed. With action packed sequences and an amazing soundscape this movie did really well for what it is. I haven't seen the original Disney musical/animated version so I can't really comment on how this one fares in comparison but it is a very enjoyable watch.
This movie it's like a hamburger from McDonald's. Tastes fine, but it's mass-produced and forgettable. If you ask me tomorrow, probably the only thing I will remember is, that it looked pretty. Nothing else.
It was really hard to root for the main character, as she had no setbacks or challenges the whole time. Everything just worked out. While everyone was dying around her, she did not even get a scratch. Even Superman has always that moment when you think he could lose. There was no such moment here.
I enjoyed this a certain amount. For such a long film though the story could have been better with development rather than sudden jumps in character interaction.
Also I now want more about the witchy woman. Best thing in it
pathetic, boring, miserable, piteous, pitiable, pitiful, poor, rueful, sorry, wretched
A real disaster this film ...
Without tail or head, too many references from different blockbusters put no flavor to watch it ...
Don't waste your time.
Tell Disney to stop making awful movies like this.
Absolutely nullity !!!
That was fun even if it was the first and last time I watch it
I mean, I’m glad Disney decided to not charge for it in the end. It was enjoyable and true to the original.
However, some of the CGI stunts were simply ridiculous and more importantly, why did she refuse to wear her protective helmet after her big reveal!? I mean, great, you go girl, but come on, swords will still hurt.
I’ve seen better, but I’ve also seen a lot lot worse. Probably worth a watch.
:notes: Whoa Black Betty, Hua Mulan :notes:
In the original animated film, Mulan wants to be normal but she's not very good at it so she feels like an outsider until she finds her place by using her unique talents as a soldier, even though that's socially unacceptable (and illegal) as a woman.
In this remake, Mulan is good at literally everything and born with superpowers, but no one is willing to accept a woman who's competent at anything so she has to struggle with the lie of pretending she's a mere mortal until she decides to stop being ashamed of being the physical embodiment of perfection.
It's a good movie, I was a little bit skeptical about the changes they made (Mushu is a phoenix now?), but I felt that these changes benefit the overall tone of the story. The only downside form me is that the second part of the movie felt rushed, that change of heart the witch had came out of nowhere, "oh, they accepted you? OK, then I'll DIE for you, Hua Mulan.
Best thing about this movie is the beautiful cinematography. The shots are absolutely gorgeous, the colors are vibrant, it's an easy watch. That being said, I don't think I had any expectations for this movie, so I wasn't too disappointed when it turned out to be more of a light enjoyable mindless watch as opposed to an epic Disney blockbuster that hits my nostalgia in all the right places (although the sneaking melodies of the original in the score were awesome). Tzi Ma as Mulan's father absolute STOLE the show, and I was SIMPING for Donnie Yen as Commander Tung but that might be my bias showing hehe...
So instead of the Mulan from the animated film who had to work hard to acquire the strength she needed to achieve her goal (which teaches you to keep trying no matter what and you can achieve anything) she was replaced with a Mulan who was special from birth and already had everything she needed to achieve her goal which is just the opposite of the original message of the animated film which I could see alienating people and teaching a younger audience the wrong message.
Also the transition sequence for Mulan heading off to war was also rather disappointing compared to the original film. Instead of a sequence of cutting her hair and giving up what she has to save her father from going to war it immediately cuts to her already in the armour and setting off to the camp. In my opinion this ruined the emotional connection to Mulan and didn't allow the viewer get a deeper connection to the sacrifice she is making for her father.
Despite it missing a lot of what the original film had I don't think it was that bad of a film if you don't compare it to the original (like most of Disney's live action remakes).
Animated version much better. For a live action movie I never once felt a sense of drama. Very mono toned from start to finish
The Good:
* Gorgeous
* The action scenes are enjoyable to watch
The Bad:
* Poor acting & dialogue
* Failed to get me invested in any of the characters
* Perhaps the worst sin of all, they took away mushu and replaced it with a useless phoenix
Overall I did enjoy how they made the Mulan story their own but it just failed to hit me emotionally. The lack of humor was also a bit of a disappointment. I'll stick to the original thanks :)
Enjoyable movie. It’s not a masterpiece, but still worth a 7/10 in my opinion. People, stop being to freaking negative.
