Mulan (2020)

Director: Niki Caro
Stars: Yifei Liu, Donnie Yen, Li Gong
Runtime: 115 minutes

Synopsis: A young Chinese maiden disguises herself as a male warrior in order to save her father.

Performances: 4/10
Screenplay: 1/10
Editing: 3/10
Cinematography: 3/10
Score/Soundtrack: 2/10
Entertainment Factor: 1/10

Verdict: I hate it. I hate it so much. The live-action remake of "Mulan" is, unsurprisingly, yet another embarrassment to Disney's recent legacy. The original is a classic tale of bravery led by an iconic figure who defied gender expectations. It's a film that still holds up beautifully, one that can still be enjoyed by everyone, regardless of their age or gender. Through its musical choices and gorgeous cinematography, it turns the two-dimensional animation into a three-dimensional narrative assisted by multilayered, very likable characters.

Before anyone points it out, the remake, unlike last year's "Lion King", does bring a few changes to the story by removing the songs and Mushu, adding instead a witch, superpowers, a phoenix, and some pointless scenes scattered here and there. Enough to justify the existence of the movie? Absolutely not, in my opinion. It's yet another case of Disney seeing an opportunity to capitalize on nostalgia by luring in one of the biggest markets in the world right now: the Chinese one. "Mulan 2020", because that's what I decided to call it, is the antithesis of the 1998 hit. It's a bland, lifeless, and emotionless retelling of the fable that presents the protagonist as a superhero of some sort instead of making her the imperfect warrior that she is. Even if you take it as a movie of its own, it still remains a less than mediocre action flick with no depth, development, or proper arcs to emotionally grab us. The editing is horrendous, the music generic, the cinematography and production worthy of a straight-to-DVD project. Not a single change adopted enhanced the experience to me, and everything they "borrowed" from the original was executed in a much more efficient way back then.

"Mulan 2020" is not a movie, it's a product at best. I hate everything about it and everything it stands for. If it wasn't for the success of the original, it's a film that easily would've flopped and been instantly forgotten by anyone who gave it a shot. Easily my least favorite of the year so far.

FINAL GRADE: 1/10