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Mulan (2020) - Review Thread (RT: 81% | MetaCritic: 69)

Barrel Cannon

Barrel Cannon

The Fallen
Oct 25, 2017
9,290
I really disliked the film. I just thought the editing and flow just felt totally off. The whole avalanche scene was done strangely, it just cut to her being behind the army and then the avalanche itself looked so bad. The movie has some really beautiful moments and some awful CGI in many places. While I can understand cutting the music and mushu to attempt making the film more serious, the Phoenix didn't feel natural at all, given how bad it looked(but the idea of the phoenix supporting her was fine by me). The movie felt like it was trying to be poetic with the witches whole arc of redemption but it felt so dumb and cheap. Why would she lead Mulan to the main baddy and not just kill him herself, she's already proven she's more than capable, and then her throwing herself into an arrow felt like the stupidest thing given how she has already displayed a bunch of ridiculous powers. Like sure this is a disney movie but even a child can see how silly that is.

Even with all my dislike, I'm still glad it got made and the action was alright for me and it was great to see some of the wire work fighting throughout the film. The movie somehow still relied too much on the source material without translating what made the original good well enough. The moment when everyone bows to Mulan in the original movie felt monumental for me and was way more powerful than any scene in this film.

/ENDRANT
 
sweetie

sweetie

Alt account
Banned
May 19, 2020
334
Good lord. I went into the film with an extremely positive attitude (I've enjoyed nearly all the live action remakes) but holy crap this was bad. Might be my least favorite of the live action bunch, or just above Lion King. The action might be the only saving grace, because I felt nothing else worked.

And yeah, agree with Barrell Cannon above. The first thought I had after it ended was how NOTHING in the movie came even remotely close to making me feel the level of emotion I STILL get during this scene in the animated movie:

tumblr_nmxsojcTor1rf73xqo3_500.gif
 
Supercrap

Supercrap

Member
Oct 28, 2017
2,352
Oakland Bay Area
Barrel Cannon said:
I really disliked the film. I just thought the editing and flow just felt totally off. The whole avalanche scene was done strangely, it just cut to her being behind the army and then the avalanche itself looked so bad. The movie has some really beautiful moments and some awful CGI in many places. While I can understand cutting the music and mushu to attempt making the film more serious, the Phoenix didn't feel natural at all, given how bad it looked(but the idea of the phoenix supporting her was fine by me). The movie felt like it was trying to be poetic with the witches whole arc of redemption but it felt so dumb and cheap. Why would she lead Mulan to the main baddy and not just kill him herself, she's already proven she's more than capable, and then her throwing herself into an arrow felt like the stupidest thing given how she has already displayed a bunch of ridiculous powers. Like sure this is a disney movie but even a child can see how silly that is.

Even with all my dislike, I'm still glad it got made and the action was alright for me and it was great to see some of the wire work fighting throughout the film. The movie somehow still relied too much on the source material without translating what made the original good well enough. The moment when everyone bows to Mulan in the original movie felt monumental for me and was way more powerful than any scene in this film.

/ENDRANT
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100% agree.

Bad editing, probably group/executive decision making, hokey elements.

The director, while having a portfolio of movies that she had done a good job on, may not have been the best choice for this subject matter, culture or type of movie (action/adventure/drama).

Some definite highs in the movie, but editing & plotholes really kept it from reaching it's full potential
 
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hanshen

hanshen

Member
Jun 24, 2018
3,855
Chicago, IL
It's just so bland. Like all the other live action adaptations, Disney tried to remove and "correct" everything that any random person on the internet has ever nitpicked about the original animated movie. So you end up with a movie that is devoid of any conflict and character.
 
BrickArts295

BrickArts295

GOTY Tracking Thread Master
Member
Oct 26, 2017
13,742
It was enjoyable. Saw the original right after and I think both films have pros and cons. I honestly liked the live action a tad better mainly because it had better pace. My love of the original is strictly nostalgia and once you remove that...yeah its not that good, funny though.

I did my part, I hope Black Widow gets the premiere treatment.
 
Jeremy

Jeremy

Member
Oct 25, 2017
6,639
Side question...

Did anyone here watch Togo (the Willem Dafoe sled dog movie)?

I'm planning on doing a backyard projected movie with some friends on Sunday and that seemed like it might be a good pick, but I haven't seen it.
 
Bruceleeroy

Bruceleeroy

Banned
Oct 26, 2017
5,381
Orange County
Wow was that terrible. How can Disney with the kinds of resources they have screw up the live action versions of all their properties. Its makes no sense to me.
 
