Mulan (2020) was interesting. I was enjoying myself, getting accustomed to the new changes. Mulan has a sister who is afraid of spiders because ew girls don’t like bugs, there’s no grandmother and no cricket. To be honest, I like these changes, the sister adds more to the family bond and contrasts Mulan’s “boyish” behavior. They’ve set up a good theme here about family and going against traditional norms. To be yourself. Also sorry if I get somethings wrong I am going by memory here, saw the film 4 days ago when writing this. I appreciate any clarification and pointing out my mistakes. I will be better next time I write a review.

For some reason, there is narration only in the beginning and end of the film where the father is talking with his ancestors about the story of Mulan. There’s no point of that being there because you don’t need to tell me that this is the story of Mulan. I know this is the story of Mulan, that’s why I am here. I can probably excuse it if the narration was being told to kids. Something that these kids can learn from and be inspired by Mulan’s actions. Can even excuse the mythical powers and a phoenix appearing, they are embellishment to keep the kids entertain. Because ultimately this film is for kids, not for 20+ years old who remembers the original. It is for the new generation who are growing up with more CGI, real life elements.

Let’s continue on with the story. It’s the typical girl plot that she doesn’t want to follow the traditional norm and just wants to be her. Comedy bits here and there, which I didn’t mind thought they were cute. The Khan’s army arrives and beating China’s ass. The Emperor of China declares that every family must submit one man to the army. Mulan’s family only has one man, her weaken father. The one who teaches her chi. The father approaches to accept the letter but falls because he has a weak leg. Mulan couldn’t let her father go off to a guarantee death so she takes the family sword and armor, and rides to fight in the army disguised as a man. Boot camp happens, she bonds and trains with her fellow men. Comedy bits again here and there. Trains more while hiding her chi for some reason. The movie never explained why she needed to hide her chi at all. Never showed why it is bad just don’t show it. My guess is she was told not to show her chi because she was being annoying with her chi in the village. That’s all I got. From here on out is where the movie truly falls apart after the first battle with the villain. Villains? I don’t know if they were truly a great threat.

This film has issues with who is the villain? Is it the bird-witch lady Xianniang or the new Khan, Böri. My guess was Xianniang because she was the first one introduced and has a battle with Mulan in the middle of the film. But as the story progress, we learn she is a prisoner to Böri the Khan who is leading the assault against China. He is the main bad guy except we don’t really see him do anything. He runs up the wall Naruto style and walks through the carnage. Ok. Then the next battle against Mulan’s platoon, he runs away immediately. I assume it was a tactic to lure the generals away from the army and take them out with the mongol’s superior horse riding and archery. Alright pretty smart, can I see Böri shoot to demonstrate that. Oh no, oh ok. Well now that Mulan is alone and giving chase they have to fight here. Nope Xianniang shows up and whoops her ass because Mulan isn’t herself. She is not using her CHI!!!! Because she is dress like a man and pretends to be a man. Xianniang monologues this to Mulan while beating her ass. Then kills Mulan by throwing a knife and flies off. Mulan lives because this would have been a short ass movie and needs that revenge. So she rides off and decides that she will be herself. Let down that long hair that will get in your eyes constantly. Get rid of the maybe her father’s armor. The armor kinda of disappears, but not the sword. Swords are cool, she’s keeping that. Like the reason you are here is because you didn’t want your father to die and earlier you were crying, missing your family. You wouldn’t throw your only connection to your family away. Sure, she still has the sword, at least that is something. And she saves the day, and saves her friends with the power of CHI. And the Mongol’s losing their near perfect accuracy. You see when Xianniang leaves she traps the Chinese army to build a dome with their shields, making them easy prey to pick off with the Mongol’s trebuchets. But not when Mulan comes in from behind and snipes them one by one and tricking the Mongols that there are more of them. The Mongols uses their quick thinking and fires off their trebuchet, missing by a mile, nowhere close, and setting off an avalanche. You maybe worry about the avalanche hitting Mulan since it is coming from behind her, but worry her horse has the strength of a god and rides through an avalanche to save a friend, caught in the avalanche, to safety. I mean like the horse does not have chi, it’s just a regular horse. The mongols and their trebuchet got decimated. What’s special about this horse. Listen I get that it’s movie, a Disney movie but I gotta draw the line somewhere and point out inconsistency that you established in the film.

