Mulan

I liked both the animated and live-action version. I'm just not sure if the animated version had such a strong gender storyline. But that's probably a common thing at Disney in recent years. Plus, the witch played by Li Gong cannot bother anyone too much. Fans of action movies will be pleased by Jet Li, who doesn't show off much, but what little he does show confirms that he is not due for retirement just yet. (28/07/2024)

I’m not sure it was a great idea for Disney to remake all the classic 90s films that made them famous. Some work, some don’t—it really depends on the execution. With Mulan, not only was the talking dragon missing, but it felt like everything was off. The movie seemed to contradict the spirit of other similarly styled Chinese historical films. On top of that, it was overwhelmingly feminist, to the point where I couldn’t tell if I noticed it because the current times make me hyper-aware of it, or because the director consciously pushed that angle. Either way, it’s clear Mulan had an impact on me—just not in a good way. (14/05/2021)

$200 million down the drain. It's baffling how a movie with such a massive budget can look so bad. The sterile green screen screams from almost every scene, making it impossible to get immersed in the film. The battle scenes are laughable, lacking any hint of epicness. The talking dragon is out, but somehow, there's even more magic than in the original animated version. Disney's unwillingness to take risks and support original projects is shameful. I'm done with their sad adaptations of beloved, still-great animated classics. (11/09/2020)

Pathetic. Mulan easily ranks among the worst and most boring Disney movies. There is nothing worth mentioning about this movie. A predictable story, logic holes, zero atmosphere and the whole thing is weirdly cut. Perhaps the worst thing of all is the practically non-existent and unintentionally funny action, where I would expect the creators of a movie about a warrior to really go to town. The battles are almost a parody, and it all feels terribly artificial (I can’t believe this cost 200 million, the comrades from China sure ripped them off). It is neither realistic nor fairytale-like. Let this film be evidence that even with these large blockbusters, custom-made one after another by the big shots at Disney, it does matter who is sitting in the director's chair. After Niki Caro’s poor effort this year, last year’s Aladdin will stand out even more, since Guy Ritchie is in an entirely different league. (11/09/2020)

This movie lacks not only vision on the part of the director, but also consistency. Scenes strangely jump around a lot and are confusing. The motivations are as variable as the weather. The visual style relies on beautiful locations, but the scenery is a bit makeshift. However, the relationship between the father and daughter works beautifully. Liu Yifei is cute and knows how to act, but the Chinese aces such as Jet Li and Donnie Yen are inexcusably left on the sidelines and are practically unused. If they wanted a realistic version, they should have gotten tougher. Why couldn’t at least the training sequence be as hard-hitting as The 36th Chamber of Shaolin? (13/10/2020)