DrEvil

DrEvil

Developer
Verified
Oct 25, 2017
2,638
Canada
I liked it quite a bit... that said, I have seen the animated one maybe once, so I didn't really have a touchstone of expectations to compare it to.

I enjoyed that it was more serious in tone, more mature, the cinematography in many scenes was quite beautiful, albeit with a few questionable shots of CG (especially the smelter).

Overall I really enjoyed it, even though there were a few matters of convenience near the end.. especially: how was she riding her horse -behind- the avalanche? If the guy was buried, how did her and her horse run above the snow as it was moving?.
 
Rocket Man

Rocket Man

Banned
Oct 25, 2017
2,509
I went in expecting to like it and actually kinda excited. That was BAD...not the worst movie in the world, or even the worst Disney live action, but absolutely forgettable in every way. Mulan has one of the best soundtracks of any Disney movie, yet here we are. This was a disgrace to the cartoon.
 
Messofanego

Messofanego

Member
Oct 25, 2017
26,120
UK
jeelybeans said:
Any word on if this is nationalistic in any way?
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It would be surprising if Mulan (2020) wasn't nationalistic considering there was a CCP backed #SupportMulan campaign that spread misinformation on the Hong Kong protests and rallied behind the film's star for her pro-police brutality views, along with how CCP closely monitors movies made there.

www.indiewire.com

China Is Now Using ‘Mulan’ as a Weapon Against Hong Kong Protesters

Since China launched a #SupportMulan campaign on Twitter, the Disney movie has become a symbol of loyalty to the Communist state.
www.indiewire.com www.indiewire.com
As first reported by Variety, an apparent government-backed #SupportMulan campaign has been launched on Twitter. Originating with a host of bot accounts, the campaign is using language that closely mirrors state-backed propaganda and is continuing to escalate, with the "Mulan" star as its mascot. Under the #SupportMulan hashtag, the accounts continue to spread misinformation about the Hong Kong demonstrations using photos of Liu's face, posters from the live-action version, and images from the 1998 film.​
​
"A malicious group of people with vested interests is making calls for boycotting a movie that celebrates the life and sacrifice of the brave woman," the Chinese-state broadcaster CCTV wrote in English on Twitter. "She is an inspiration for girls worldwide….Show your support with #SupportMulan. Girls need Mulan! World [sic] needs Mulan!"​
​
The Chinese government has voiced its support for Liu. An English-language statement posted to Twitter and Facebook via Communist party newspaper The People's Daily reads: "The vicious attack on Liu Yifei and the mindless call to boycott the 'Mulan' remake is nothing short of an attempt to silence certain voices and to drag Hong Kong into an abyss."​
 

bastardly

Member
Nov 8, 2017
10,577
man this was awful, i never finished the animated one, so i can't compare it to that, but on it own this just flat out sucks in every regard.

The editing is mindboggling awful at parts, theres one where shes riding a horse and the way they edit it she fucking teleports across the battlefield or something, my wife and i were so lost. The action and wire work is bad too, for a movie that costs this much, they couldn't hire one decent HK action director? And finally the main actress sucks, felt like watching a high school student project at times, and every time she did her man voice i died a little inside.

how the hell did this cost 200MM? the sets at time looked good, at others looked cheap as fuck. i feel bad, i was rooting for this since i know its the most expensive film by woman director but man this was bad top to bottom
 
jobrro

jobrro

The Fallen
Nov 19, 2017
1,621
I liked it more than I thought I would., once I accepted it isn't the animated movie.

I still thought it was pretty weird though. A war movie where people are killed but there is little/no blood or dramatic outcome from death presented in the movie. People are killed, but they haven't been given the presence on screen prior to their death and no one seems too bothered after. Everything is also pretty rushed.

I think it would have been better off as a multi-part (2 or 3 films, or a mini series), and a more mature rating. As it is it seems neither here nor there.
 
m_shortpants

m_shortpants

Member
Oct 25, 2017
11,203
My God this was a terrible film. Terrible script, terribly directed, terribly cut. I went in with an open mind expecting just a halfway decent movie but this film lost me. Another poster mentioned it but the way they cut scenes are amateurish. She teleports across geography in a battlefield at one point and ends up behind the enemy without being seen somehow. In another scene she's supposed to be having a tense conversation with an antagonist inches away, and then the next second is riding a horse away.

the chi stuff was so unnecessary. In the original Mulan is so empowering because she is strong, courageous, determined, loyal, and smart. In here she has chi powers...or something. I realize that's a little reductive but again it felt so unnecessary. Same with the witch.
 
