Mulan (2020)

 3/4

Starring: Yifei Liu, Gong Li, Tzi Ma, Donnie Yen, Yonson An, Jason Scott Lee

Rated PG-13 for Sequences of Violence

It goes without saying that the live action remakes of the Disney classics are entirely pointless.  The animated films still hold up well, so the decision to remake them with flesh and blood actors can only be understood as a financial decision.  Like the umpteenth entry into the MCU, these movies are less about telling stories and more about rewarding shareholders and appealing to nostalgia and name recognition.  Of them, "Mulan" is the best, but that's not saying much considering how lame the rest of them are (don't get me started on that cinematic turd that was "Aladdin").

"Mulan" works because it at least tries to be somewhat different.  Ultimately what holds it back is that it spends too much time cramming in as many moments from the original.  A good remake should take this same concept and take it into a new direction.  The remake of "RoboCop" did just that.  Here, the story becomes so busy that the scenes that offer potential for something new are never capitalized on.  Ironically, those scenes are the most interesting.

As a child, Mulan (Crystal Rao) had the heart of a warrior.  She was a skilled martial artist capable of amazing physical feats, which deeply impressed her father (Ma).  But Mulan is a girl, and as such, her duty is to marry well.  That changes for her when China is under attack from northern invaders led by the vengeful Bori Khan (Lee) and the witch at his side, Xianniang (Li).  Her ailing father is in no condition to fight, but his pride dictates that he must go.  Mulan won't allow him to go to certain death, so she steals his sword and his armor and goes in his place.

New Zealand director Niki Caro has transformed a musical comedy into an action epic.  Considering the story, it would be a wise move.  But Caro is not an action director (her previous credits include the overrated "Whale Rider" and "North Country") and the limitations of her vision hamper the emotional involvement of the film.  The film lacks spectacle.  Big moments feel muted because they are seen through the eyes of a few people.  There is very little sense of scale.  Consider the most wrenching moment from the original, when the soldiers come across a battlefield.  Here, it looks like a cheesy movie set on a studio lot.  Miscalculations like that are abundant throughout this film.

One area in which the film does succeed is the acting.  Yifei is delightful as the title character, playing the character with more introspection than in the animated film.  This Mulan is less comic and more vulnerable.  But the young actress has genuine screen presence and appeal, and easily holds her own with her more experienced co-stars.  Not that they have a lot to do; the film is too scattershot for that.  Donnie Yen is an authoritative presence, Tzi Ma is in fine form as Mulan's stoic father, and so on.  Yonson An has some nice moments as Honghui, Mulan's love interest.  He and Liu have nice chemistry, but it's too bad that the movie never exploits it.

While Jason Scott Lee make look like the bad to the bone villain (and chews the scenery with gusto), the real villain is Xianniang, played by Gong Li, who is a living legend.  Anyone unconvinced of her talent or why she is so beloved in film circles need only watch her work here.  On paper, there isn't much that is special about Xianniang.  But Li always plays her characters with depth and feeling.  She and Mulan share a kinship: both are extremely capable warriors, which has paradoxically led them to become outcasts.  It's the way Li says her lines and carries herself that makes a routine relationship so intriguing.  It also helps that, even in her early fifties and under heavy makeup, she is as glamorous as ever.  And gets to participate in some action scenes.  My God, is there anything she can't do?

One thing has to be mentioned about the film's look.  I don't know if it's the cinematography, the camera or what, but it looks like every frame has been touched up by a computer.  It turns bold colors and detail into visual overkill (this was even more true in "Aladdin").  So while it may be more "visual," it feels artificial.  The problem subsides for the most part when Mulan sets off on her journey.  But still, it's annoying.

The 2020 "Mulan" isn't a great movie.  The dialogue is a joke, and the screenplay is in badly need of focus.  It has four credited screenwriters, if that's any indication of the film's narrative problems.  But it contains some exciting action scenes and another entry into Gong Li's impressive filmography.  That's enough to earn a mild recommendation from me.