When the treacherous Böri Khan (Jason Scott Lee), his brutal army, and a mysterious witch, Xianniang (Gong Li) make a move to take over and remove the emperor (Jet Li) from the Chinese throne, a decree is made demanding that one man from each family volunteer for the imperial army. Hua Zhaou (Tzi Ma) is the head of his household and the only man available to volunteer, however, having been injured in battle in the past, his return to battle this time is highly unlikely. This is when Mulan (Yifei Liu) disguises herself as a man and joins the imperial army in her father’s stead. With a woman’s place being very clear, Mulan’s life is in danger more than any other soldier. Will she overcome the shackles that bind her, or will her deception cause her demise?
There are constant errors regarding who and what Mulan is throughout the film. At one moment she is a shining warrior incapable of making mistakes and in the next she struggles with the simplest of tasks related to her selected duty. I wish that the protagonist’s development was the biggest issue with Mulan, however, this is just the tip of the iceberg.
The bathing scene between Mulan and Honghui (Yoson An) takes a turn in comparison to its animated counterpart. While intensity should be present throughout the scene as a result of Mulan attempting to hide her true identity, there is a very different tension present in this particular scene, one that is a bit discomforting. Honghui’s tone of voice, the dialogue, and his slow, subtle approach toward Mulan causes viewers to feel uneasy. Furthermore, as the relationship between these two characters blossoms, his admiration for her feels sensual and not attached to her warrior-like ability.
The choreography is very Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon-esque, exaggerated and absurd. The reality of the scenes containing the action sequences is that they feel entirely too overdone and overdramatic, watering down what the characters in the scene are actually capable of and making it difficult to appreciate much of what went into developing these scenes. The majority of the film is supported by CGI and that alone has no bearing on how Mulan is received, however, throughout the scenes when the choreography is exaggerated as a result of the CGI, viewers feel a disconnect.
There is a small, but important twist occurs toward the end of Mulan. However, within this twist resides a level of irrationality, even in a film about witches. Without giving too much away, the development of a character is completely shaken up and abandoned. Even though the development of this character is questionable to begin with, to completely desert what has been worked on for the better portion of the film seems silly and unnecessary.
The uplifting nature of Mulan’s journey is what allows Mulan to remain afloat. The original, animated version of the story, released back in 1998, was full of humor, action, relatable characters, and an overarching sense of dignity and pride. In this remake, Disney chose to take the bulk of the film in a new direction. Void almost entirely of comedy and with beloved characters fully absent from the film, this remake struggles to keep pace with the film what viewers fell in love with more than twenty years ago. This version of Mulan introduces new, less appealing villains that fail to compete with what viewers had seen in the past. However, Mulan’s perseverance remains strong and ever-present throughout the course of this film and gives viewers a glimmer of hope for the film itself and the future live-action remakes Disney is sure to release in the coming years.
There is true beauty in the sets that make much of Mulan visually magnificent when nothing else is happening. Again, nearly every action sequence is tarnished by the overuse of CGI, making everything feel far-fetched and unrelatable, a recipe sure to ruin a film. Yifei Lui is a talented actor, capable of conveying emotion in an otherwise emotionless film. While the film itself fails to entertain, Lui’s ability has surely greelit a bright future for her. There are a mix of positives and negatives strewn throughout Mulan, but sadly the cons far outweigh the positive takeaways from director Niki Caro’s attempt at a Disney classic. Honestly, this version of Mulan exists only to ruin the original. There’s no reason, at all, to watch this film.
Directed by Niki Caro.
Written by Rick Jaffa, Amanda Silver, Lauren Hynek, Elizabeth Martin, etc.
Starring Yifei Liu, Donnie Yen, Gong Li, Jet Li, Jason Scott Lee, Yoson An, Tzi Ma, etc.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐½/10
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