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hanshen

hanshen

Member
Jun 24, 2018
3,855
Chicago, IL
m_shortpants said:
My God this was a terrible film. Terrible script, terribly directed, terribly cut. I went in with an open mind expecting just a halfway decent movie but this film lost me. Another poster mentioned it but the way they cut scenes are amateurish. She teleports across geography in a battlefield at one point and ends up behind the enemy without being seen somehow. In another scene she's supposed to be having a tense conversation with an antagonist inches away, and then the next second is riding a horse away.

the chi stuff was so unnecessary. In the original Mulan is so empowering because she is strong, courageous, determined, loyal, and smart. In here she has chi powers...or something. I realize that's a little reductive but again it felt so unnecessary. Same with the witch.
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in the original, she's basically the goofball of the group and worked extra hard to become a good soldier. It shows how determined she is. Now she's already better than everyone and all she has to do is to accept her identity. And that happened not during the training but after the fight with the witch. So they made the training plot kinda pointless IMO?
 
m_shortpants

m_shortpants

Member
Oct 25, 2017
11,203
hanshen said:
in the original, she's basically the goofball of the group and worked extra hard to become a good soldier. It shows how determined she is. Now she's already better than everyone and all she has to do is to accept her identity. And that happened not during the training but after the fight with the witch. So they made the training plot kinda pointless IMO?
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Not only that but as Jenny Nicholson tweeted, she's only saved from the thrown dagger because of her bust wrap, so she was saved by her hidden identity...sooooo...what exactly does that mean? Also as Jenny states, she at first says she won't reveal herself when the witch tells her to, but then immediately does it after waking up...for reasons. It just felt like an incredibly unbelievable leap in logic. I didn't understand how she went from one mindset to another, full bore. The scene of her tearing her armor off and letting her hair down was great! Just didn't feel earned or logical. Would have been much better if maybe it was encumbering her and she had to take it off to save her battalion for some reason.
 
jeelybeans

jeelybeans

Member
Oct 25, 2017
6,948
Messofanego said:
It would be surprising if Mulan (2020) wasn't nationalistic considering there was a CCP backed #SupportMulan campaign that spread misinformation on the Hong Kong protests and rallied behind the film's star for her pro-police brutality views, along with how CCP closely monitors movies made there.

www.indiewire.com

China Is Now Using ‘Mulan’ as a Weapon Against Hong Kong Protesters

Since China launched a #SupportMulan campaign on Twitter, the Disney movie has become a symbol of loyalty to the Communist state.
www.indiewire.com www.indiewire.com
As first reported by Variety, an apparent government-backed #SupportMulan campaign has been launched on Twitter. Originating with a host of bot accounts, the campaign is using language that closely mirrors state-backed propaganda and is continuing to escalate, with the "Mulan" star as its mascot. Under the #SupportMulan hashtag, the accounts continue to spread misinformation about the Hong Kong demonstrations using photos of Liu's face, posters from the live-action version, and images from the 1998 film.​
​
"A malicious group of people with vested interests is making calls for boycotting a movie that celebrates the life and sacrifice of the brave woman," the Chinese-state broadcaster CCTV wrote in English on Twitter. "She is an inspiration for girls worldwide….Show your support with #SupportMulan. Girls need Mulan! World [sic] needs Mulan!"​
​
The Chinese government has voiced its support for Liu. An English-language statement posted to Twitter and Facebook via Communist party newspaper The People's Daily reads: "The vicious attack on Liu Yifei and the mindless call to boycott the 'Mulan' remake is nothing short of an attempt to silence certain voices and to drag Hong Kong into an abyss."​
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I'll have to skip this then. I feel bad for the artists and what not but I can't support anything with CCP influence like that. I hope Disney learns their lesson and doesn't sacrifice international viewers who are uncomfortable with genocide to appease the CCP
 
hanshen

hanshen

Member
Jun 24, 2018
3,855
Chicago, IL
m_shortpants said:
Not only that but as Jenny Nicholson tweeted, she's only saved from the thrown dagger because of her bust wrap, so she was saved by her hidden identity...sooooo...what exactly does that mean? Also as Jenny states, she at first says she won't reveal herself when the witch tells her to, but then immediately does it after waking up...for reasons. It just felt like an incredibly unbelievable leap in logic. I didn't understand how she went from one mindset to another, full bore. The scene of her tearing her armor off and letting her hair down was great! Just didn't feel earned or logical. Would have been much better if maybe it was encumbering her and she had to take it off to save her battalion for some reason.
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I thought the scene means that the witch's attack broke her chest armor, which is part of her disguise as a man, so now she's free to become a woman again. But yeah the armor tearing would be a lot more powerful even if it's your usual Disney "accept who you are because that's how it should be" and not "I need to accept who I am so my chi power can become stronger". What they did here is basically Moana getting the power of Maui after singing her power ballad and then went on to beat the shit out of TeKa.
 