2020 live action remake of Mulan (1998) is a family-friendly homage to wuxia films like Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Hero, and House of Flying Daggers than a retelling like The Lion King (2019). No songs, no animal sidekicks. While I am fond of 1998 predecessor, I have zero apprehension to this film wanting to be its own thing by shedding much of the connections.
Mulan (2020) had some troubled pasts, COVID-19 delaying and eventually cancelling theatrical release, lead actress Yifei Liu being an outspoken critic of Hong Kong independence movement, and $30 on-demand release tied to Disney+ subscription.
But it's finally here. The trailer certainly looked promising. Is it worth $30 "Premiere Access" fee? Or should Disney+ subscribers wait 3 months when it will be offered to all subscribers? To me, the answer depends heavily on the quality of your home theater.
I have a modest home theater setup: 65" OLED TV and just so so Dolby Atmos soundbar. Nothing that can even begin to replicate extravagant theatrical presentation that Niki Caro and her team intended. But even on this setup, the film is an audiovisual feast that hints how amazing proper cinema experience could've been.
With beautiful sets, sumptuous cinematography, colorful costumes, and competently choreographed action sequences, the film makes for fun family evening. Some critics dubbed the film Crouching Tiger, Jr. and I think that's very apt summary of the film. Toned down violence is suitable for younger audience (I think 7 or older is entirely suitable) and intentionally stylized martial arts scenes are treats. Music is understated for the most part, without any songs as mentioned earlier, "Reflection" theme from the animated film used on few occasions for nostalgia, as well as one notable cameo towards the end.
The film starts promising enough, precocious Crystal Rao playing young Mulan. But once Yifei takes over, the film starts to drag its pacing a bit. While the lead actress certainly looks the part and does a bang up job with martial arts sequences, she emotes little and lacks the charisma of Crouching's Ziyi Zhang. Thankfully, her limited thespian skills is somewhat masked by the veteran cast, led by Gong Li (plays by far the most interesting character that sadly wasn't given enough), Jason Scott Lee, Tzi Ma, and Donnie Yen.
Uneven pacing aside, which spends too much time in military training, the film is unfocused and lacks heart. As flawed as it was, 1998 animated counterpart carried the theme of self sacrifice to its sleeve. Despite its svelte 88 minutes running time, it felt epic. Even though this film runs nearly 30 minutes longer, stories feel disjointed and motivations underdeveloped.
But the most problematic is Mulan's sudden embrace of her "true" identity, and rapid acceptance and embrace by her peers. There's almost no sense of urgency, and the final battle feels anti-climatic as a result.
Still, at the end of the day, my family had a good time watching it last night. While the martial arts sequences do not break new ground, they look great and fun to watch. I just wish the film aimed higher for more emotional payoff.
Id rate the first half of the film a barely 5.5/10 but then it was getting better and better. There were times that it hit me so hard at so many different levels. What surprised me the most is how the dead facial expressions of the protagonist really worked so well on me that my feelings were overwhelming. What an emotional journey! I guess this Mulan film tries to stay true to the Chinese nature of a film. Thats why it wouldn’t be appealing to most if not all westerners. So id rate the second half of the film a solid 9/10.
PS: I didn’t watch the original Disney animated Mulan. So i had a low-pro expectation for this one.
Overall we enjoyed the movie. It felt very different from the normal Disney movie though. There were no songs and dance bits which I thought was a nice change. The film never wowed me though and after it was finished I felt like it was missing something. Maybe it was that the normal comedy aspects from a Disney film just weren't there. It's worth a watch for sure but everyone here said that they preferred the original over this one. My kids also said that they missed Mushu.
Just one question: if this story has anything to do with woman empowerment, isn't it a backwards idea to make the protagonist rely on a supernatural power she has by birth instead of her hard training in the army alongside other regular men?
