Direction: Niki Caro
Country: USA / Canada / Hong Kong
Since 2002, eclectic New Zealander writer/director Niki Caro has been struggling to reach the same level of accomplishment of Whale Rider, her sophomore feature film. After the passable dramas North Country (2005) and McFarland, USA (2015), and the expendable The Zookeeper’s Wife (2017), she returns with Mulan, a live-action adaptation of the 1998 animation feature of the same name by Tony Bancroft and Barry Cook. For this Disney-production, Caro engages in a simplistic tale, a sweet candy confection filled with a feminist prowess that, despite well-intended, favors style over substance.
Mulan (Yifei Liu) is a fearless girl who, disguised as a male warrior, undertakes an incredible journey as she joins the imperial army to save her aging father (veteran Tzi Ma) from the burden of war and potential death. The film also welcomes acclaimed Chinese-born Singaporean actress Gong Li as the witch Xianniang, and action star Jet Li as the Emperor of China.
The dazzling physical battles, captured under the supervision of cinematographer Mandy Walker (Tracks; Hidden Figures), are insufficient to overcome the petty humor (the stinky smell joke about the heroine is repetitive) and faint romance. What should have been edgy and thrilling turned into a disappointing routine. If nothing else, Mulan looks gorgeous.