PHOENIXZERO

PHOENIXZERO

Member
Oct 29, 2017
12,067
Expected a lot more out of the phoenix stuff...

No comedy sidekick voiced by a big name was a plus.

I don't know why but I laughed out loud for Ming-Na Wen's cameo.
 
Knight613

Knight613

Member
Oct 25, 2017
20,668
San Francisco
The movie felt all over the place. The final fight especially had some weird editing and camera cuts.

I still don't know how to really feel about these live action movies. I don't really think keeping the songs in would've helped this movie like it did for something like Aladdin.
 

Deleted member 15227

User requested account closure
Banned
Oct 27, 2017
1,819
Man, this movie was such an insipid, tepid, uninspired disappointment. Best thing was the credit sequence. Haphazard pacing and cinematography, amateurish script and just clumsy overall. Honour. Honour. Honour. Honour. Honour.
 
Dark_Castle

Dark_Castle

Member
Oct 27, 2017
7,147
How the hell this gets such positive reviews. It sucks, just like all other Disney live action remake. And fuck Liu Yifei.
 
Pixieking

Pixieking

Member
Oct 25, 2017
5,956
Those elements excuse many sins, including how generic the new Mulan feels — and an oddly prominent bent toward nationalism, as protecting the reigning dynasty becomes Mulan's primary mission.
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I mean, nationalism is not the same as not wanting the monarch (and in China in the film's time-period that would be the Divinely Mandated monarch, which is actually referenced) to be killed by "barbarians". But more than that, the entire film focuses on Mulan wanting to be a warrior, so this whole criticism feels both blinkered to the story they wanted to tell, and forced ("can't talk about China without mentioning nationalism").

Wife and I watched it last night - it's pretty damn good, and different enough from the original to have value (unlike, say, The Lion King).

The editing was the worst aspect of it, but it wasn't bad, I feel, just intrusive.
 
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Deleted member 27751

User-requested account closure
Banned
Oct 30, 2017
3,997
Partner and friends are currently watching it and I'm just vaguely popping in and out but also hearing stuff while in study. Hot take from the stuff I've seen: this is a shit movie. It is all over the place, the audio is whacked at times, the battles are okay but cheesy, the source material has clearly been tweaked for pro CCP relations (make dat money Disney) and by gosh it is a vast hollow body of the original animated film. I feel like there was more pro-female diversity/she-can-do-it in the animated film then this one because all the actions Mulan is doing is so hilariously bad it defeats any purpose of goodwill.

Really this just shows how far Disney will go for money, which sucks but at the same time we still have the animated film.
Pixieking said:
I mean, nationalism is not the same as not wanting the monarch (and in China in the film's time-period that would be the Divinely Mandated monarch, which is actually referenced) to be killed by "barbarians". But more than that, the entire film focuses on Mulan wanting to be a warrior, so this whole criticism feels both blinkered to the story they wanted to tell, and forced ("can't talk about China without mentioning nationalism").

Wife and I watched it last night - it's pretty damn good, and different enough from the original to have value (unlike, say, The Lion King).

The editing was the worst aspect of it, but it wasn't bad, I feel, just intrusive.
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I don't get that critic quote, because how can something be excused with so many marks against it especially in being generic - which a film shouldn't be - yet be praised for it being directed by a woman and having some pretty backdrops. One of those praises is valid, the other is just pretty backdrops being used sparingly.
Dark_Castle said:
How the hell this gets such positive reviews. It sucks, just like all other Disney live action remake. And fuck Liu Yifei.
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Because apparently anything Disney does now is considered still within "okay" territory, despite clear CCP links and money grabbing techniques.
 
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aesync

aesync

Member
Jan 19, 2018
560
Chicago
Wow that was really, really bad. Beautiful set design and costuming but felt completely and utterly soulless and hollow. I don't know how literally everything fell flat like that. Immediately went back and watched the original with my wife after we finished and it's just no comparison.

