This version of Mulan is not based off of the Disney movie and stays closer to the original 'Ballad of Mulan' (yes, Mulan is a real historical figure). Of course, this is still a movie, so dramatic liberties were taken, but I loved how the story was handled. This is one of, if not the, best war movies I've watched. Honestly after finishing it I just wanted to cry. The ending was rather sad, but stayed true to the vibe of the movie, and fit very well. It definitely gave you a "Life isn't fair" feeling.
The acting in Mulan was phenomenal. Vicki Zhao was a wonderful Mulan. She gave the character many layers and you could see all of her struggle and pain. While the movie focused primarily on Mulan and her development, the supporting characters all held up their ends of the story and everything came together to create a beautiful masterpiece.
I loved the music in Mulan. It was absolutely gorgeous and truly added to the whole experience. I'm very glad that it wasn't overly dramatic and overdone. As a matter of fact, there are some scenes within the movie that would not have made the impact they did if the music wasn't present.
Overall this was a stunning movie. In a way, it kind of broke my heart. But I can guarantee that I'll be watching it again in the future. It's the type of movie that you rewatch so you can catch all of the little details that you missed the first time. I definitely recommend watching Mulan, just don't go in with the expectations that it will follow the plot of the Disney movie!
Here's my video review: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aWX_pF6D9j4
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The movie is pretty fast paced. The introduction of characters doesn't take long, and is straight forward, but shows enough charisma for us to care about them, and enough chemistry that you get taken by their feelings and brotherhood. It's my second time seeing Vicki Zhao, after Red Cliff. She's very different here. Her character here is solemn and serious. She isn't trying to impress anyone, or show off what girls can do. She starts off a fresh face, but we see her age and mature, her face worn out and exhausted. As for Kun Chen, it was my first time seeing him and boy was he swoon worthy! He had so much chemistry with Vicki Zhao that, they can be in a battlefield surrounded by people and blood, but you feel their intimacy and affection.
The story does require some suspension of disbelief though. It is just too hard to believe that all though of Vicki Zhao as a man. Not only her looks, but her voice too is very feminine. Overall I liked the direction, the cinematography, but some scenes were cut too abruptly when we wanted to see more of what is going on. The use of flashback and explaining to us what is going on was annoying. I was thinking "enough telling, more showing". So we didn't get much war strategy and different methods of fighting. The focus was the sentiment and the outcome. The music was appropriate, though not too varying.
If you are looking for a movie about humanity and the harshness war, a movie with strong leads, chemistry, and subtlety then this is the right movie for you. If you're looking for war strategies à la Redcliff and a more entertaining feeling, you may be (just a little bit) disappointed. If you are also looking for this great romance historical movie, this definitely is not it. I leave you with my favourite quote of the movie:
- There are no heroes on the battlefield, only dead men and crazy ones -
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And this song at the end. Beautiful. I've listened at all.
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BEST MULAN!
I think this movie is the best Mulan compared to other Mulan-related movies, especially the Disney ones. This is not child-friendly, obviously, but every scenes are much more logical. Mulan wasn't instantly become the best fighter. She had to practice and went through ups and dows, even had a depression period when people around her died. The battle scenes also were shot perfectly.One scene that successfully made me cry a river is when she was pushed to kill her own horse, the one that had went through numerous battles with her, "In the next life, we will switch sides and you can kill me". NOOOOOOOO
Btw, THIS MULAN hates war. She hates it even when she won any battles because she knew that war never worth human's lives.
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The best live action of Mulan. Should be more recognized
To begin with, I would like to say that the film exceeded all my expectations, the story is very good and sometimes I even think that some adaptations were more coherent with the story of the cartoon. Mulan is my favorite princess in life and this film completed me a lot (Disney's live action didn't complete me but this one did). This followed the story original much more exactly, the 12 years of war, the sacrifices they took, everything was much improved and concrete. I literally cried at the war scene when they sang while the soldiers were being sacrificed. The songs in this film are perfect and emotional (even the post credits moved me). I was sad about some losses and even though the ending took the best path for the story to become more real, I felt the sadness, I hoped there would be at least one kiss (in my mind, the ending remained the same as the Disney cartoon and that's all that matters).Was this review helpful to you?
