Mulan (2020) User Reviews

A lifeless retelling

[cardsrock · 5/10 · 7 March 2021]

I'm not someone beholden to the songs and characters in the original Mulan. I was excited Disney was steering away from the shot-for-shot remake trend of their live-action retellings. Unfortunately, they went a bit too far in the other direction and made a generic Chinese fantasy martial arts film. The cinematography is great and the colors are often vibrant, but the story is pretty dull. The lead actress is awfully bland as well. The action and music are standouts, but get bogged down by some pacing issues.

My biggest issue with this film though is Mulan herself. Disney has gotten into this awful habit of making their female characters Mary Sues who never struggle or have any character arc (e.g., Rey and Captain Marvel). It's like they don't know how to write female characters, which is insane because it shouldn't be any different than male characters. Mulan in the original was a great character because she used her wits and perseverance to get ahead in a man's world. In this retelling, Mulan is gifted magical powers (?!) from birth and never has to struggle. This movie is almost saying she needs magical powers to be better than men, which is ridiculous. How hard is it to portray female characters that work hard and use ingenuity to advance in society?

This film is ultimately joyless and hollow. There's no Will Smith as Genie or stunning CGI to make this remake stand out. What we end up with is a movie that feels like it was made by committee.

It's Disney's Version of a Martial Arts Action Movie

[karenbeth-05637 · 7/10 · 5 December 2020]

Watching this, at first I thought it was a bad movie. Then I had a realization. This isn't a remake of the cartoon, it's not a princess movie, it's not a fairytale, it's not the normal way Disney does folklore. Live action Mulan is a Samurai movie. It's got the sword fighting, the improbably/impossible acrobatic fighting, historical setting, honor, and even magic/mysticism.

Of course the problem with that is that Samurai are Japanese, not Chinese. So, it's more accurate to call it a Martial Arts Action Movie set in a fantasy version of ancient China.

The quasi-historical setting has some problems too. Disney has a tendency to pick and choose things based on aesthetics rather than historic accuracy in their stories. They need to make better use of cultural experts so as to avoid problems like this. In this case, that round village house that she lived in wouldn't have been built until several centuries after the story of Mulan was supposed to take place. Also, it was in an entirely different region of China. So, that part isn't great.

Personally, I think if you go into it expecting a martial arts, action movie you'll probably like it okay. But you need to have that expectation going into it. If you are expecting something like the cartoon, you'll be in the wrong mindset to enjoy it because you'll be expecting entirely the wrong genre.

As for the plot, I like that it doesn't end in her getting married. It actually ends in her getting a job offer that uses her skills and brings honor to her family. And I like that they didn't repeat the cartoon version's cross-dressing for comic effect which is super cringy now.

I don't think it's a great Disney movie, but so long as you are in the right mindset going into it, it is enjoyable.

Newbie

[deadpixies-91831 · 7/10 · 24 September 2020]

I came to this fresh. I haven't seen the original. I didn't know the story. Judged solely therfore on its own merits I really enjoyed this movie.

The Chi Awakens

[eldinhomehic · 14 September 2020]

They turned Mulan into a Rey clone; that's all you need to know. Why bother creating a flawed and vulnerable character that gains the viewer's respect through hard work, perseverance and resourcefulness when you can just tack on magical plot-solving heritage and thus cut out the middleman entirely? Worked well with Rey, didn't it?

Also, remember how in the original, Shan Yu didn't care one bit that Mulan was a woman? All that mattered to him was that she was responsible for destroying his army and he took her as seriously as any other enemy. Well it would seem that was just way too progressive for modern audiences because Mr. Khan over here can't go 5 minutes without reminding you how much he hates women...because, you know, overcoming segregation matters more than overcoming your enemy through skill and ingenuity.

A 200 million dollar female power fantasy -- that's what this is.

Don't trust the bad reviews

[timothyrswann · 7/10 · 12 September 2020]

This is unlike the original animated one from the 90s, but that doesn't make it a bad movie. It's a decent film for what it is, a modern take on a story that is centuries old. It tells the tale of a female warrior in ancient China who concealed her gender.

If you expect a version similar to the original motion picture from the 90s, you will be very disappointed

Failing to realize what made the original so great

[Vartiainen · 4/10 · 22 September 2021]

The 2020 film Mulan is a Disney live-action remake of their classic Renaissance animated film of the same name. It's a study on how not to re-tell a story.

First, let's go over the good parts. It's a pretty little film. It has wuxia feel to it and all the different set pieces are well-made and suitably elaborate. I also liked the costuming and the action choreographies. Suffice to say, this film looks very good.

