Movie Review: Mulan

• Movie Release Date: 4th September 2020
• Director: Niki Caro
• Cast: Yifei Liu, Donnie Yen, Li Gong, Jet Li

Disney finally released it’s highly anticipated live-action remake of the animated version of “Mulan” 22 years after and it’s magnificent. The production value and cinematography were absolutely stunning, with a production budget of $200 million making it the most expensive film ever made by a female director. The filming took place in New Zealand and China.

The Plot

The movie, inspired by the Chinese poem “Ballad of Mulan,” follows Mulan(Liu Yifei), a young woman who puts everything on the line to protect her family and her country when the Emperor(an Unrecognizable Jet Li) orders one man from every household to join the Imperial Army to defend the country. Concerned for her father and family’s legacy she disguises herself to join the emperor’s forces, bunking, training, and fighting alongside men who remain remarkably oblivious to her deception.

The Review

This movie isn’t your typical live-action Disney movie remake, it’s one of the best so far considering the other live-action remake Disney has produced. If you have seen the original animated movie released in 1998 don’t expect it to be 100% the same, the absence of singing gave the movie a serious tone and I prefer it that way.

Mulan is particularly good at channeling her chi; she can slow down time to do lots of cool spin moves and well-timed kicks during battle. Her mastery over her chi is limited, however, by dishonesty which is how the movie boils down her internal struggle over disguising herself. The main character, Mulan played by Yifei Liu did 90% of her own stunts.

I enjoyed every bit of the movie; the action and martial arts fight sequences are very well done. One of my favourite scenes from this movie is the moment Mulan lets her hair down and transforms into her true self on the battlefield. That was such a great moment in the film when she discovers that the only way you can be your best and succeed at what you set out to do is by being true to yourself.

The dialogues were so flat, it felt like the script was written in Chinese and then translated to English for the actors to act with. To be honest, I would have loved it better if they spoke in their native language(Chinese) reason being their English was sounding off at some points.

There were touching moments especially between the father and daughter that would have been expressed better with a great script.

Conclusion

All in all, Mulan is a good movie and I l recommend you watch it. The movie had some subtle messages that never gets old. Watch the trailer below.