I originally started watching this when I first heard that the Disney live action was going to be, and finally finished watching it today after seeing the first trailer for Mulan 2020.
Wow. Don't embarrass yourself Disney. You've already got outcry from China on your historical inaccuracies just from the trailer alone...
Story (9.5):
Quite unlike the Disney animated version, this story follows more closely the original poem. In that version, Mulan was already skilled in fighting when she took her father's place in the army, and she didn't leave the army until 12 years later.
To start with, the setup here is done really well. There's a brief introduction to important characters through snapshots of daily life before we jump right into the army recruitment with a well handled segue into Mulan taking her father's place.
Since Mulan is already well trained, there's little room for a "Make a man out of you" scene, but don't worry, it's replaced by a beat up the bully type of scene showing off her awesomeness.
From here there's little to the story that resembles the Disney version. Instead of singing and fun and flashy fighting, we jump into gritty battlefields and Mulan's inner turmoil as she wrestles with her humanity and failings and emotional pain. It was really fulfilling to see the character arc of Mulan; she's not perfect (please don't make a Mary Sue Mulan Disney) and it's painfully obvious in some scenes where she's at her lowest point. But she overcomes her weaknesses with the help of her friends and even rises to greatness.
If you're looking for a sweeping romance with stolen kisses and a white picket fence ending to the movie, you're going to be disappointed. I'll say that much without spoiling anything, but don't worry too much. It's not a major downer or anything. Instead, this is a beautiful look at humanity and makes you wonder what kind of a person you would become in a battlefield.
Acting/Cast (9.5):
Major props to the actors. It's not the first time I've seen the main actors, but I was particularly impressed with Vicki Zhao as Mulan. From the first few minutes I was a little skeptical (having come from seeing Crystal in the Disney trailer) but she really delivered. I'm not going to get into the whole "oh she doesn't look at all like a boy, how didn't they realize" because I think that's a little pointless; of course she looks like a girl...
But don't tell me she doesn't look like an indefatigable general as she staggers to meet Wen Tai in the middle of the battlefield after the Poison Dragon passes. Very well done especially in the second half.
Music (9.0):
Frankly the music and audio in this movies isn't perfect, but it's like a grainy image of perfection. I wish I could call it perfect because it seemed to do all the right things, it just wasn't able to fully portray what it should have all the time. But it still got the message across beautifully and really helps pull those tears right out of you. Don't even think about skipping the end titles. Are you a savage?
Rewatch Value (8.0):
It's definitely a fairly gritty watch, and usually I'm more the kind of person who rewatches the super fun fan service kind of stuff, but this movie is definitely something I'll be rewatching again. I'll probably watch it side by side with the 2020 movie to see what gives.
Overall (9.0):
Well, I'd say don't watch this if you're looking for a romantic flick... But I do think it's an important movie.
Honestly, I'm really excited for Disney's live action Mulan but I'm terrified they're going to botch the culture or something. Now that I've steeped myself in so many Asian movies and dramas, watching most Western film that tries to be Asian is usually super painful.
However, there's one exception to the rule which is one of my all time favorite movies: The Last Samurai
The highest praise I can give this 2009 version of Mulan is that it reminded me of The Last Samurai. The friendship and brotherhood, the character development, even the way battle is depicted, I kept thinking of The Last Samurai.
What I expect of 2020 is a more flashy film, but this version here is truly an epic portrayal I don't recommend missing.
P.S. Also, major props to this movie on the battle scenes. It did a good job of portraying large scale combat through combinations of lots of people and skillful cuts thus avoiding the pitifully understaffed or obviously fake armies I've seen before...
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I also loved how Zhao Wei portrayed Mulan, totally reliable personality of a normal person who has to fight and kill, those moments of hesitation, sadness and trauma made her look as a real person, not a plastic and artificial character. The other actor did also an amazing job here. And I ship so much Zhao Wei and Chen Kun <3 (they were also in Painted Skin 1 and 2)
And yeah… sad ending again, sorry not Disney version, but if you think well about it a sad and departure end it´s perfectly logical. Duty, honor and the sake of the nation are the most important things
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Best Mulan LIVE action I have seen so far ??