They don’t sing, Ming-Na only has 5 seconds of screen-time, Mulan doesn’t look like a boy at all, somehow they made great supporting characters that already existed boring and forgettable, now there’s the Force and midichlorians so there’s not even a message that girls/women can also be warriors since apparently the only reason she is is because of her powers. And to show she is "true" she detaches her hair which would block her vision and removes her armor which just exposes her to anyone and anything, awesome, girls/women, if you want to be true, just be.. vulnerable I guess ? Also horses can surf on avalanches. Thanks Disney.
My kid loves the animated version, I like this version, and there's nothing wrong about how we feel. Why do people always expect a true remake, a 100% scene by scene repetition, and feel uncomfortable when a known story is re-told with some interesting deviations?
It was deeply satisfying emotionally.
But, I also agree with the biting critique of @Malococsis , whose salient points remind me of a review of the movie, "Joker," which almost prevented me from even seeing it, let alone learning what Joaquin Phoenix's intentions were in his portrayal (So, I'm glad I watched it before I read Malococsis' review!)
Villain died too soon only hated that part.....
I like Fantasy films, the Samurai, all Japanese martial arts and . And I hope there will be a sequel.
There were two things that really dragged this film down for me. First was the fact that much of the acting was stiff and wooden. It was quite odd to see this in such a massive production. Second, and more importantly, this film displayed the oppression of women by men who completely dismissed them and their abilities. The actor they chose to portray Mulan, Liu Yifei, openly supported the oppression of the people of Hong Kong in their fight for freedom. It was a disgrace to have someone w/ fascistic beliefs be the lead in a film about fighting oppression.
Geez, if you ever wanted an example of a remake that complete removes the fun & heart from the original, this is it.
:heart::heart::heart::heart::heart::heart::heart::heart: - Mulan is entertaining, with breathtaking scenes, and stunning fighting. Must Watch
Here's how my rating system works:
10:heart:- Masterpiece :100:
9:heart:- Excellent
8:heart: - Amazing :ok_hand:
7:heart:- Great :sun_with_face:
6:heart: - Good :thumbsup:
5:heart: - Average :head_bandage:
4:heart: - Bad but watchable :octagonal_sign:
3:heart: - Bad :sob:
2:heart:- Awful :face_vomiting:
1:heart: - Bull Shit :zzz:
It's a Disney movie so lacks the impact of a true Chinese epic. The action is mediocre at best. Missed chance to be gateway drug for the proper stuff. Again all criticism can be deflected with "it's a Disney film what do you expect" however my expectations were set low and still surprised me how unimaginative I found it. I no longer have age appropriate kids to try it out on so maybe it flies better with the target tween audience.
Would it have killed them to at least have a Chinese composer at least to have some authenticity?
NB. Guess Let Li is now in that period of his career where he's happy with roles that involving him sitting down. My money was on Jackie Chan taking it easy first.
Oh, but it was nice to have Jason Scott Lee back! That's something I guess...
Some enjoyable fight sequences. Seeing Mulan finally accepted for who she is at the end was a delightfully heart-warming experience.
I came into it bracing to be disappointed but the more serious tone they took it really did well for the medium. Not having singing and dancing as well as a comedic phoenix definitely changed the tone of the movie by focusing almost solely on Mulan's own character growth. The change in heart of the witch at the end was really surprising and a bit unbeliavable but I won't hold it against the overall story cuz it would've taken away from the fight with Mulan and Bori Khan if Mulan had to deal with the witch as well either before or during the finale. I definitely think the movie stayed true in essence to the original due to the themes and central focus on Mulan as a character.
This movie could have been awesome, but fails across the border. It would have been cool to explore new ways with the story. But to take the essentials out of the story, thats a big mess up. Making mulan a “chosen one” is just idiotic, and takes away from the awesome “can do attitude” and sheer will power Mulan brings to the original story.