But then comes the story. You've taken one of the most iconic Disney heroines and you've turned her into a deus ex machina. You've taken a girl who chose to rebel against social expectations and triumph despite all her disadvantages, and you've turned her into the chosen one who succeeds because she was born with magical powers. Can you see how that's so much worse? How that's so much more demeaning?

Add in all the other magical bovine manure and senseless directing choices, and you have a film that has none of the charm of the original. None of the uplifting heroics. None of the gender equality. This Mulan doesn't save China while being a girl. She saves China despite being a girl. Because she was destined to do so and because she's more special than you can ever hope to be.

But it's pretty. It has good action scenes. Nevertheless, it's not a good film.

It's not the same movie; get over it.

[jlcp-photo · 7/10 · 17 September 2020]

This movie is very different to the animated film: there's no singing; there's no Mushu; there are lots of typical Chinese martial art action scenes (i.e. people running straight up walls/basically flying); there's a new villain; the ending is different.

... And that's okay. Stories don't all have to be told in the same way. Sorry that you might be upset about that. Here is a review of the film from someone who isn't heartbroken that it's not identical to the animated movie. (Seems like I am one of the only people here who thinks that way.)

IMO, live-action Disney adaptations that follow the animated version frame by frame are boring as hell because you know what's going to happen. At the end of the day, this movie is about a woman showing us she can do exactly what men can do - if not more - and she saves her kingdom through her persistence and intelligence, not just her physical strength. Is that not the message of the animated film? (She also brings the more "feminine" idea of love/family into what are considered prized virtues. Yay.)

This rendition of Mulan naturally has a lot of power; but the crux is that she can only harness that by being true to herself as a woman, not by being deceptive and trying to pass as a man. So there's some weird chi-related stuff. You're not okay with that but you wanted a talking dragon? You can't have this woman accept herself and her strength unless Eddie Murphy helps her to do so?

For people wondering about the witch: she represents what Mulan *could* have become based on the biases at the time. The witch is "evil" because she was cast out for being a strong woman and sided with the only people who would tolerate her. Mulan, luckily, gets to show her country her strength and be appreciated for it on the "good" side.

Mulan's character isn't as fleshed-out as it could be; additionally, the story is weaker in parts and seems rushed in some sections (in particular when she is turned away by the general only to be accepted back minutes later and put at the head of the group to save the Emperor). However, it is a solid story of intelligence and perseverance and the action scenes are fantastic, which somewhat makes up for the lack of character development.

Although it's not a musical, if you pay attention, some of the songs from the animated film do make their way into this edition. Also, some of the lines from the animated movie are repeated in this. (Mulan was my favourite "Disney princess" when I was a kid so I really noticed these nods to the older movie.)

In short, this film has its flaws but I thoroughly enjoyed it as a new take on a classic. Stop being so butthurt it's not a carbon copy of something you already watched.

Disney... you brought shame upon your family

[jaka6052 · 1/10 · 6 September 2020]

This is probably the worst movie I have seen in the last two years. And mind that Mulan still is one of my favourite cartoon movie, so thats quite something to achieve.

Let me put it simple, every time the script diverged from the cartoon it was for the worst. They left out the best parts and added the most ridiculous nonsense you can imagine.

• The Witch: Why add this character? How lazy do you have to be as a screenwriter to only be able to make the story "work" by adding a character that can morph into any other character? Betrayal? Complicated motives? Multilayered characters? No - it was just the witch who took over the Kings servant.

• The Phoenix: Absolutely useless trope. I would argue that the story of Mushu in the cartoon was written better that the whole Mulan 2020 script. This dumb phoenix from the ashes metaphor has been done a thousand times, please for gods sake can these people have one original idea?

• Loyal, brave, and true. These three words appear like 10 Times through the movie yet absolutely nothing comes from it that wouldn't naturally appear in a Mulan story. Its like making a Harry Potter movie and have the word "Magic" appear on every item. Yeah we know, it's a movie about bravery - we have all seen the cartoon.

• Scenery: The landscapes are beautiful, if this would be a documentary. Did anyone tell the director that the landscapes in a movie need to make sense? I felt like I'm watching an old spice comercial: I'm on top of a mountain, now I'm in the desert, look back to me I am now inside a vulcano.

In Summary the movie had three very strong virtues. But I'm not talking about "loyal, brave, and true" the three words that come to my mind are "ridiculous, dumb and lazy". So yeah, don't watch, don't buy. Just watch the cartoon another time.