And that one scene at the end
with the phoenix wings. LMAO. "Mulan! remember the phoenix!" exact next scene: phoenix wings, in case you didn't get the symbolism YET
 
tellNoel

tellNoel

Member
Oct 26, 2017
10,254
The posts in here are great. You have one that says "ugh it was terrible" and one right after it saying "i really liked it"
 
Acrano

Acrano

Member
Nov 2, 2017
1,141
Germany
hanshen said:
It's just so bland. Like all the other live action adaptations, Disney tried to remove and "correct" everything that any random person on the internet has ever nitpicked about the original animated movie. So you end up with a movie that is devoid of any conflict and character.
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I agree it just feels so ... lifeless compared to the original, disney tried to play it realy save. The action sequences were ok ... ish, otherwise a bit of a waste of time for us and the people working on it. The editing work needs ... a bit of a rework.
 
S1kkZ

S1kkZ

Member
Oct 27, 2017
4,386
hated it so much (never saw the animated movie):

- mulan has pretty much super powers? she can do everything, is better than everyone because of...reasons. nothing is earned by her. she does not "win" despite beeing a woman, she wins because of her powers.
- editing, flow action: all of it is just badly executed.
- high production values, but the director or dop had no idea what to do with it. the movie looks cheap as hell.
- no character has, well, character. donnie yen comes closes but the rest are just empty shells, including mulan.
- movie feels too serious and drab.
- the main villain is a fuckign joke. he looks like a saturday night life skit come to life.
- the biggest flaw: the movie is boring.

this is easily the worst live action remake for me.
 
Einbroch

Einbroch

Member
Oct 25, 2017
17,978
S1kkZ said:
hated it so much (never saw the animated movie):

- mulan has pretty much super powers? she can do everything, is better than everyone because of...reasons. nothing is earned by her. she does not "win" despite beeing a woman, she wins because of her powers.
- editing, flow action: all of it is just badly executed.
- high production values, but the director or dop had no idea what to do with it. the movie looks cheap as hell.
- no character has, well, character. donnie yen comes closes but the rest are just empty shells, including mulan.
- movie feels too serious and drab.
- the main villain is a fuckign joke. he looks like a saturday night life skit come to life.
- the biggest flaw: the movie is boring.

this is easily the worst live action remake for me.
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Watch the animated movie to cleanse your palette. It's great. Mulan's superpower is that she's smart and overcomes obstacles by, gasp, using her brain.
 

Spine Crawler

Banned
Oct 27, 2017
10,228
S1kkZ said:
hated it so much (never saw the animated movie):

- mulan has pretty much super powers? she can do everything, is better than everyone because of...reasons. nothing is earned by her. she does not "win" despite beeing a woman, she wins because of her powers.
- editing, flow action: all of it is just badly executed.
- high production values, but the director or dop had no idea what to do with it. the movie looks cheap as hell.
- no character has, well, character. donnie yen comes closes but the rest are just empty shells, including mulan.
- movie feels too serious and drab.
- the main villain is a fuckign joke. he looks like a saturday night life skit come to life.
- the biggest flaw: the movie is boring.

this is easily the worst live action remake for me.
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isnt that like every shonen manga ever? goku is strong because he has powers, which he gained through training. half of the movie is about training so if it isnt earned i dunno.
 
Hirok2099

Hirok2099

The Fallen
Oct 27, 2017
1,399
a Question said:
I heard mostly negative about this movie, not like IT SUPER bad but just an adaptation that lacks the joy.

And though one GIF should not represent whole movie, this is still hilarious and bad

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What was that?
5/6 cuts for a single attack move? The editing was soo bad in this movie.
 
Loud Wrong

Loud Wrong

Member
Feb 24, 2020
13,890
Jeremy said:
Side question...

Did anyone here watch Togo (the Willem Dafoe sled dog movie)?

I'm planning on doing a backyard projected movie with some friends on Sunday and that seemed like it might be a good pick, but I haven't seen it.
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It's one of the rare exclusive movies on Disney Plus that is good for parents and kids.
 
Surakian

Surakian

Avenger
Oct 27, 2017
10,821
Can somebody tell me if Mulan builds any meaningful relationships with anybody in this film? I haven't seen many people discuss that and considering how important it was for Mulan to make friends and surround herself with underdogs like herself in the original—even Shang,—I just want to know if they bother having her form any friendships in this version?
 
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