qiyouguaidao
AZ, USA
This review may contain spoilers
another multiverse Mulan bites the dust
this is an action adventure film adaptation of a female heroine from ancient traditional folklore. this film re-imagines the character, re-imagines her ordeals, and re-imagines the universe/arc she lives in (like amultiverse of sort). this film is suitable from teenagers segment and above. it has decent quality filmatography, lighting effects, and film quality shooting techniques accompanied with generally enjoyable background sound/music arrangements and selections.
there is nothing fresh/original and outstanding about the storyline and the plot. this film offers a generous employment of natural environment, but there are a few goofs (for example, the same scene from 2 different angles show the moon differently, one with a full moon while another with 3/4 of a moon). some of the actors' performances are decent, but not enough to make them endearing. martial arts choreographies are accompanied with string-fu and they are arguably enjoyable. the casting, actors, and performances are decent, but nothing outstanding. there are minor inconsistencies with the dubbing (voice over) but overall it's passable.
from the ending, it looks like the producer and/or the director planned for a sequel.
the film starts to go downhill fast for me starting from the battle scene midway through the film. the chronological order of the decelerating enjoyment goes like this = observable issues with the battle scene -> dancing-singing Mulan -> drunken Mulan revealing she is a woman -> the shaman/witch segment -> etc.
//turnoffs//
- translation is mediocre. for example, come on, (Thai) baht? we are talking about Northern Wei dynasty in the 4th century AD here.
- the realism aspect of the fighting scenes can at times be lacking and inconsistent. it's the same issue with the battle scenes, the design/setup and choreography are nice, but the realism aspect is inhibited. i am not fully certain if this is entirely the director's fault, the editing's fault, or both. a few examples, i) the killing of captured prisoners segment. there is no way anybody will get hurt by the way the sword is moved to cut the throats; ii) the battle scene midway through the film. there is a segment of 2 soldiers thrusting their spears towards an enemy. thing is, the enemy vomits out blood when the tips of the spears barely touched the surface of his armor; iii) at the battle scene midway through the film, when the two opposing armies rushed towards each other, you can actually observe a few of the extras halting and waiting (for something). it's battle, doing that will get you hacked and killed instantly; iv) the actor playing Mulan fumbles with the sword grip; iv) sometimes the actor playing Mulan's sword swing looks low-energy and slow, and there are a few instances that the way she holds the sword could easily injure her wrist; etc.
- sometimes there are editing effects that can get distracting and annoying, like the flashes of light, blurring effect, etc.
there is nothing fresh/original and outstanding about the storyline and the plot. this film offers a generous employment of natural environment, but there are a few goofs (for example, the same scene from 2 different angles show the moon differently, one with a full moon while another with 3/4 of a moon). some of the actors' performances are decent, but not enough to make them endearing. martial arts choreographies are accompanied with string-fu and they are arguably enjoyable. the casting, actors, and performances are decent, but nothing outstanding. there are minor inconsistencies with the dubbing (voice over) but overall it's passable.
from the ending, it looks like the producer and/or the director planned for a sequel.
the film starts to go downhill fast for me starting from the battle scene midway through the film. the chronological order of the decelerating enjoyment goes like this = observable issues with the battle scene -> dancing-singing Mulan -> drunken Mulan revealing she is a woman -> the shaman/witch segment -> etc.
//turnoffs//
- translation is mediocre. for example, come on, (Thai) baht? we are talking about Northern Wei dynasty in the 4th century AD here.
- the realism aspect of the fighting scenes can at times be lacking and inconsistent. it's the same issue with the battle scenes, the design/setup and choreography are nice, but the realism aspect is inhibited. i am not fully certain if this is entirely the director's fault, the editing's fault, or both. a few examples, i) the killing of captured prisoners segment. there is no way anybody will get hurt by the way the sword is moved to cut the throats; ii) the battle scene midway through the film. there is a segment of 2 soldiers thrusting their spears towards an enemy. thing is, the enemy vomits out blood when the tips of the spears barely touched the surface of his armor; iii) at the battle scene midway through the film, when the two opposing armies rushed towards each other, you can actually observe a few of the extras halting and waiting (for something). it's battle, doing that will get you hacked and killed instantly; iv) the actor playing Mulan fumbles with the sword grip; iv) sometimes the actor playing Mulan's sword swing looks low-energy and slow, and there are a few instances that the way she holds the sword could easily injure her wrist; etc.
- sometimes there are editing effects that can get distracting and annoying, like the flashes of light, blurring effect, etc.
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