Mulan (2020) Review

 

 

 

 

Mulan

Release Date: 4th September 2020 - Australia (Disney+)

Production Companies

Walt Disney Pictures

Jason T. Reed Productions

Good Fear Content

China Film Group Corporation (CFGC)

Distribution

Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures Australia

Genre: Action/Drama

Rating: M

Runtime: 115 minutes

Budget: $200,000,000

Box Office Gross: $69,965,374 (Worldwide)

Plot Summary

To save her ailing father from the horrors of war, a young Chinese maiden named Mulan masquerades herself as a male soldier named Hau Jun and takes his place in the Imperial Army. After rigorous training, the courageous Mulan sets out her goal of proving herself as a warrior when China is in great danger from the Northern Invaders led by Bori Khan.

Cast

Yifei Lui - Mulan

Donnie Yen - Commander Tung

Gong Li - Xianniang

Jet Li - Emperor

Jason Scott Lee - Bori Khan

Yoson An - Honghui

Tzi Ma - Zhou

Rosalind Chao - Li

Pei-Pei Cheng - Matchmaker

Xana Tang - Xiu

Ron Yuan - Sergeant Qiang

Jun Yu - Cricket

Chen Tang - Yao

Doua Moua - Po

Jimmy Wong - Ling

Crystal Rao - Young Mulan

Elena Askin - Young Xiu

Vincent Feng - Longwei

Ming-Na Wen - Esteemed Guest (Cameo)

Crew

Director - Niki Caro

Screenplay - Rick Jaffa, Amanda Silver, Elizabeth Martin and Lauren Hynek

Executive Producers - Tim Coddington, Mario Iscovich, William Kong and Barrie M. Osborne

Producers - Chris Bender,

Jason Reed and Jake Weiner

Co-Producer/Visual Effects Producer - Diana Giorgiutti

Co-Producer/First Assistant Director - Liz Tan

Casting Director - Debra Zane

Production Designer - Grant Major

Supervising Art Director - Ian Gracie

Art Directors - Damien Drew, Mark Robins

and Jill Cormack

Art Director: US/Supervising Art Director:

Additional Photography - Thomas P. Wilkins

Art Director: US Jason T. Clark

Art Director: China - Calvin Tsoi

Standby Art Director - George Hamilton

Set Decorators - Amber Richards and

Anne Kuljian

Property Master: Additional Photography -

Kris Peck

Creative Supervisor: Weta Workshop -

Richard Taylor

Head of Manufacture: Weta Workshop -

Rob Gillies

Weapons Master - Joe Dunckley

Costume Designer - Bina Daigeler

Hair, Makeup & Prosthetics Designer - Denise Kum

Hair & Makeup Department Supervisor -

Rick Findlater

Director of Photography - Mandy Walker

Second Unit Director - John Mahaffie

Stunt Coordinator - Benjamin Cooke

Stunt Coordinator: Additional Photography -

Scott Rogers

Fight Coordinator - Nuo Sun

Stunt Fight Coordinators: Additional Photography -

Heidi Moneymaker and Shane Yan

Special Effects Supervisor - Steve Ingram

Special Effects Off Set Coordinator - Karl Chisholm

Senior Visual Effects Supervisor: Weta Digital -

Joe Letteri

Visual Effects Supervisor - Sean Andrew Faden

Visual Effects Supervisor: Weta Digital -

Anders Langlands

Visual Effects Supervisor: Framestore -

Hubert Maston

Visual Effects Executive Producer: Image

Engine - Shawn Walsh

Previsualization Supervisor - Rpin Suwannath

Film Editor - David Coulson

Additional Editors - Paul Rubell

and Lisa Lassek

Supervising Sound Editor - Gwendolyn Yates Whittle

Supervising Sound Editor/Sound Designer -

Kyrsten Mate

Sound Re-Recording Mixers - Anna Behlmer

and Terry Porter

Foley Artists - John Roesch and

Shelley Roden

Music - Harry Gregson-Williams

Score Recordist & Mixer - Alan Meyerson

Review

The remake of MULAN has been delayed indefinitely many times due to the COVID-19 scare. Thankfully, it made its way into the streaming service of Disney+ and some international theatres that have shown it on the big screen. After watching the film, I wasn't aware of the negative comments about the remake. Chinese moviegoers weren't happy with this film. While I don't mind the songs and the dragon character, Mushu, which were excluded from the new interpretation as it opted for a realistic and darker tone. Although, a phoenix character took over Mushu's stead as Mulan's guardian and didn't do much. Gone is the empowering message, and a few scenes from the original film are nowhere in the remake. What is also missing is Shang, the eponymous heroine's love interest.

The cultural elements of the movie have been poorly handled, especially with the word "chi", which is not a magical power. I was also disappointed by some aspects, such as the bland characterisation, poorly choreographed action, redundant fantasy elements and overproduced visuals, which lessened its impact. Some acting is wooden, with actors like Yifei Lui not taking their roles seriously. However, there are good performances from a few other actors, like Gong Li and Jet Li. The scenery and landscapes are impressive in the movie. These locations shot in MULAN are partially from New Zealand. It so happens that the film's director, Niko Caro, was born in that country. Unfortunately, these saving graces are not enough to keep MULAN from dishonour.

It isn't the first Disney live-action remake that has tried to disappoint me. I'm glad this isn't a carbon copy of the original movie, which thankfully isn't like The Lion King. At least MULAN manages to retell the same plot. I'd always hoped this film would be like the 2009 version, Rise of a Warrior, in realism and respect for its cultural heritage. I was wrong. It was, at best, a lacklustre remake that failed to impress me or even fans of the original.

Star rating: (5/10) Average

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