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.

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

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.

It wasn't that bad

[taz1004 · 7/10 · 13 September 2020]

Those who say this is worse than the "original", the "original" is Chinese folk lore. And I promise you the "original" folk lore didn't have funny looking talking Phoenix. All Disney live action get worse reviews than the cartoon version because they saw the cartoon version first. And this movie is also a victim of that.

But as old as the "original" folk tale is there obviously are many versions. This live version certainly is different way of telling the famous story and I think it succeeded in doing so. They didn't try to turn it into a musical which I am soooo glad.

It's not perfect, they tried to mix Chinese action and Disney which didn't seem to work. But the acting was good in general and certainly was entertaining.

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.

They Tried. I'll Give Them That.

[burkholdermicah · 7/10 · 4 September 2020]

I'm glad this isn't some shot-for-shot remake like 2019's The Lion King. I'm glad they actually stuck with the Ballad of Mulan story rather than it be a remake of the animated movie. I'm glad that most of this movie's budget went around the way the land of ancient China should be presented. The music is great, the cinematography is beautiful, the visuals are incredible, the acting is solid, the editing and sound effects are good... and that's pretty much it.

I'm giving this movie a 7/10 because it's better than most of the other Disney remakes (with Beauty and the Beast being the one that I happened to REALLY like), and because there is a lot to like about it. The only thing not great about this movie is the writing and the way some things are executed. I wish they spent more time developing the characters and used more of that time to develop the villain. The villain in the cartoon movie was so well-crafted and well-written, but the villain in the remake feels like there's a whole lot missing from him.

It's a solid, mildly entertaining movie overall and definitely better than that garbage Artemis Fowl movie!

What's with all these bad reviews?

[TheGreatGreenBadger · 8/10 · 5 December 2020]

This is such a good movie! Why can't people enjoy a good movie without being so highly critical or comparing it to the original. There is so much new content and the camerawork is spectacular! Yes, there are some problems and it was rushed at first, but it ended out to be a thrill ride nonetheless! So, open your mind and enjoy this amazing Disney remake!

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.

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.

Not Sure What People Wanted

[Steeler92 · 8/10 · 13 September 2020]

I've never seen the cartoon version but my daughter has and she loved ir. I promised I'd take her to see this when it came out in the theater. Well, that didn't happen. Although the price tag was a bit high I decided to shell out the 30 bucks (I'd have paid 50 at the movies). We both found the movie enkoyable. It was dramatic, funny in parts, touching in other parts. The scenery was amazing. I'm not sure what people were looking for in this. Apparently there is a talking dragon and singing in the carroon. I'll pass on both. This reminds me of another Disney movie people under-rated because they didn't understand the point: Tron: Legacy. Just chill out and enjoy a movie rather than getting your quarantined panties in a bunch!

A retelling NOT a remake

[aquawave-84891 · 7/10 · 21 December 2020]

Firstly, do not think of this movie as a remake of the Disney cartoon movie. It is a retelling of the Mulan legend. Once you get to this realization, the movie is actually quite good. A few details were glossed over and some of the characters could have used more development, but the moral, message, tone, and adventure is still all there. And some of the choices made were definite improvements to the version of the tale we are familiar with.

A better movie than the rating would suggest

[Hammer-Rocks · 7/10 · 5 September 2020]

I don't understand the low reviews this movie is getting. I'm not sure why so many hate it. What are they comparing it to? The animation version? This movie follows the key storyline of the animation, but it is not a carbon copy. So don't expect it to be like the animation or you'll be disappointed. If I based my interest in this movie on the reviews alone, I would not have watched it. But thank goodness I did (watched it, that is).

The movie is beautifully shot on location with grandiose panoramic shots, and authentic looking sets. The action can be engaging, and beautifully captured. Some unique action sequences, but for most part nothing you haven't seen from these genre of movies before. Like wire work action sequences but not overly done. Overall, it (the action) adds to the story telling of the movie, and not detracts from it.

But for me the biggest plus of this movie is, it's not a musical. Thank goodness, they didn't turn this into a musical, like they did with Aladdin. This is an action based movie, where the animation's original musical score is played in the background at appropriate moments, instead of being front and centre.

If looking for an action based movie with a feel good story, give this a go. It's a better movie that the current ratings (4.3 at the time this review was written) it's currently getting.

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

Don't understand the hate

[alan-wardy · 7/10 · 6 September 2020]

I hear people complaining saying it's not a Disney movie like who cares theres some good fantasy martial arts in the movie and it was a entertaining movie overall.

