A stirring and majestic adaptation of the cherished 1998 animated movie with spectacular action and remarkable visuals, for all its dazzling bravura, the most disarming qualities of 2020’s live-action “Mulan” might still be its surprising emotional depth. Beyond the enchanting colors of its ravishing prologue, and the inspiring idea of a shimmering sparkplug of a little girl destined for greater things, there’s a father (Tzi Ma) who recognizes his daughter’s abilities with wistful worry. She’s remarkable, possessing a blossoming warrior chi which fills him with great pride, but she’s too extraordinary for this epoch. The melancholy within his glowing gaze understands chi is not meant for women and his role will be to diminish her potential, in the name of preparing her for a life as a dutiful wife. She will resist, and this inner conflict runs through both father and daughter and is also the source of the movie’s great emotionally dramatic themes of duty, loyalty, honor, and courage in the face of fear and fortified female resilience.
READ MORE: Fall Film Preview: 40 Most Anticipated Films To Watch
Superbly directed by Niki Caro (“Whale Rider,” “The Zookeeper’s Wife”), duty centers squarely in her adaptation—duty to country, to family, to fellow soldiers, to honor, and the debt one also owes themselves in acknowledging one’s true identity, even at great cost. The notions of protectors and guardians are also key in a spirited story that’s part fable and part transformation of the original story into Wuxia warrior epic greatly inspired by the films of Zhang Yimou (“Hero” and “House of Flying Daggers,” in particular).
The live-action “Mulan” abandons much from the beloved original—the songs, the comic relief of Mushu the dragon, and the ancestor ghosts—but their spirits remain and are honored. “Mulan” is very faithful to its animated forebear in all ways that count. Just as the Hua family is trying to awkwardly force Hua Mulan (a convincingly steely Liu Yifei), the eldest daughter, into matchmaking rituals she has no interest or aptitude for—she has a higher calling— the Emperor of China (Jet Li, nearly unrecognizable) issues a decree that one man per family must serve in the Imperial Army to defend the country from Northern invaders, exactly like the original story. Knowing her frail former warrior father most keep his oath to the Republic, and therefore likely perish in the conflict, Mulan steps in to take his place, placing his well-being and her love for her father above the potential shame and ignominy she could bring their family should the gambit be unmasked.
Masquerading as a man, Hua Jun, Mulan joins the army, and faces similar threats to being exposed like the original all the while trying to fit in with her compatriots. As their bonds grow—especially with the mentoring Commander Tung (Donnie Yen) and her comrade as Chen Honghui (Yoson An)—so too does the idea that she is betraying their trust with her great falsehood and lying to herself.
READ MORE: 2020 Fall TV Preview: 45 Shows To Watch
Like the original, “Mulan,” moves with great efficiency and economy, hurtling through the beats of the original story without ever shortchanging their emotional potential. One major change and embellishment—and a welcome one given all the extra emotional drama it brings—is the introduction of a deadly shape-shifting witch (Gong Li) with her own conflicted allegiances to who she’s become and who she once was. She’s essentially a mythic elaboration of Hayabusa the Falcon that serves Rouran warrior Shu Yan in the original (now renamed Bori Khan and played by Jason Scott Lee), much like she does here, but their relationship is transactional, fraught, and corrosive. She’s also the dark mirror image of Mulan, the corrupted version of a woman employing the forbidden chi and how it leads her down the wrong path. Instead of Mushu, an ephemeral phoenix spirit—the family’s updated emblem in this version— shadows Mulan in key moments when she must harness her inner-strength and rise up to embrace her true self.
Credited to two screenwriting teams Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver and Lauren Hynek and Elizabeth Martin, “Mulan” doesn’t feel as overly massaged by committee as these writing credits might suggest. It’s a story that’s narratively uncomplicated, even simple, and yet emotionally sophisticated in all the clutch moments. “Mulan” manages the feat of feeling both crowd-pleasing and sometimes even inoffensively middle of the road— Disney+ audiences will love this— and yet, will still seem surprisingly mature and serious for fans of the original animation. Engineered for maximum four-quadrant satisfaction, “Mulan” also accomplishes in sneaking in enough comedy and romance to check off all the Disney boxes too.
And beyond all these similarities and or suitable differences lie many cinematic treats and aesthetic creativity. The scale and craft are impeccable (yes, it does look like it cost $200 million). Caro’s fight choreography and fight sequences are stupendous, Mandy Walker’s radiant cinematography is stunning and Harry Gregson-Williams’ grandly soaring score is awe-inspiring and lovely, in a way that will likely impress colleagues like Alan Silvestri (some motifs definitely glisten with a similar luminosity of his work).
Some elements are not as strong as the others, Jason Scott Lee’s Hun villain is a little cartoonish, some of the jokes are rather ho-hum, and there’s an inherently contradictory element central to its thoughts on feminine liberation and self-given permission, while ultimately still trying to find acceptance in the patriarchy of the military and her family. Still, “Mulan” resonates, nonetheless with skill, finesse, and moving poignancy. Full of vigor and full-feeling, Caro’s picture is a true battle epic and easily one of Disney’s best live-action adaptations of their own animated catalog that unquestionably justifies its existence. An epic coming of age journey with scale and spectacle, and rousing heart, “Mulan,” is a triumph and essentially boils down to a wholehearted tale of feminine resolve, proving the boys wrong and making a father proud while being true to one’s self. That sounds a little simplistic, but Caro’s movie has surprising layers, of color, contour, and shade to shape her magnificent new empowering fairy tale. [A-]
“Mulan” is set to debut on Disney+ (for an additional $30 fee) on September 4.