Saw 2020's 'Mulan' as a massive Disney fan. Although their recent live action offerings are very mixed and none are as good as the originals, many of their animated films are fine examples of how to do animation right. Looking at the title, the advertising and that seeing it was made by Disney, it is very easy to think that this is another one of the live action remakes and it is easy why it has been critiqued as one. Part of me was really psyched being somebody who loves the 1998 film, but also worried when seeing the hate for the film and for the lead actress.
When seeing 'Mulan', it didn't actually strike me as a live action remake and doesn't have an awful lot of Disney in sight. Other than the title and references to the score of the 1998 film embedded in this one. Instead to me it came over as more another version of the character and her story, and one more serious and less family friendly, so directly comparing the two films didn't strike me as right. While the disappointment that is expressed is understandable, as there are big flaws to be found and it definitely does not have the same amount of charm, heart and thrills as the 1998 film, to me 'Mulan' was not that bad and was not deserving of the extreme backlash before it was even released. Seeing as Yifei Liu's personal views had/have nothing to do with Disney or the film crew.
'Mulan' is not perfect. Do agree with those that say that a lot of the dialogue is pretty bad, with a tendency to sound stilted, especially in the cringe-worthy and very out of place attempts at sporadic humour with the troops, and go too heavy on emphasising the characters' values. Loyal, brave and true agreed did not need to be emphasised so much, the point was made quite quickly. There are things in the plot that sounded oddly intriguing on paper, but done too little with. Especially with the phoenix, which doesn't really add anything.
Both Xianniang and Bori Khan felt like underdeveloped characters. The former comes off better as she is suitably mysterious and alluring, but her motives are pretty confused later on (with it being not clear what side she was on), she is pretty much a come and go plot device and her final scene felt very rushed. Bori Khan has an intimidating look but is underused and his motivation is pretty much the only thing that is learnt about him. Didn't like how easily defeated he was and how clumsy the scene looked. In general the characters could have done with more depth, Mulan and Zhou are the ones that come closest, and the film could have done with more soul.
However, 'Mulan' does look great, especially striking in the truly exquisite historical visuals and the at its best majestic scenery. There is a lot of colour and atmosphere in the photography, which was clearly inspired by the likes of Zhang Yimou, and the costumes do catch the eye. The CGI didn't seem too excessive and didn't look jarringly cheap either. Harry Gregson-Williams' score is stirring and also has a sumptuous emotional core, also enjoyed hearing references to the music from the 1998 film. Niki Caro on the most part directs with confidence.
Personally really was impressed by the beautifully choreographed and dynamically photographed action. When it needed to be tense it was, when it needed to be particularly athletic it was and when it needed to excite it did. Especially the big battle and the avalanche. It was easy to feel the strength, pain and perseverance needed to get through all that training, only the final showdown came over as ridiculous. The story was not perfect but it engaged enough, intrigued with the cultural aspects and inspired thanks to Mulan still being a strong character (though she doesn't grow as much or go on a character journey as much as the animated Mulan, if to briefly compare). Although the father-daughter reunion was more emotionally powerful previously, it is still quite moving in a subtle way here.
Moreover, the acting wasn't bad at all to me. Liu is a confident lead, bringing authority and vulnerability to Mulan that was ideal for this ideal heroine. Donnie Yen and Jet Li are strong authority figures and Jason Scott Lee does inject some menace into his underdeveloped role. Tzi Ma's performance is very telling in its nuance, more than once not even saying a word. Li Gong looks wonderful in the film and is both deceptively alluring and mysterious, despite the character herself is not meaty Gong's acting is quite complex.
In conclusion, prepared myself to hate it but quite liked it while finding it very flawed. 6/10
When seeing 'Mulan', it didn't actually strike me as a live action remake and doesn't have an awful lot of Disney in sight. Other than the title and references to the score of the 1998 film embedded in this one. Instead to me it came over as more another version of the character and her story, and one more serious and less family friendly, so directly comparing the two films didn't strike me as right. While the disappointment that is expressed is understandable, as there are big flaws to be found and it definitely does not have the same amount of charm, heart and thrills as the 1998 film, to me 'Mulan' was not that bad and was not deserving of the extreme backlash before it was even released. Seeing as Yifei Liu's personal views had/have nothing to do with Disney or the film crew.
'Mulan' is not perfect. Do agree with those that say that a lot of the dialogue is pretty bad, with a tendency to sound stilted, especially in the cringe-worthy and very out of place attempts at sporadic humour with the troops, and go too heavy on emphasising the characters' values. Loyal, brave and true agreed did not need to be emphasised so much, the point was made quite quickly. There are things in the plot that sounded oddly intriguing on paper, but done too little with. Especially with the phoenix, which doesn't really add anything.
Both Xianniang and Bori Khan felt like underdeveloped characters. The former comes off better as she is suitably mysterious and alluring, but her motives are pretty confused later on (with it being not clear what side she was on), she is pretty much a come and go plot device and her final scene felt very rushed. Bori Khan has an intimidating look but is underused and his motivation is pretty much the only thing that is learnt about him. Didn't like how easily defeated he was and how clumsy the scene looked. In general the characters could have done with more depth, Mulan and Zhou are the ones that come closest, and the film could have done with more soul.
However, 'Mulan' does look great, especially striking in the truly exquisite historical visuals and the at its best majestic scenery. There is a lot of colour and atmosphere in the photography, which was clearly inspired by the likes of Zhang Yimou, and the costumes do catch the eye. The CGI didn't seem too excessive and didn't look jarringly cheap either. Harry Gregson-Williams' score is stirring and also has a sumptuous emotional core, also enjoyed hearing references to the music from the 1998 film. Niki Caro on the most part directs with confidence.
Personally really was impressed by the beautifully choreographed and dynamically photographed action. When it needed to be tense it was, when it needed to be particularly athletic it was and when it needed to excite it did. Especially the big battle and the avalanche. It was easy to feel the strength, pain and perseverance needed to get through all that training, only the final showdown came over as ridiculous. The story was not perfect but it engaged enough, intrigued with the cultural aspects and inspired thanks to Mulan still being a strong character (though she doesn't grow as much or go on a character journey as much as the animated Mulan, if to briefly compare). Although the father-daughter reunion was more emotionally powerful previously, it is still quite moving in a subtle way here.
Moreover, the acting wasn't bad at all to me. Liu is a confident lead, bringing authority and vulnerability to Mulan that was ideal for this ideal heroine. Donnie Yen and Jet Li are strong authority figures and Jason Scott Lee does inject some menace into his underdeveloped role. Tzi Ma's performance is very telling in its nuance, more than once not even saying a word. Li Gong looks wonderful in the film and is both deceptively alluring and mysterious, despite the character herself is not meaty Gong's acting is quite complex.
In conclusion, prepared myself to hate it but quite liked it while finding it very flawed. 6/10