As per normal from Disney this live remake almost mimics the original scene for scene with some differences in characters and small plot points, such as no Mushu character, however, the whole notion about chi is still present. Now that this classic has been brought more to life with live actors (that are casted wonderfully by the way), it's even more magical. The whole timeline of her being very young in the beginning of the film to the main part of the plot when she is a late teenager was a bit odd of a time jump that wax not very well explained. Also, there were some times when this film felt bland and the plot point jumps were a bit fast, which doesn't go well with a live action unlike an animation film, so these are the reasons why this is not as good as the original. But, the ending scenes were done a lot better than the original in that of the lack of rushiness to end the movie.
I decided to watch this movie with the purest intention of saying "it wasn't even that bad", but look... it IS trash.
I'm white, but even if I didn't care about the whitewashing problems I wouldn't have liked this movie.
Anyway, there are a LOT of wrong and boring stuff in this movie. Those two hours were a torture because the movie is terrible.
Not to mention Chinese culture totally westernized and whitened by the team without ONE Chinese citizen or someone with true knowledge about the culture. Even those who give an opinion about the film didn't stop to research the culture: I saw criticisms of the CGI - but it seems the least of the problems -, as well as criticisms of the "impossible jumps" or people walking on the walls, which is super common in Chinese/Japanese/Korean TV and cinema.
I read an article about the film's problems in this cultural aspect and I think it's even above the awful script when it comes to making me angry. Clearly, no one wanted to know about Chinese culture/history. In addition to being disrespectful, they made clowns of themselves for the stupid things they put in the film (there are problems in the chinese writing, concept of "witch" and "dark magic" that don't even exist in China, wrong explanation of what Chi is...).
Nothing of the Chinese culture is really appreciated in this movie, it doesn't give the viewer any desire to study or learn more about it, which is extremely sad. Also, the mistakes could have been easily fixed, but they decided to make ANOTHER disrespectful adaptation of such an incredible story.
Anyway, the movie is really bad. What a waste of money.
The article I read is this: https://medium.com/@xiranjayzhao/everything-culturally-wrong-with-mulan-2020-and-how-they-couldve-easily-been-fixed-d6a97d0f774f. Great read for anyone who wants to understand everything wrong with the film.
classic movie runnied by live-action
Avoid this garbage Chinese propaganda film at all costs.
If I'd have paid £20 to watch this on Disney Premier Access I'd be fucking furious; as it is, I waited till it came on D Plus, so now I'm only frustrated. The story and action are okay (wire work never impresses). It just doesn't improve on their animated version.
It was okay. I’ve watched the 2012 version of Mulan which I preferred as that version isn’t “disneyfied” but the movie’s not a travesty: Good effort on their part balancing that cultural tightrope, although probably not the best of movies to re-adapt as some things on there are obviously just chucked in to keep it in some sort of Disney magic realm. What I found surprising was the amount of introspective scenes, quite enjoyed the depth it provided to the movie. Overall though, it was confusing and I wasn’t sure what I was watching. The action scenes were commendable and entertaining.
As usual the main thing I hate about the movie is hearing christina aguilera whining about the place like a fat squeaky balloon but that’s just me, that voice just does something to me and hearing it twice on two different songs rolling at credits was torture and nearly made me rate this movie a 1.
Must Watch. Awesome Story Movie
Much better than expected and pretty moving/emotional (got wet eyes at the end).
In short: it is a good movie if you don't compare it to the 1998 animated movie.
If you expect a fantastic story about a daughter who smarts her way through a difficult situation to save her father, you're expecting too much. This Mulan already has strength inside which she hides because her father told her woman are not warriors (I really wanted her to solve more problems with her brain). And to show that she decided to show her true self, she throws away part of her not constricting armor and to fight with open hair (I guess because now she is more distinguishable from the other fighters), which most people who have long hair would not do when deciding to ride into a battlefield. Also her horse is magic, how else could it gallop through a rolling avalanche?
Also there were way to little scenes where she trained to pass as a man and interactions between her and the men she trained with, guess it was more important to show us that she had not been acting ladylike since she was a little girl.
