Mulan was directed by Niki Caro and stars Yifei Liu as Mulan. This is a live action adaptation of the beloved animated classic by Disney and is part of their line of live action adaptations of beloved animated movies. This new version is now available on Disney+ for an additional 29.90$. I know that it sounds like a lot, but this gives you unlimited access to the movie and so you can watch it as many times as you want and with how many people as you want. Is it a must see movie? No. It's good, but not great.
I did like this movie. Part of the reason of why I loved this movie is that it is a cinema movie. When you watch it, you know and feel like it was meant to be watched on the big screen. The big action sequences and the beautiful scenery, they were meant for the big screen. I'm sorry, but most Netflix movies still feel like small screen movies. You don't feel that you missed out on watching them in theaters. This is a big movie and I missed them. I have no open cinemas around to watch Tenet in, so this is as close as I will get to the screen feeling in a while.
Mulan tells the story that we all know. The country of China is under attack, so the emperor raises an army. Every family much contribute one man. Mulan joins the army instead of her father who is too old to go. She joins to become a warrior. Unfortunately, this movie lacks the story of the personal growth of the character which the animated version had. Mulan is a badass from the start. This movie also doesn't have the LGBT aspect that the animation clearly had. Also, the message of the movie is slightly different, now the message is don't hide who you truly are as that will only hinder you in life. It is still a good message. They did include the aspect of teamwork in this movie, which is great. You know this story. It just looks and feels different.
The villain of this movie is Böri Khan and his witch Xianniang. Together they rule an army that wants to kill the emperor and rule China. Xianniang is Böri Khan's deadliest weapon. But they are not really impressive or menacing villains like the villain in the animated version. The movie fails to convey the destruction that they caused and the sense of desolation.
Yes, the movie has no songs and no Mushu, but I didn't miss them in this movie. This is a war movie. There is hardly any comedy here and songs wouldn't work. There is just an orchestra with the music of the old songs in the background and it totally works in my opinion.
It was an enjoyable movie. It is was big, flashy, colorful, it hard great action, great acting, great cast, it did feel magical, fantastical and had that all girl power in a good way that I like. But it lacked in emotions. I just didn't feel emotionally invested in the movie. It was fun and that's it. I usually love Disney's live action remakes a lot more. Perhaps since this movie was meant to appeal to China more than anything, it appeals less to Western viewers.
It's a fan watch. In a time when cinema movies too far in between, I take what I can get.
Please follow me and upvote my posts to help yourself stay up to date with everything that is nerdy and awesome.
Sharing will also be most appreciated.
See you in my next post.