Can't understand the terrible reviews

[cbohleke · 8/10 · 7 December 2020]

The movie might have been better to me because I have never seen the cartoon version of the movie. I think sometimes people become so entranced with a movie that when it is redone that people cannot accept the changes. Some times this is warranted as in the 1997 version of Twelve Angry Men, but sometimes I think it is the inability to move forward. The movie was done well in much the same style as Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon with some fantastic and unrealistic moves, but it is still entertaining and with wonderful cinematography. I really enjoyed the movie.

Loyalty, bravery and truth

[TheLittleSongbird · 6/10 · 27 January 2021]

Saw 2020's 'Mulan' as a massive Disney fan. Although their recent live action offerings are very mixed and none are as good as the originals, many of their animated films are fine examples of how to do animation right. Looking at the title, the advertising and that seeing it was made by Disney, it is very easy to think that this is another one of the live action remakes and it is easy why it has been critiqued as one. Part of me was really psyched being somebody who loves the 1998 film, but also worried when seeing the hate for the film and for the lead actress.

When seeing 'Mulan', it didn't actually strike me as a live action remake and doesn't have an awful lot of Disney in sight. Other than the title and references to the score of the 1998 film embedded in this one. Instead to me it came over as more another version of the character and her story, and one more serious and less family friendly, so directly comparing the two films didn't strike me as right. While the disappointment that is expressed is understandable, as there are big flaws to be found and it definitely does not have the same amount of charm, heart and thrills as the 1998 film, to me 'Mulan' was not that bad and was not deserving of the extreme backlash before it was even released. Seeing as Yifei Liu's personal views had/have nothing to do with Disney or the film crew.

'Mulan' is not perfect. Do agree with those that say that a lot of the dialogue is pretty bad, with a tendency to sound stilted, especially in the cringe-worthy and very out of place attempts at sporadic humour with the troops, and go too heavy on emphasising the characters' values. Loyal, brave and true agreed did not need to be emphasised so much, the point was made quite quickly. There are things in the plot that sounded oddly intriguing on paper, but done too little with. Especially with the phoenix, which doesn't really add anything.

Both Xianniang and Bori Khan felt like underdeveloped characters. The former comes off better as she is suitably mysterious and alluring, but her motives are pretty confused later on (with it being not clear what side she was on), she is pretty much a come and go plot device and her final scene felt very rushed. Bori Khan has an intimidating look but is underused and his motivation is pretty much the only thing that is learnt about him. Didn't like how easily defeated he was and how clumsy the scene looked. In general the characters could have done with more depth, Mulan and Zhou are the ones that come closest, and the film could have done with more soul.

However, 'Mulan' does look great, especially striking in the truly exquisite historical visuals and the at its best majestic scenery. There is a lot of colour and atmosphere in the photography, which was clearly inspired by the likes of Zhang Yimou, and the costumes do catch the eye. The CGI didn't seem too excessive and didn't look jarringly cheap either. Harry Gregson-Williams' score is stirring and also has a sumptuous emotional core, also enjoyed hearing references to the music from the 1998 film. Niki Caro on the most part directs with confidence.

Personally really was impressed by the beautifully choreographed and dynamically photographed action. When it needed to be tense it was, when it needed to be particularly athletic it was and when it needed to excite it did. Especially the big battle and the avalanche. It was easy to feel the strength, pain and perseverance needed to get through all that training, only the final showdown came over as ridiculous. The story was not perfect but it engaged enough, intrigued with the cultural aspects and inspired thanks to Mulan still being a strong character (though she doesn't grow as much or go on a character journey as much as the animated Mulan, if to briefly compare). Although the father-daughter reunion was more emotionally powerful previously, it is still quite moving in a subtle way here.

Moreover, the acting wasn't bad at all to me. Liu is a confident lead, bringing authority and vulnerability to Mulan that was ideal for this ideal heroine. Donnie Yen and Jet Li are strong authority figures and Jason Scott Lee does inject some menace into his underdeveloped role. Tzi Ma's performance is very telling in its nuance, more than once not even saying a word. Li Gong looks wonderful in the film and is both deceptively alluring and mysterious, despite the character herself is not meaty Gong's acting is quite complex.

In conclusion, prepared myself to hate it but quite liked it while finding it very flawed. 6/10

Dull

[mirnasayshi · 2/10 · 12 September 2020]

In the original Mulan is a normal girl who does amazing things through hard work. In this one she like Chinese Neo or something and has magical powers which kinda messes up the message.