Bereft of original ideas Disney cannibalizes yet another of their animated classics, turning Mulan into a mediocre live-action adventure. Taking a more grounded (and politically correct) approach to the Chinese legend of a young woman secretly joining the imperial army to defend against a foreign invasion, the film lacks the original’s Disney magic. Still, Yifei Liu gives a strong performance and does a great job at embodying the character. And the costumes and sets are especially well-done. However, the spiritual undertones are a bit muddled, and the fight scenes are a little lackluster (with one or two exceptions). A weak adaptation, Mulan feels more like a cash grab (particularly for the Chinese market) than a serious attempt to explore the meaning and significance of this epic tale.
Why they skiped the extremely dangerous hair cut scene [ spoiler]
This was a very good movie. It's entertaining, it had action, drama, a touch of comedy, just what I was looking for tonight. Don't understand the recent criticism.
What an awful cut this movie has...
That was reeeeally “on the nose”. Why did they replace the voice acting of clearly English speaking Asian actors with white washed American-ised accents? I was actually offended.
When female empowerment defies all logic, this is what you get (again). Mulan isn't fierce, nor is she brave, nor a hero, she's fake. This isn't a character at all, it's a political agenda that makes no sense in movie form. She learns nothing; she was born capable of everything. It's so inhuman it's asinine. If you can't make a character that looks weak, they won't look strong either.
At least there’s no singing
Maaaan, what is that acting of Jet Li as the emperor? It felt forced haha I'd rather the good old emperor from the animated movie haha I can't say I digged the movie. I saw people saying this one made a good decision by changing completely but I disagree. This one is not as cool as the first one. And yet, it was enjoyable. But I wouldn't recommend to those who are watching cause they liked the first one, as me.
could have been arranged better for such a big budget
Great movie that focuses on female empowerment using a mirror of the negative image of women who try to be who they are and end up viewed versus what could be.
From the stereotypes of strong women being outcast and "evil" to the women who expect you to succumb to the stereotypical "weak" woman, Mulan illustrates how staying true to yourself as a woman is the only way to achieve your own greatness. Great movie for all girls and women in general.
Cool Mulan's story, although in the film it was told very briefly, I liked this version and the character of Liu Yifei - Hua Mulan.
A real disaster this film ...
Without tail or head, too many references from different blockbusters put no flavor to watch it ...
Don't waste your time.
Tell Disney to stop making awful movies like this.
Absolutely nullity !!!
We expected a good Disney movie like alladin with songs and like the animated version some song in it and off course mushu. This was just a poor movie. Glad I waited it to be free on Disney plus.
This new iteration of the Disney classic is by far no match for the animated original movie. But even when not compared to the original one, this movie is still not very good unfortunately. I for one would have loved to see Mushu in live-action and also the music is missing in this version. Besides that the story isn‘t that engaging either. What is positive is the casting of Mulan which I thought was very fitting. Overall a very mediocre movie in my opinion.
Don't go in expecting it to be just like the original and you'll enjoy it. Parts were a bit cheesy, but I liked the story and I know theu tried to be more true to the original and I think that's important. A lot people complained about there not being a Mushu, but he would have been impossible to portray well in a live action movie and I think it was an understandable choice. Overall it was good and my daughter loved it.
I really enjoy this Mulan live action, except the phoenix.
I had high hopes on this after watching the animated version years ago. However, I got bored the first 10 min because the plot itself goes off the original story, which should be interesting, but it is the contrary. The poor quality of the China army, which was almost beaten too eash, not to mention the five guys who after not much training were able to finish off all the enemies without scratches. Also, the superhuman powers of this Mulan, I invite you to watch the animated version, there you will find a normal and ordinary kind of woman who ended up being a legend, and yes that's what the animated version shows us.
I may be known for being a Disney fan, but, believe it or not, I have never seen the original Mulan in its entirety. Some years ago, I tried watching it, and turned it off in disgust not long after it started because of the inane music. One of the reasons I've always preferred live-action Disney--Lizzie McGuire, George of the Jungle, The Santa Clause, etc.--to their animated fare is because most of their non-cartoon characters don't feel the need to break out in song. So, when I heard that the remake of Mulan lacked any musical numbers, I decided to borrow the DVD from my local library; I was among the first people there to get it.
