Mulan
War epic has found its momentum in the Chinese cinema especially in recent years with films like “Red Cliff,” “The Warlords” and “Battle of Wits.” The clashing of swords, soot-covered soldiers and the cries of fallen troops used to be an exciting movie to watch especially during Chinese New Year, pardon me, but such genres no longer driven by the same feeling of anticipation and excitement. The short supply of a very good script and strong casts (minus star power) is one of the major turn-offs, especially those “Red Cliff” wannabes.
While some of us are still having the ripple effect of “Red Cliff,” Jingle Ma’s latest takes on the classic heroine epic “Mulan” arrives in such a timely manner, even without taking into the consideration that its lead star, Zhao Wei looks like she just walk off from “Red Cliff’s” set into “Mulan’s.” No doubt, there are similarities in terms of costumes and designs for both movies, the stories, however, is nothing similar. Unlike Ma’s attempt on his previous movies involving romantic relationship, “Mulan” on the other hand is told in a broader context, allowing him to paint complex pictures of love, forbidden love that is. By using the battlefield as a backdrop, Mulan’s love for Wentai, who fought alongside her becomes more than the usual “lovey-dovey” roll-eyed love expression. Instead, it’s about sacrificing your life for someone you love. And it comes with a choice: love for someone or love for your country. It’s heavy, I know.
What?! Giving out speeches in front of 10,000 soldiers?
The trailers look quite promising, no question asks, but that’s not to say that “Mulan” is without its missteps. It’s quite hard to not to compare this version of “Mulan” to the one we saw on Disney Channel. In fact, you silently wish nothing much should be changed from the cartoon version. Mulan’s act of filial piety is just a mere ten minutes on screen, and it happens too quickly. We would love to see how Zhao Wei puts on the sixteen kilograms of armour suits and carrying that two-metre long sword. That’s not all, Jingle Ma rather focuses more on winning battles after battles. Unfortunately, though, his effort in injecting humour through Fei XiaoHu, portrayed by Jaycee Chan into the story falls flat. And it gets pretty boring at times. But perhaps the most perplexing choice Jingle Ma ever made is to cast Russian singer, Vitas to play the arch-enemy’s servant boy. The blond-haired, weird Chinese speaking but undoubtly good-looking boy is completely out-of-the-place.
Too often, the movie rarely displays detailed information especially, when it involves appearances that the movie badly needs. It is staggering to think that during those twelve years of battle, none ever find out the true identity of Mulan, let alone exposed or assaulted by men constantly surrounding her. Exactly how she managed to keep herself unexposed for so long is quite a wonder and that such sentiment is not the writers’ greatest concern. Call it creative. The forbidden love between Mulan and Wentai is given very little exposure, but once they gain their footing, it quickly runs out of steam. Like when Wentai must treat Mulan’s wounds after the battle, it could have been a sensual moment, but Ma, it seems is more excited to go into the battlefield again, rather than spending a moment or two on genuine passion and heartache.
This is fun, I can do it all the day!
Mulan’s true identity, suffering, sacrifice and the achievement she made both as a woman and a military general is barely accredited and the whole movie quickly turns into your typical war movie. It lacks the military geniuses, drama and strategy to make it stand out even more. And did I mention, there’s no talking dragon either?
Ratings: 3/5 stars