Oh I forgot, there’s a Phoenix following Mulan around. Helping her and guiding her. You could remove this phoenix from the movie and nothing would change. According to wikipedia, in Chinese culture the phoenixes are called Fenghuang, a mythological bird and are now known to be females.

“The males were originally called feng and the females huang but such a distinction of gender is often no longer made and they are blurred into a single feminine entity so that the bird can be paired with the Chinese dragon, which is traditionally deemed male.”

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fenghuang

So I guess, that is why they changed it from Mushi, a dragon, to a phoenix. Gotta keep adding more to the women element of the film, where Mulan can just be the women element of the film. The empowering woman in the sea of men where she is smarter, faster and stronger. I like the idea of Fenghuang being added to the film instead of a dragon. It makes sense in the context of the plot. They just didn’t know how to implement her at all. “Oh just have it flying around when Mulan is at her weakest and then at the end, it’ll be cool” – some executive.

Alright back to the film. The generals find out that Mulan is in fact a woman!! Gasp!! For lying about this, they banished her to the SHADOW REALM! She didn’t get banished to the Shadow Realm, just regular banished. The old generals are like THIS IS UNACCEPTABLE! Mulan leaves and Xianniang gives her advice and tries to convince her to join her. Now this is where we get to sympathies with Xianniang because she explains how Mulan and her are the same. Betrayed by the their own people, and now exiled. But Mulan said NO, I’ll do my duty and protect the emperor. Mulan goes back to her old team and tells them the plot to kill the emperor. The squad trusts her and gets to command the army to save the emperor. That’s such a 180 to go from disgrace woman to leading an army. In charge of a small squad, sure. Join back in the ranks, alright. But not lead the army. They go back to the palace and try to protect the emperor, but it was too late. Böri has already captured the emperor and is going to do a dramatic execution and monologues about his father or something. Mulan arrives to the throne room to only find Xianniang sitting on the throne. They finish their conversation from before, you don’t have to go full evil because they exile you for being different. Mulan is living proof of it. She convinces Xianniang that it is not too late to be noble and good. So Xianniang leads Mulan to where the emperor and Böri is. Böri fires an arrow at Mulan and Xianniang sacrifices herself to save Mulan. Redeeming herself. Mulan fights in the most boring fight ever against Böri. Who we don’t how he fights or how capable he is. We are just suppose to accept that he is one. Clearly Mulan wins because she used her CHI! Saves the emperor but wait Böri is still alive fires one last shot at the emperor. The emperor catches it and tosses it in the air where Mulan kicks the arrow back, ending Böri’s life once and for all. Böri tries to catch it but misses. On screen, it is so dumb they don’t show the arrow until they go back on wide (full body) sticking out of his body. So it looks like an arrow magically appears from the close up to the wide. There was no final impact shown or even visualize. They just tried for a cheap gag I guess.

And that’s pretty much the film. Oh, I almost forgot that when the emperor was capture, he used his Chi, I guess, to bend the curtain to his will. That was just out of nowhere and wild to see. Like I don’t know what to make of that and just fully accepted it.

There’s more to the ending like Mulan gets recognized for her deeds and can join the army. She declines and goes back home to be with her family. They reunite and the emperor gives her a gift bringing honor back to the family and village. The film remembers that the theme was about family so they discuss how the armor and sword, that was destroyed during the final fight, does not matter. Family does. Then the Fenghuang shows up like remember me!!!! and flies off to the sun. The End

Overall this film was just ehh. It clearly didn’t know what to do, the executives definitely had their way with this film. Just have these moments that were in the original and add more women characters. Doesn’t have to make sense just add them. Use more CGI stuff and cool imagery like a bird, maybe two birds. Make it look cool and the audience should just turn off their brains and go along with the ride. They made it simple, uninspiring, and bland. I give it a 5/10. I was entertained in the beginning but as it went on. It was just another boring film.

Let me know what y’all thought about Mulan (2020). Let me know if I am wrong and why I am wrong. I would love to hear it. I don’t want to be upset or disappointed by a film, but if you can change my mind then you will have my thanks.