What did I think? Well, the action was definitely on-point, and Mulan was a very likable and strong heroine. I enjoyed the story, and I was glad there was no profanity; that's rare for a "PG-13". Those who loved the 1998 animated film may feel differently, and I do agree that Disney needs to make more original stories instead of all these remakes...but, I still had fun with this. For those who enjoy family-friendly action movies, this is worth checking out.
Mulan is a cartoon masquerading as a live action movie and we see through the disguise in minutes.
But hell, if it inspires one girl or young woman, then who am I to judge?
I really appreciate that there's no singing at all.
I liked it a lot, I have not seen the animated version yet and I like that because I enjoyed it without prejudice
It is a good movie if you don't have any expectations going in. Essentially the criticisms are justified. This doesn't make it a bad movie by any means, I enjoyed it, but I do have a love for the original animated classic so I would say my enjoyment was biased. Score and cinematography is breathtaking, the acting is perfectly fine, it's just missing some magic. I wanted something grander I suppose. Still enjoyable regardless, just not super engaging.
I awaited this film with great anticipation. My first disappointment was when Disney cancelled its cinematic release in favour of assigning it to a premium service which added an overcharge to the price of a Disney+ subscription. Despite some beautiful cinematography and stellar casting, the writing was wooden and missed the great opportunity in a live production to tell a human rendering of a legend. There are better live action renderings of this legend. I give this film a 6 (fair) out of 10. [Legend]
cool cool this is a good movies
Bad movie, even worse adaption.
Very good and enjoyable disney film.
The Worst live-action of Disney
'Mulan' suffers from poor character writing and questionable creative decisions that ultimately could disappoint both audiences it was made for.
As with most of the Disney live action remakes, 'Mulan' uses a similar base as it's 1998 animated version. However it does not try to recreate it's predecessor scene for scene, while also not deviating as much as some of the other remakes did. Ultimately the balance of originality was pretty well done in this regard. Combine this with stunning set pieces and an inspiring message and this should make for a good, or at least an entertaining, movie. The bad news is that it doesn't.
Warning: Spoilers ahead! (hidden)
What Mulan (played by Liu Yifei) initially is fighting for is the safety of her family (mostly her father) and bringing honour to her family. This is a challenge for her, because her skills do not conform to what is accepted for girls in her society. Mulan has a high amount of chi inside her. Chi (in this movie) is an inconsistently used power that is either a stand-in for magic, or for being able to do martial arts at high levels without (proper) training.
The problem starts with that Mulan's whole character arc is based on this aspect, foregoing any actual personality and turning her into basically a Mary Sue. Only mid-second act we are shown she can outsmart others and can think tactically, which is not (properly) set up.
The sad thing is that the aspect of chi does not enrich the story, but rather takes away from Mulan as a character.
At the opposite side of the spectrum we have the "witch" Niang (played by Gong Li) who uses her chi to wield magic. She has arguably the best character development in the film, however predictable. She joins the enemy Rouran army because she was not accepted for who she was. In this way she hopes to change the world and get rid of the oppression against woman that are different. However she gets betrayed by the Rouran leader, Bori Kahn (played by Jason Scott Lee), who has the same denigrating ideas about who she is. After Mulan gets accepted for who she is by her fellow soldiers, the witch redeams herself by sacrificing her life to save Mulan.
During a key scene of the movie, Mulan and Niang meet, and Mulan declares she fights for the emperor because she knows her place. In that moment she chooses to continue the cycle of oppression she experienced in the first place. This was such a strange moment for me, because it contradicted her original motivation completely. It looked like it was a later change after studio intervention, and it was what broke Mulan's character.
It did not help that most of the performances of the actors were rather lackluster. I can not qualify it as bad, ,most of the time it was just fine. But there were moments when the acting was not convincing or too mediocre and lacking dedication. I had hoped to see a bit more of Jet Li, but with the role he plays my expectations were not set too high.
As said in the opening, the set pieces, background and photography that are done for this movie are stunning. CGI is done very well too. Not too in your face, and most of the time not obtrusive. Costumes and make-up is also masterfully done, and deserves big compliments. So many times you can just look at the images on screen and forget about the story for a moment and feast your eyes.