Mulan 2009I picked this one up after hearing by many this was the best and closes to the Legend of Mulan.
PROS:
◇The focus on the mental and emotional toll war can and does have on a person.
◇Mulan wasn't a perfect character she was flawed.
◇The character growth
◇The writing
◇Chemistry between the leads
◇Overall plot & deployment of the story
◇Didn't get as violent as it could have.
CONS:
◇Editing wasn't super great I think because of the budget.
◇We didn't get alot of time with the side characters to care when things happened. That being said it was sad but wish they had more screen time.
It was just a movie not a show so I also understand.
Rewatch? Yes
TRIGGER WARNINGS ⚠️
◇Death
◇War
◇Talk of domestic abuse
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I wholeheartedly thank them for being loyal and faithful to the real Mulan story and for not romanticizing Mulan as a disguised woman in love.
Furthermore, with the talented cast, it became greater than just having faithful plot.
Amazing, I have no ill feelings or complaints.
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Responsibility & Love
I decided to do a little Mulan watch part this past weekend where I put on all Mulan movies I could find from China. This one, Mulan : Rise of a Warrior was the first one I found and I was not disappointed.If you want to watch a Mulan movie that is exactly what you expect from the title, this is the Mulan for you. Out of all the Mulan's I watched, I think this was my favorite. It was a story about a young woman, only daughter, and family of her father who is ill and decides to take his place as the representative on their military family. Mulan is already this kickass fighter who was trained by her father, as well as a wonderful caretaker and giver to her father and the community. All around, she is a 10 / 10. She is found out right away by a young man who grew up with her in her village, and they become best friends and confidants. One of my favorite things about this movie was how they build the relationships between Mulan and these different men.
But with all the good and cute relationship building, we do see a struggle within Mulan. Mulan is a good soldier and general but at the same time with all the struggle and misfortune and death, she starts to doubt herself and the role she plays in the military. It takes a horrific event for her to finally realize what her role is and this begins the Rise of Mulan becoming a Warrior and a great one at that.
I was also pumped to watch this one because, in one of the tags, it read romance. I wanted some Disney General Shang up in this movie! But if you are looking for a movie that is happy and uplifting, maybe this isn't for you? As I said before, the relationship-building between Mulan and the men in the military was one of my favorite things, including the relationship between her and Wen Tai, but there was also a huge representation of responsibility. Of what it means to be a soldier and citizen, fighting for China. I am not going to lie, I yelled at the tv screen a couple of times, I even signed with relief, but the one thing I did the most, was ugly cry. And that tells me that this movie, even for being made in 2009, was a great film. I highly reccomend it, but for myself, I need a little bit of time before thinking about rewatching it again.
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This review may contain spoilers
Not your Disney's Mulan. It's better!
After watching Disney's live-action version and the Chinese 2020 version, I have to say that this is the very best. It was very different from Disney's versions and, although it has more in common with it, it is better than the 2020 version I watched. This is the superior Mulan movie and the one I would recommend to anyone watching.Story
I really liked how in this story, Mulan actually has someone from her village in the army and he knows she is a woman and decides to help her, and then a higher ranking officer discovers her and since they had become friends, also helps her hid her identity. This is much more believable than her actually never getting caught by anyone.
Then I loved the plot twist at the end. I actually did not see that coming at all and was genuinely surprised. Looking back can understand why the simple line, that was brought back at the end and resulted in the bittersweet ending, was said based on the person's actual identity. That was great!
Acting
This is the second Chinese film that I see and I thought the acting was fantastic. Vicki Zhao is a spectacular actress. She was so good at showing emotions and being hard and stern and also breaking apart in her role. I loved seeing her and she is literally the best and the one true Mulan in my mind from now on. I loved her range. Aloys Chen was also amazing in his role. You can tell they put a lot of work into their roles. The Supporting cast also was great and overall the whole cast was well picked. I would like to see more films the leads and see them act in different situations.
Rewatch Value
This is the one movie where I feel like I want to rewatch it soon. It was great and the best Mulan movie I have seen to date and I will certainly give this a rewatch.
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