But the main problem with this version is that it's just cringy and boring.

This movie really amazing

[niatakaraixh · 10/10 · 25 December 2020]

Yes this movie doesn't have Mushu, but this movie really amazing, me and my family really enjoy watching it

Loooooved

[breezy-91590 · 7/10 · 5 September 2020]

Yes it's different from the original. Yes I missed the singing & really wanted to hear Mulan's voice. At the same time, the way this version was crafted it made sense the way they wrote it. I looooved it.

Soulless ( i'm being kind)

[kalinp · 2/10 · 10 September 2020]

Well... this is what happens when you give 200 million dollars budget and a great cast to the wrong director! Or probably it was the producer... You could at least give us some nice soundtrack... but noooo, you had to destroy it all at once

Better then you would expect. It's not a remake.

[KristinaRatkova · 7/10 · 7 January 2021]

To be honest it was way better then I expected. I has been a decade since I seen the original so I didn't remember much of it and had low expectations when I watched the new version. But it pleasantly surprised me. I liked the more serious tone and the lack of the stupid love story, it was hinted that there might be something between the two but it didn't shove it in your face. The more serious tone also made the stakes more interesting and important, made it feel that there is a chance there might not be a happy ending. At time the dialogue did feel disjointed and a bit odd but I can get past that, it was still really fun to watch.

Also really glad there were no music numbers or Mushu. I think they would have ruined the story. This film is not a musical and it does not require comic relief. If they did CGI Mushu into the film, I am sure many people would be whining and complaining about it.

Trust the Bad reviews

[AbhiSh4ke · 1/10 · 5 September 2020]

Everything that made Mulan great has been dropped the charming side characters, the humour, the character development all of it in favour of this bland cringey Cliche be yourself girl power lunacy. Just don't waste the 30$ on this believe me you will thank me later.

It's a remake. Not a copy

[soulmar · 7/10 · 4 September 2020]

There's going to be a lack of good reviews for a while because of how off the raters are.

First, you shouldn't be rating Disney making you pay for this. That does an injustice to the movie's actual review. And it's not about watching it on a TV screen instead of the theater.

Second, please understand that these remakes aren't replacing the originals. There's no way they can. The originals are masterpieces. I wouldn't want anyone to make live action copies of them.

So, this movie is not the best. It felt rushed at times. Then there's these epic moments that were very emotional. They did add some political correctness to it. But it didn't feel overdone. I have to admit I was a bit disappointed not having any musicals. I was at least hoping for Reflection. But despite the lack of music, my family and I enjoyed it. We'd watch it again.

Oh, the fight scenes were great!

You wouldn't be able to tell it was Disney's Mulan if they didn't tell you.

[le-02508 · 1/10 · 4 September 2020]

Honestly, it felt like a generic Chinese fantasy martial arts movie with a mediocre story line and shallow character development. You can't include Mushu because you want it to be more realistic/traditional but you can add a shapeshifter into the plot? What? There's no Disney magic like the original Mulan (1998) that was beloved by fans. No humor, no songs, or the Disney feel to it. If it didn't have the name "Mulan" as its title then it would have been just another mediocre movie at best, forgettable but not terrible. But for a Live Action remake of the beloved classic "Mulan", absolute trash. Save your $30 and 2 hours of your life that you'll never get back. I mean I don't know how else to convey it but... man was it awful.

Great movie!

[glamcaj · 10/10 · 12 December 2020]

Actress does a great job! Don't understand the critics this is not a documentary or bibliography is supposed to be entertaining. I watched it 5 times in two weeks.

A decent movie, but...

[nyespen · 6/10 · 28 December 2020]

Consodering that this is supposed to be a remake, this should be a 4. Where is the music, the original action and the overall atmosphere? Why remove this, but keeping most of the narrative? This could easily have been an 8, if done correctly.

However, consodering this to be a new film with a basic plot, it deserves a 7 - so I give it a 6.

An Insult of Culture and Shame

[wangbin1518-237-182440 · 3/10 · 14 September 2020]

"Do you believe they are actually picking a Chinese girl to play the role as Mulan in the new real-person Disney remake movie?" I can still remember the question from an ABC girl and the excitement on her face when she was asking the question back in 2017. And after all these years of waiting, it turns out to be a complete disappointment.