The directing however is awkward from time to time. Rather intrusive camera movements and strange angles and cutting. Especially during two action scenes of the Rourans attacking, several confusing and unnecessary camera rotations were used that had no function other than being a gimmick. Cutting was often at not intuitive moments and unusual time- and locations jumps happened more than you would want to see. There might have been some inconsistency in the editing process or during the re-shoots, but it was noticeably distracting.
The story itself was done well enough. Of course there was already a solid basis for the story, and I think they build nicely on that. They worked in some new material, gave the enemy a more appropriate name than the kind of inaccurate 'Huns' it used to be. The action was expanded and some interesting perspectives were added. I did not miss the comic relief dragon nor the music, I think it could have messed with the tone of the movie too much. Overall it was a rather coherent and consistent story, but it also did not achieve great heights.
It was obvious that Disney did not want to rub the message too much in your face. The movie can lead to some debate even as it is. And Disney clearly did not want to scare away the Chinese audience, or worse, displease the Chinese government. I think it was difficult for the studio to balance between keeping western audience satisfied as well as the Chinese audience, while also satisfying fans of the 1998 animation and newcomers. It affected the story in making it safe, while at the same time trying to please several camps resulting in some inconsistencies. But in the end, I think it could have been a lot worse.
While 'Mulan' is beautiful to watch at times, the characters and message of the movie are broken. The studio trying to please too many people from very different backgrounds damaged the movie, even though it could have been much worse. I think it is a fine movie for the majority of people to enjoy, but don't expect much special.
The cinematography was jaw droppingly gorgeous. The fight choreography was delightful mixing the fantastical elements of some of the Shaw Brothers films and the modern kung fu films. The costumes were magnificent. I think this is the movie most people that enjoyed the animated film hoped this would be. It takes away the dragon sidekick and musical numbers and creates a fun action film...but somehow a lot of the heart was also removed in the process as well. A great effort but not perfect. Still, you won't regret spending the two hours watching it.
This movie is not a masterpiece, nor is it a disaster. I found it to be very competent, and even if I don't necessarily think all the changes from the original was for the better, I thought most of them served this movie well.
We liked what counts, as it does, the production design
Sorry but all in this movie is a big MEH... better go to read Kingdom manga...
I have not seen the original and that being said I thought this was a good movie. I liked the story and the pace. Must watch the original now to compare.
Really enjoyed this movie. Good story, great action and some real words of wisdom.
I agree with the last comment made. Great stuff. :thumbsup_tone1::grin:
Mulan 2020 has awful reviews.
They are all wrong.
Granted, the first half of the movie is just 'okay', but the SECOND HALF, I loved every minute of it.
The rest of this review is spoilers, so go away.
so the whole Forbidden City part of the movie, after the avalanche was fucking awesome. I think I said aloud "Beatrix Mulan Kiddo" because the action on the second half is freaking awesome. ALSO, the Emporer is actually a fucking badass. The film resolves very well with the intro, and musical queues were on point.
(Bear with me cause these are my fresh thoughts)
I mean what can I say about Mulan? It's unfortunately another victim of Disney's recent trend of good looking movies that lack in the writing department. As someone that hasn't watched the original in a while (10+ years by this point I believe) I kinda went fresh eyed into this, thankfully I have seen at all it cause it felt like if you haven't you may not fully understand what's actually happening. Now say what you want about musicals but one thing they do right is clearly convey what's happening. When you decide to omit such an integral part of the original, it fine IF you beef up the writing to convey through speech what was omitted. Unfortunately this movie failed in this regard.
Characters... where are they? None of them really stood out except maybe the father. I feel that no time was taken to actually flesh them out and even our brave protagonist suffers from this as well. And so with barely any interaction between them by the point she saves them from the mountainside attack it feels more because of plot armor and not because they were her friends. The witch was an especially confusing one cause she seemed very determined to being loyal to Böri Khan's plan and then seemingly out of nowhere Mulan convinces her to help her and she subsequently sacrifices herself with barely any interactions between them including one where she tried to kill Mulan. Böri Khan himself isn't seen or elaborated enough to be seen as the villain so at the end you end up scratching your head wondering who was actually the bad guy (misogyny?).
