Mulan (2020) Movie Review: Because…Chi
Yay the live action Mulan is finally out, and it’s a shame that it had to be on Disney+. I really looked forward to watching this movie on the big screen, because with its sweeping scenic shots and action sequences, it was definitely filmed with that intention. At this point, we can all accept that live action remakes serve as lackluster cash grabs for Disney. We don’t love them, we don’t despise them, but they’re aight.
Mulan is about a young Chinese woman who goes to war in her aging father’s place in order to save his life. While pretending to be a man, she has to endure the training and be strategic enough to help the war efforts while not being caught. While the animated Mulan is remembered for its music, humor, and story, the live action Mulan relies on story and CGI. From the trailers and the marketing, I really liked how the movie was trying to deviate from the animation by going back to the Chinese roots of the legend of Hua Mulan. They were cutting Mushu and the bulk of the comedic relief, while bringing in a more realistic lens to the filming and the depiction of martial arts. It’s tough to go the route of historical accuracy while keeping some of the magic of the animated Mulan…a lot of scenes felt injected with artificial color.
This movie was a bit boring. Each scene transitioned to the next, as if it were trying to tick off plot checkboxes. Matchmaker scene, check! Mulan donning father’s armor, check! Training sequence, check! Avalanche, check! And the villain(s) in the live action movie were frankly unmemorable. The witch is a new character who is supposed to be villainous and awesome, but somehow she became a hype woman for Mulan. I think it would have been awesome to see more of her backstory to justify her actions, but this wasn’t explored. I also feel like the character relationships weren’t endearing, for instance with Mulan and her friends in the army. I’ll attribute that to more time being dedicated to Mulan and her “chi” instead of Mulan and the people in her life. Good to know that Mulan became physically and mentally strong not because she worked harder than anyone else but because…chi.
In conclusion…
Since the live action Mulan is a remake, it’s probably much lower priority for Disney than its original animations or stories. The visuals were pretty and the intent behind it was good. But the reviews will speak for themselves in that the execution of this movie wasn’t all too great and could have been so much better.