I didn't grow up with the animated Mulan. Even though I was nine years old at the time of its release and I remember seeing the marketing on TV in the build-up. I just never saw it in cinemas.
When I did eventually get round to seeing in my early 20's, I thought it was a solid watch and had vintage 90's Disney fun. But some shifts in the tone didn't sit well with me. However, what I liked about it the most was it's potential. Seeing the scale of the story as well as its battle scenes had me feeling that this could be something special if it was done as a live-action feature instead.
So clearly, I was looking forward to seeing this as the trailers did suggest that we were going to see Mulan done in the way I was hoping for. That being a sweeping period epic filled with spectacle, some top quality battle scenes and a striking Chinese landscape as its backdrop.
We definitely get that to a certain degree.
From a production design point of view, it's spectacular to look at. They make the most of its locations and we get mountainous landscapes and beautiful Chinese architecture throughout. Also, the costumes are wonderfully detailed and contains striking colours that further enhance the pleasing imagery.
As for the story, this is where to have problems. Thankfully, it's nothing major. But it certainly prevented it from being the complete package. Even when we get introduced to our characters, one moment already has me questioning where we're going with this. Outside of that, the opening act is fairly solid and I was certainly enjoying the overall look.
But as the film went on, I was disappointed that the characters never felt that engaging. They were all doing a serviceable job. But I didn't feel anything for them. It might be to do with the writing. But actors can definitely make an average script come alive with their performances. These looked like they were going through the motions.
In terms of the physical aspect of the performance, Liu Yifei did a good job. The way her character is written managed to make her less inspiring compared to her animated counterpart. Liu overall looked perfectly fine carrying the film. But I would like to see her in more projects to see what she can do with a strong character arch.
Gong Li was perfectly fine and had a great striking presence about her. It was great seeing many iconic Asian actors heavily involved such as Donnie Yen, Tzi Ma and Jet Li. One actor I was especially happy to see was Jason Scott Lee who you might remember from Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story and the 1994 version of The Jungle Book, which interestingly was the first ever Disney live-action remake.
The final act did make the duration become noticeable. There is a sequence where you would expect the film to end. But then we get another scene that does feel like the film-makers are trying to stretch this feature out a bit more. So I think maybe cutting off about 20 minutes might have done the film some good.
That extended final act does involve two major characters interacting more than you might expect, that's when I realise they're giving their message a bit of a 2020 edge to it which felt a bit forced and unnatural. That made me end up appreciating the themes of the animated original a lot more.
Another aspect I wanted to mention was the score. I liked how composer Harry Gregson-Williams subtly incorporated the songs from the animated original into his score. It was nicely done whilst also being its own score which fitted the tone and landscape perfectly.
So on the whole, I would say this film is decent enough to get a respectable rating. But I did find a few disappointments. I love the way it looks and sounds. But it lacked in well written characters and a story with an inspiring message, which the animated film managed to deliver.
A part of me would say that this went down the same route most of the Disney live-action remakes did, which is play it safe. This seems to be what the majority of the Disney live-action remakes are doing, which is sad to see. Maybe as it was a major tentpole release for Disney, it does naturally restrict itself in order to still be family viewing and accessible as possible. But that still does not excuse not having strong and memorable characters.
Some integral scenes from the animation that we also see in this remake never felt as impactful. Plus, the battle scenes are solid and visually pleasing. But if we compared them with similar Asian period war epics such as Red Cliff, Ran, House Of Flying Daggers and Hero, then this was massively inferior.
It was such a shame that Disney resorted to release this on their streaming service. I understand why they did it. But it was clear to see how much of a cinematic quality the film had.
I'll end like I did with all the other previous live-action remakes, and answer whether it needed to be remade. Now that I've seen it, I think it kind of did. It's got the look, just not the substance. As I never went nuts for the animated original, I would say this is on a par with its predecessor.
Rating: 7/10
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