The biggest offender here though was the editing. Very bizarre cuts where it seems like the scene will keep going and then it just cuts away to a completely different thing (ex. When The Fifth Battalion makes it to the fortification and are introduced immediately cuts to night to people arriving again or when the Emperor starts talking about family being a virtue and then awkwardly cuts to the bridge scene). Also for a movie that seemed to purposely be grounded in reality (that's why we couldn't have Mushu right?) there seemed to be a lot of "floaty" parkour, unexplained wall-running and lance/arrow physics that honestly kinda took me out of the movie. Don't even get me started about the on-the-nose Phoenix that kept popping up and the weird blurs when Mulan is fighting.
It's not all bad though, I think the music was ok (I am partial for Harry Gregson-Williams tho), the set pieces and wardrobes are gorgeous and the actors did their best with the material given. I just wish they would have been given better material. My overall take would be watch it if you really wanna but it's definitely not worth the $30 tax to your existing D+ subscription especially if you live alone. If you're looking for the 1998 movie in live action I suggest you go watch that instead. 6.5/10
It's a good movie, I was really entertained with this one, It has some bad scenes, but I love that they took away most of the childish parts, even so my nephews love it.
Wisely moves away from the comedy sidekicks and musical numbers, and delivers a rousing action flick with a topical message. Better than expected, this is one of the best films on Disney+
The original animated movie was not something I ever cared to watch. I also pretty much ignore any of the live-action remakes of Disney animated movies. I mean the original animated movies are works of art and should not be improved upon.
This movie, however, actually looked interesting based on the trailers, so I made an exception. And I was right. The movie is very well done. It is also not a typical Disney movie. There are no musical numbers or any goofy, silly sidekicks.
A perfectly fine 2 hours. I have zero nostalgia for the animated version so I don't care about changes.
Overall a good movie, but there was already a better movie made 2013, which most ppl missed because it's chinese and in mandarin (subtitles help :) )
what a waste to a great story...the final 20 minutes is good, but the first 1 hour 40 min is just boring
Review by RiBlockedParent2020-09-04T18:28:40Z
I think that Mulan (2020) and Mulan (1998) are different beasts and are made with different audiences in mind. The original animated Mulan is made with a Western audience in mind whereas the new Mulan is very clearly made with a Chinese audience in mind based purely on the emphasis on the values and also just the whole vibe (idk lol).
As we quite well know, Mulan (2020) does not have Li Shang, nor the songs, and has added a supernatural element through the character of the witch, Xianniang. There’s an homage to the music in the score with the notes of Reflection playing at some emotionally poignant moments. Lowkey I’m not into the love interest in this new Mulan and I missed Li Shang to be honest. I didn’t quite mind the supernatural element so much as I have problems with Xianniang’s character, narratively.
So basically there’s the whole concept of chi in this movie wherein it’s the mark of a warrior and it makes the person very graceful but also kind of has extra powers? And because both Xianniang and Mulan are women who have chi, they’re ostracized because of it since women aren’t allowed to be warriors. Xianniang is set up as Mulan’s reflection (lol) basically. She’s an older woman who has chi and has developed her powers and because of it she’s exiled and has taken up with the Rourans (who seek to overthrow the Chinese emperor) so that she may have her own place where she will not be ostracized because of her chi.
So the problem I have with her character is basically that since she’s set up as Mulan’s reflection, I was expecting there to be a big showdown between the two and for Mulan to really struggle as she faces this person that she could potentially become. But while there is a fight, it was near the beginning and near the end when they face off, Xianniang gives in because Mulan has been accepted by her peers and is leading the men to defend the emperor. She even dies to protect Mulan which I guess is nice because she wasn’t bad and just doing what she’s doing because she’s been oppressed. But like. idk I was just hoping for more from her character y’know?
In any case, while it follows the same bones of Mulan (1998), this movie is markedly different and should be enjoyed as two different entities I guess, rather than a remake.