'Mulan' Yay or Nay? What Critics Have Said About the Disney Flick So Far

By Alexandria Kim

Out of all the live adaptations Disney created so far, the "Mulan" 2020 movie is by far the most controversial one.

Before "Mulan" lead actress Liu Yifei sparked criticisms for supporting Hongkong Police, Disney expected that the remake of the 1998 animated film would be a massive hit.

In addition, the fact that they have Donnie Yen, Jet Li and Gong Li undoubtedly boosted Disney's confidence about the film.

However, some outlets predicted that the movie would flop due to the controversies and multiple postponements caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

If they had pushed through its release on big screens though, the film would surely not enjoy the amount of attention they are receiving now due to its issues.

On September 4, the "Mulan" 2020 movie finally conquered Disney+, and here are what the critics have said about the film so far:

Mulan 2020 Movie "Couldn't Be More Relevant, Vital, and Alive"

With its $200 million budget, "Mulan" is currently the most expensive film a female director has ever created. It is also considered as the priciest of all Disney's recent live adaptations.

Fortunately, the expenses they made gave justice to Mulan's story.

In a review written by Christy Lemire of RogerEbert.com, she applauded the movie's wuxia-inspired aerial work and the perfectly choreographed martial arts moves and horse stunts. This breathed life to Yifei's character, showing how a woman can be a warrior, too.

She also pointed out how the actress' character and story resonated with all women worldwide, making a connection to its viewers while doing the storytelling in the most impressive way. However, Lemire also pointed out the one thing Yifei lacked.

"Liu's performance might have been more powerful if she'd been a bit more emotive, but the steeliness and physicality she displays make her a convincing fighter," she wrote.

"Beauty and the Beast" BETTER Than "Mulan"

To establish a comparison, Richard Lawson of Vanity Fair brought up the "Beauty and the Beast" remake to the table and compared it to the "Mulan" 2020 movie.

Per Lawson, "Mulan" is not awful. However, it is a bland film with bland scenes, and it is more boring than "Beauty and the Beast." Other than the "Reflection" theme song, which Cristina Aguilera re-recorded, nothing seemed to be new.

"The new Mulan is a sweeping action movie with lots of cool fight choreography, and yet it never musters up a sense of awe," he said.

Despite its delivery of wuxia and martial arts, the film failed to deliver an exciting overall feel.

"Mulan" 2020 Movie "Prioritizes Honor Over Excitement"

Scott Mendelson of Forbes has been a big fan of Niki Caro's film, but he honestly said how the live adaptation failed to bring back the emotion people felt in the 1998 toon.

According to Mendelson, this new film totally lacked the energy of Mulan.

"It's also excessively respectful, including its share of frankly condescending platitudes, going out of its way to avoid "problematic" content," he said

For a war-based film, the "Mulan" 2020 movie seemed to be patronizing its origin, choosing to offer no blood to be respectful to the theoretical Chinese audiences.