Wow, shocked at the low ratings and reviews

[Top_Dawg_Critic · 8/10 · 5 September 2020]

This production alone is worth more than the current IMBd 5/10. I for one, really enjoyed it. Excellent writing and directing. Stunning cinematography, visuals and S/VFX. The score was on point, and casting and performances all great. For a Disney film, the action was awesome. My only critique is the pacing made the 115 min runtime feel much longer. Some scenes were too long and dragged out. Still, very enjoyable and certainly undeserving of its current low score. It's an 8/10 from me

Maybe this is one of my favorite disney live action after Cinderella and beauty and the beast

[Cirdl3 · 7/10 · 26 September 2020]

My expectation is too high, but it's still worth to watch for me. I have watched this movie two times and I like it, I was really enjoyed the movie, maybe I like it cause I really exited and my expectation of this movie. There's why i don't know why y'all hating this movie

Without mushu this movie is incomplete and there are no songs in this movie, which makes it feel flat. There's a new character in this movie and character reductions from the original movie.

This Disney Princess live action was feel different with the other Disney Princess cause in here Mulan was not really like/love the Prince or what ever is his name is. The action, the CGI, the Acting was good. The acting of the actor was good but there's a problematic actor and when this movie was release there's problem cause they use wrong location of the movie. But I recommend you to watch this and it's worth it.

Very entertaining

[bananaspider · 8/10 · 11 November 2020]

Had a good time watching Mulan. I've never been a follower of any other type of Mulan series so it didn't contaminate this movie for me and I saw this as a wholy entertaining saga.

The low score really doesn't do it justice

[sirfranzelot · 7/10 · 7 September 2020]

I usually don't write reviews, but all these negative reviews based on US vs. China patriotism are a disgrace. If you can watch a movie without searching for political messages you should be able to enjoy this one. All in all it's well done with some minor flaws. It's entertaining, inspiring, definitely not as funny as the original, but equally touching. Give it a chance

Something is missing

[nigepitz · 3/10 · 5 September 2020]

It's hard to put your finger on why, but this movie just leaves you cold. The characters have no depth, the set pieces seem oddly small scale and it is just deeply unsatisfactory. It seems they were focused on the feminist aspect of the story that they forgot about everything else

Honorably beautiful

[muthergamer · 7/10 · 6 December 2020]

The best of the recent Disney live action re-makes of well loved animated movies in my honest opinion. The lesson of remaining true to the person we all truly are inside came across beautifully. Thank you Disney. You did it right this time.

Another belch of the Evil Corporation or a dance on the bones of nostalgia

[lyubitelfilmov · 1/10 · 29 December 2021]

Do you know what it's like when for almost two hours one of your favorite Disney characters is simply mocked, turned upside down, and they dare to pass it off as a work of art? "Mulan" from 1998 is one of my favorite childhood cartoons that I grew up on. I love this character, I was deeply worried about her adventures, exploits, failures and victories. And with this belch of 2020, the Evil Corporation spat into my soul, messing up everything that could be messed up. The script is far-fetched to the point of indecency, the logic - I didn't spend the night at all. From Mulan, they made a sumerbaba only because she is a woman (she does not need to study, she is already perfect), she was even credited with the character of Elsa from the "Cold Heart". The villain is an operetta, where he furrows his eyebrows viciously, but does not pose a real danger. The sorceress is generally a walking cliche "to understand and forgive" (she is also a woman). This burp reeks of feminism for miles. I'm already silent about the barracks where the family of our superbaba lives along with a dozen other families. The original images are distorted to please the Chinese market (where in the end this burp failed (what an irony)). Acting - forget it at all! No one expresses emotions. Even in the cartoon drawn in 1998, they were, and even what (you can even shed a tear, and this should not be shy). There is no Mushu, a brave captain, there is no romantic line. And as a mockery, a sad song from the cartoon periodically plays in the background, and in the final credits it is sung in Chinese. I knew that it would turn out to be belching and squalor, but I could not imagine such a scale. Shame on the Evil Corporation! Shame and shame again! I put one only for a few funny moments.

My rating is 1 out of 10 and I categorically do not recommend this burp for viewing!