A 3-star is probably the best rating that I can give here. Yifei Liu is absolutely the ideal cast for the character of Mulan. It looks astonishing on that reflection of Mulan in the sword poster. And that wins the movie one of the stars. Some of the scenery in the movie are beautiful especially with IMAX 3D. Mountains and skyline of the capital city are breathtaking, which earns the second star. It is probably a half star if not with IMAX. As for the third, since IMDB won't allow me to give a ZERO star for the worst movie of all time, it is basically a buy-2-and-get-1-for-free star.

Mulan's story has been told to all the Chinese of their childhood for over a thousand years. And thanks for Disney, the story is told to all the world with their great cartoon movie in 1998. The spirit of Mulan has been encouraging generations of people, including her bravery, loyalty and most importantly her filial responsibility. (Well, that's true, Chinese people thinks highly of their filial duty.) However, all the spirits above are but of words engraved on the sword, and the director really wants to tell that little story about a girl seeking for her true-self, which could be any other story but Mulan's. Despite of that, the whole story line is not logical, well, at all. * Avoiding to face the true-self as a female? Is that true? * Hiding family Kungfu from the troop? Is that necessary? * Taking off all armor and helmet to run for a war fight? Cannot be more logical. * A troop of well trained soldiers counting the Emperor's life on and only on a little girl? Best strategy ever. * Such an easily provoked Emperor that would rather get himself into a one on one fight to a berserker? Trump wouldn't do that for sure.

If you want to make a good Chinese history based movie, the least thing you have to do is to do some real study on it. But all I can see from this movie is prejudice from westerners to Chinese traditional culture and a soulless Disney drama. * Praying to phoenix for safety and peace? We don't ever do that in China. * Concubines with pale white faces and bloody red cheek makeups? That's what Japanese Geishas do. * A mind-controlling or transforming witch? Okay, Valar Morghulis. * Phoenix Vs Eagle metaphor? What's that for? Basically, not a single culture is presented precisely from where they come in this movie. If you can read Chinese, you can learn more mistakes that are made about the culture, history timelines, etc, where the ratings goes all the way down to 4.9 after 3 days of the release. If you can't, don't bother, and just remember the mistakes are much more than you can even imagine. The director successfully made a contribution to alienate the understanding between the westerners and Chinese. Westerners may think this another movie that is made for Chinese in order to please the Chinese market, while Chinese people are actually feeling INSULTED by all these cultural bias. Niki Caro shows us a great example how to make a movie and offend both side of the audience.

In the original Mulan folklore, there are no characters like Mushu, the cricket, and all the funny souls of ancestors. But who would possibly complain about a cute funny dragon especially when it comes from Disney? But when a silent, helpless and do-not-know-what-to-do phoenix is taking Mushu's place, it just let people doubt if this 2020 remake is actually a Disney movie. Besides, Mulan is made a superhero with great talent when she was very young. And of course, a heroine cannot have a boyfriend, potential one, as a general or something. That adaption sounds not feminist at all.

All in all, this movie is simply a waste of a good legend, passion from Disney fans, 2 hours of your life probably, and above all, 200 million dollars. Good job Niki Caro!

Absolutely loved it.

[jodiegkemp · 10/10 · 12 December 2020]

Beautiful reimagined. A story of a girl finding her true place of power in the world.

Not bad

[abigaile-22863 · 7/10 · 7 September 2020]

It was not bad, there were some changes from the animation that i didn't enjoy, but there were many good scenes. For example, the camp scenes, they were the most interesting and fun part for me. Moreover, the cinematography was very beautiful. I really enjoyed the first half of the movie, the second half was not bad also, so overall, i think it was a fun movie to watch, not as great as the animated mulan, but still enjoyable.

No music according to Niki

[anthonyjcox · 1/10 · 7 September 2020]

No music because when charging into war, "you don't press pause and start singing cause it isn't realistic" says Niki. Yet, in one of the most emotional and amazing war scenes in Lord of the Rings Return of the King starts with Pippin singing as Faramir charges towards the Orcs - and that film won 11 Academy Awards.

I enjoyed it

[dchislett-659-820580 · 7/10 · 18 December 2020]

Ok, so I can understand some of the reviews focussing on the differences between the original and this one, but you need to remember this is a live action film and not animated. No smart talking dragons. I like the casting on the whole, her battalion buddies were enjoyable, decent wire work and martial arts (though have seen better from all involved) and the pace was pretty constant. Some of the shots seemed unnecessary and I'd be surprised if the writer and director didn't watch it and think "wish we'd done that differently" for at least a few scenes. Is it a £200m film though? No, I can't see how they did that. Did I enjoy it? Yes I did. Made me reflect on my western virtues as well, so well done!