Released: September 2020
Director: Niki Caro
Rated PG-13
Run Time: 115 Minutes
Distributor: Disney
Genre: Action/Adventure/Fantasy
Cast:
Yifei Liu: Hua Mulan
Donnie Yen: Commander Tung
Li Gong: Xianniang
Jet Li: Emperor
Jason Scott Lee: Bori Khan
Yoson An: Honghui
Tzi Ma: Zhou
In these dark times, it’s really important to find distractions, if only to keep the real world at bay for even an hour or so. Movies are another distraction, but they are an important one. Yet, not even movies can avoid the damage that can be caused by a global pandemic. The film and movie theater industries have been brutalized by the ongoing Covid-19 situation. Movie theaters have been closed for months, while some across the world have been shuttered permanently. This has forced movie studios to push back the release of some of their films by months and sometimes up to a year. The situation has unfortunately caused some movie studios to strongly consider releasing some of their new releases on VOD platforms like Netflix, Amazon Prime, or Disney Plus. While there are film-makers like Christopher Nolan who insist on releasing their films in theaters, the reality is that not everybody is willing to go back to theaters until it is safe for people to do so. Some theaters have been slowly opening back up with restrictions and safety measures in place, but the reality is that 2020 is going to be the worst year for movies and studios in decades. Even Disney has decided to try and do the VOD thing with the latest live-action remake of Mulan.
Mulan tells the story of the legendary Hua Mulan, a woman who took up her ailing father’s sword and armor to defend her family and country against an invading army from the north. As simple as that description is, there’s a lot to unpack from this story. Yeah, this film is a live-action adaptation of the 1998 animated film of Mulan, but the actual story has its origins in 6th century China as The Ballad of Mulan. It’s been re-adapted and translated again and again over the centuries, but the core elements of the story tend to remain the same: An invading army from the north threatens the empire, so the emperor decrees that one man from every family has to serve. Mulan’s father is too sick to serve, so she takes his place knowing full well the consequences of what could happen if people find out who she really is. The story is good enough on its own that it doesn’t need a talking dragon, musical numbers or supernatural elements to make it epic. While I don’t think that throwing a witch into the story is a deal-breaker, it doesn’t really add anything either. If they were trying to be as accurate to the original story as possible, I don’t think they succeeded.
For fans of Asian cinema, there is some serious star-power here. For one, you’ve got Donnie Yen as Commander Tung. I’ve been a huge fan of Donnie’s for years. He’s an amazing martial artist and a really good actor to boot. His performance in the recent Enter The Fat Dragon is one that should be seen. He’s hilarious in that movie. He does have a real commanding presence in this film. Yifei Liu, however, is merely passable as Mulan. She doesn’t strike me as a terrible actress, but her performance here comes across as pretty wooden. Gong Li plays the witch, and she certainly looks the part, but she definitely has the ability to play a villain. Jason Scott Lee plays Khan, who is out for revenge for the death of his father at the hands of the emperor. Jason certainly looks intimidating, even though we don’t really see him get a ton of action. Not only am I fan of Donnie Yen, I’m also a huge fan of Jet Li. This is where I start having problems with the movie. Jet Li plays the emperor, but he’s pretty much out of the picture for the majority of the film, and when he’s on screen, that’s not Li’s voice we are hearing. At least, I don’t think it is. On top of that, the entire movie was filmed in English and not in Cantonese or Mandarin. This was a huge problem with the Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon sequel, and it’s even more obvious now. A martial arts epic like this needs to take advantage of the culture that it’s trying to portray, which means NO ENGLISH! You could get away with that in an animated film, but a live-action epic? The feel of the film would feel a bit different if it were in Chinese.
This is clearly a martial arts epic, so one would expect to see some high-flying martial arts battles, right? Not quite. In the years since the release of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, western cinema has tried to duplicate the success of that film with varying success. Mulan is yet another Western attempt at a wuxia film, but the people behind this movie don’t seem to understand why movies like Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Hero, and The House of Flying Daggers were so successful. Crouching Tiger had an east-meets-west vibe in terms of film-making quality, but it still felt like something out of China. It had that degree of authenticity that’s sorely lacking here. The editing, the slow-motion, and the camera-work in this film are an issue with Western film-making. It’s not necessarily bad thing, if you’re making a film in the west, but when you’re making a film about a Chinese folk-hero, you need to have people that understand the genre and what it takes to make that genre successful. The fight choreography is also pretty weak. I don’t think that Niki Caro really understands why wuxia films stand apart from all others. The story is important, but if the film-making is sloppy, then what’s the point? Don’t get me wrong, the cinematography in Mulan at times, is incredible, but there other moments when CGI and other visual effects stick out like a sore thumb. The set and costume designs are outstanding, though.
Let’s address the elephant in the room: The Disney Plus release. Because of everything that’s been happening around the world, some movie studios have decided to put some of their newest movies on streaming platforms. Mulan was originally slated to hit theaters by today, but because of the pandemic, they opted to skip the theatrical release and go for prime access on Disney Plus. That means, in addition to having a Disney Plus account, you have to spend extra money to see this new release. In this case, it’s about $30 bucks. It’s a business model that I don’t think is going to work in the long run. Here’s the problem, though: There’s a lot of people out there who aren’t willing to spend that kind of money on a digital-only release of a movie that needed to go to theaters. The thing is, is that once you purchase the film, it’s yours as long as you keep your Disney Plus account. However, if you’re willing to wait a couple of months, the movie will be free to watch on Disney Plus, at least, that’s the idea. Why would you spend 30 bucks now when you can wait and not pay extra? I spent the money, because I’m a film enthusiast and critic, and I was looking forward to it, because it seemed like it was not going to be like the other live-action Disney re-makes. It only marginally succeeds, because it’s PG-13 and is not a musical. At the same time, however, the decisions that were made during the making of the film were not the best decisions.
At the end of the day, Mulan is not a terrible movie. I can’t even say that I hated it, but there enough issues here that force me to warn people against spending the extra 30 bucks. It’s not worth it. It’s a wuxia movie that doesn’t feel like it and some of the acting really isn’t that great. Donnie Yen’s awesome, Gong Li is…well…Gong Li, but Jet Li clearly didn’t want to be here. My recommendation is this: Wait for December, then check it out. Other-wise I would recommend you stick with the animated film, or better yet, check out the OTHER live-action adaptation, Mulan: Rise of a Warrior. Either of those films have more of an emotional impact than this. This is another by-the-numbers Disney re-make and while it isn’t the worst of the bunch, it’s not going to change the minds of people who don’t like these re-makes. This was one that I was somewhat excited for, so the disappointment kind of hurts.
My Final Recommendation: 5/10. It’s not awful, but it’s not that great, either.