An epic, rousing and feminist action movie that should have gone to the cinemas

[moritzmeyerautor · 9/10 · 26 September 2020]

A movie night with her besties was what our daughter wanted for her 10th birthday. So we turned on the new Mulan, the perfect film for a group of girls between 10 and 13 years old. I get that the reception of Mulan has been controversial. But don't listen to the misogynistic troll community of the internet that tries to mansplain, why "this is not Mulan", because it doesn't have an annoying talking dragon as comic relief. What needs to be taken more seriously, though, is the criticism of people directly from China or with cultural reference to the country. Despite all efforts, Disney apparently got a couple of things wrong. The inclusion of a phoenix as a religious symbol is among them. Accepted. Nowadays, it has become increasingly difficult to make a film that suits everyone. We need to be conscious of the misdepiction of non-western cultures and learn how to make it better. But Mulan gets many things right anyway. First of all, Yifei Liu's Mulan is a great heroine with whom the young viewers could identify immediately. The new figure of the "witch" also worked well as a fascinating and ambivalent antagonist. Director Niki Caro uses the rather allegorical visual language of martial arts cinema to good effect. Naturalistic set pieces and landscape shots support her style of storytelling in a very good way (we know that she can do this since Whale Rider). Overall, this is an entirely new version of the Mulan story rather than a bland re-telling. Personally, I think this is a better way to approach these remakes. The almost shot-by-shot remake of The Lion King, despite being tremendously successful, didn't work for me at all. This version of Mulan stands much more on its own feet. It's an epic, rousing and feminist action movie that should have gone to the cinemas, where it belongs. But it's worth watching at home, too.

Stop listening to others

[Noodles88 · 7/10 · 11 September 2020]

I've just seem this movie. I've also seen the 2009 version and obviosuly the animation as well.

Of course it's hard when you try to bring animations to real life characters, it's easy to put soul and emotions in animations because it's being done my computers, perfect face movements, easy to project any emotion, from none to max with one click.

Sure this movie is not a perfect replica and if it was people would say that it's exactly like the animation, nothing new was added , why would i rewatch something exactly same...blablabla

As a standalone movie, disregarding any other versions, this movie is actually pretty good. Amazing cast, awesome environments, this is an easy 7. What i got from it is what i got from the original, a woman going against everyone, against tradition and whatever weird stuff imperfect human kind concocted through the ages.

Go see it and enjoy it, people have been without blockbuster movies for some time now thanks to Covid and now slowly we get some action here and there and they complain.

Criticisim is good but not when it's over the top and ridiculous, who gives 1 and 2 stars? Let's be resonable here folks.

Mua haa

[roxmewild · 2/10 · 5 September 2020]

Epic fail that cost a fortune

I can handle the overly dramatic acting if only the story was worth it and sadly it is not, If this is the best Disney has to offer then they won't go far in the streaming world!

I am just praying as a big Marvel fan they don't screw up any future releases from them

Action Over Words

[jadepietro · 8/10 · 9 December 2020]

IN BRIEF: A lavish but conventional retelling of a Disney animated classic.

JIM'S REVIEW: (RECOMMENDED) The war rages on...no, not the battle over Chinese dynasties. I'm talking about Disney's on-going raid of its animated features into live action films to seize your dollars. Some movies have been big improvements. Others mediocre imitations of the original. Thankfully this update is the former. Gone are the pop songs, the comic wise-cracking dragon, the animated awe, the fun. We are talking serious transformation. Visually sweeping in its epic filmmaking, Mulan (2020) still retains some minor problems in its Disneyfied storytelling. Our plucky heroine may be in search of her own identity. But so is this movie as it presents stock stick figures talking in fortune cookie bromides set against lavish settings. Yes, the script-by-committee strategy loses the battle.

This Disney princess is played by Yfei Lui and this beautiful actress is rather bland in the role. She is very likable, but physically she never persuades us that she is a secret soldier, disguised as a man, fighting for the Imperial Army against evil forces. The movie suffers from Yentl Syndrome. (For those unaware of this condition, all you need to do is watch the Barbra Streisand film to see that, in no way, does she resemble a man, so all sense of reality and authenticity is lost.) Such is the case with Ms. Lui's performance. Her feminine voice and stance, her chi, is far from being male. The all-Asian cast tries valiantly to spin this folklore tale convincingly but their characters never seem remotely real-to-life. Only Gong Li as Xianniang, a powerful witch, attains some depth of character. And that is due to the actress, not the script.

However, the major strengths of the film are Niki Caro's skilled direction and the panoramic scope lensed by cinematographer Mandy Walker. The director stages her many battle sequences with much flair and, though she tends to overdo the slo-mo in the martial arts close-ups, the effect is breathtaking. Her choreographed action scenes would make David Lean proud. Ms. Walker's lovely use of bright primary colored palette supplies the needed grandeur. Grant Major's production design is strong as are the opulent costumes by Bina Daigeler. (This movie should have been seen on the big screen for its CGI and ambitious staging.)

Mulan (2020) is grandiose filmmaking on a big budget. Yet with all its visual scope, it is a prime example of actions speaking louder than words. (GRADE: B)