MULAN: LIVE ACTION REVIEW

It’s an efficient retelling of a tale about a young Chinese woman discovering her power—affecting at times, occasionally quite lovely, but earnest, often clumsy and notably short on joy.

Uninspiring character development – one of the things that I liked best watching Disney’s 1998 animated film-Mulan was the fact that it highlighted the internal conflict common faced by many asians that are forced to conform within high-context cultures that would otherwise be dismissive of your own identity or brand. The Mulan that was put forth in 1998, wasn’t the strongest but she worked with what she had and got help from her friends (an average jane that got by).

Fast forward to 22 years later and we have wonder-woman Hua Mulan who’s drank all the kool-aid giving her “unmatched chi” (see high midichlorian count – Star War) and the innate ability to bicycle kick an arrow shot-caught-and then thrown into the air by a bound emperor to kill a man who should have died when he fell from what seemed like 50 feet to the ground (let’s not forget that this guy then gets up and shoots an arrow to a bound emperor only to have that arrow caught, thrown in the air and then bicycle kicked back into his chest – have I mentioned the bicycle kick?)

; TLDR : Who needs character development when you’ve got the “Chi”