Mulan: Rise of a Warrior

I got quite excited when I heard of this re-adaption of the Chinese folk tale Mulan, having always loved Disney's version for unexplainable reasons. (Not being a Disney fan in any sense).

I'm very much left at a crossroads after watching the piece. Well worth giving it a go to draw your own opinions because the film is brilliant yet at the same time flawed throughout.

Having the feel of many recent Romance of the Three Kingdoms historical epics that have been popping up regularly from the fantastic new generation of Chinese cinema, Hua Mulan is fast paced, uplifting and in a narrative sense very well strung together. Unlike many of its' counterparts we don't have the long and often drawn out political segments we found throughout the Red Cliff films (Absolute wonders in their own right).

The evident flaws popping up in the casting of Hua Mulan herself and the balance between the story of a solider and that of romance wasn't really able to find a true sense of equilibrium, I felt slightly discontented by the conclusion but Hua Mulan is not a film to disregard from the above remarks. A film well worth watching, putting a blunt and more practical spin on the story of Mulan; placing the tale within an Era of Chinese antiquity that easily rivals that of King Arthur or Julius Ceaser.

First, let us dispel some misunderstandings. 'Mulan' is folklore--like Robin Hood, King Arthur--initially popularized as literary fiction, perhaps with some 'historical grounding', but so heavily mythologized that what is 'fact' and what is 'fiction' is virtually indistinguishable (this in turn produces multiple versions of the story, including of course, Disney's campy animated 'revision'). I specifically mention this because as silly as the 'plot twist' near the end of the film may seem to those familiar with the premise of the story, it is not nearly as silly as the rest of the film—-and just as a footnote, this version is campier than Disney's.

Zhao Wei plays Hua Mulan, a young woman who pretends to be a man in order to substitute her ailing father as a conscript in an army raised by the Northern Wei dynasty to fend off incursions by the Rouran Confederacy. Since women are not allowed in the military, she conceals her sex from her comrades while simultaneously demonstrating how much better she is as a warrior than her male colleagues.

Yes, Zhao Wei is a bad choice for this role. Her 'speech scenes' are particularly painful to watch. She seems incapable of shaking her soft-spoken and demure mannerism and it is hard to believe how anything she says can actually mobilize the morale of an entire army before a battle. There was virtually no transformation between her 'rural girl' persona and her 'soldier' persona other than what she was wearing (which made the gap in her acting even more apparent). Her appearance in this film as 'a woman dressed as a man' is no more convincing than her cameo appearance as 'a woman dressed as a man' in John Woo's "Red Cliff II." The difference is that in this film, that is actually central to the plot.

The battles were uninspiring and poorly paced. Fast-motion fight scenes intended to conceal the fact that most of the actors were physically inadequate for their roles, coupled with too many slow-motion sequences of people getting impaled or killed, made for lousy, lousy battles. "300", while not a good film, has at least proved that this could be better done (first by asking the actors to get into shape...). The army field formations were sort of epic but brief, as much of the cameras' attention were focused on individual fighting (meaning that you don't see "big battles", only CG generated/enhanced armies standing around or moving, then small battles with that annoying fast-motion sword swings/spear lounges and slow-motion death scenes...). Lastly, the whole 'band of brotherhood' rhetoric was just entirely over-the-top, more so than even the silly (but at least expected) love story.

Poor choice of actors, poorly written script, mind-numbing dialogue, bad filming techniques, and too big a budget for its own good. If you liked this film, you're letting something get the better of you....like your h***-on for Zhao Wei or a misguided sense of Chinese nationalism....

Hopefully the new Disney film sparks some interest in this one. This isn't the "kids" take on the tale. Theres a pretty cool atmosphere where it feels light and childlike (since the people in war can be quite young in real life, during the time) while still being graphic and brutal.

Its not perfect. You'll be lost a lot in terms of "how much time has passed?" For example. But it is a good watch. Good acting, action and lots of interesting story.

Having Just watched this film, and whilst it is still fresh in my mind I found the movie to be a refreshing change to traditional epics offered by Asian Cinema. House of flying daggers it is not, but as an interpretation of Chinese folklore that was based on a poem, it is a piece of cinematic creativity in it's own right. The casting of Wei Zhao was a smart move. Vicki is a potentially under rated actress who displays a versatility that is often never matched by over paid Western A - listers. For the tone and content of a film that has no provable substance in fact, Vicki does an outstanding job of expressing the bland emotion and lack of compassion that would be synonymous with the era and situation with which the film is set.

At it's heart is a love story that is put aside by the burdens of war. This is so effectively displayed by the acting skill of the lead that it could be mistaken for lacking any substance at all, but with such interpretive subject matter the leads pull you in and make you share in the joy and the hurt that their lives are taking.

This is essentially an amazing piece of cinema, with a talented cast and a talented director. There are many ways to while away an afternoon. Getting lost in the majesty this provides is well worth the time

This is a real film, don't think this is a family fun movie, like the Disney Mulan, this is an adult, grown up War Action Romantic Drama, Chinese style, and its very very good. Heavy on the War Action, Heavy on the Romantic Drama, A stunning movie.

It is a very beautiful film, very good photography, good costumes, and it really looks like its ancient time period, the battle scenes are great, the action scenes very good and all the acting is spot on, no slacking here. I am not keen on the romantic angle, but it is very well done in this, no sex scenes either, showing that for true romanticism you don't need to show naked bodies writhing together and that it is better without that sort of thing.

I have watched a good few Chinese films and most are great, they really do know how to make a good realistic film without cutting corners or going cap in hand to the financial sharks.

The nearest western equivalent of this film is probably Spartacus and it is as good as that. Put it on your Bucket List, watch this before you die.