I did some research and it seems there is a legend about the region of Sanweishan that mentions sandstorms as the breath of a dragon, that seems to be a good explanation but someone who isn't familiar with Chinese mythology as i am (and probably most westerners) wouldn't know that and it might be confusing. There was one scene that also seemed strange because it was really out of nothing, i don't see this as a spoiler because its not really of any importance to the story, but there was a sandstorm and they called it something like poison dragon. For example i don't know how the character of Wude (played by Vitas) actually fits into the story, he feels slightly out of place. Of course there were things that bothered me, too, but i think they were pretty much neglectible.
And yes, this is also a love story, but just like the fighting and everything else, to me it seems that the people who made this movie gave a lot of thought to how much romance would be possible under the circumstances. Even Warlords, which at least to me felt quite authentic, was more exaggerated in its fighting scenes. Because if you expect this to be anything like the classic martial arts movies, that it is most certainly not. One thing that i think is important about this movie is, do not see it expecting to see things you've seen in "similar" movies. But i'm pretty sure, people who watch this movie wouldn't actually (and rightfully) expect there to be much similarity between the two. The only thing about the story of Mulan that i knew, was what i learned from the Disney version. I wasn't really sure what to expect, when watching the movie. Reviewed by amanitamuffin 8 / 10 / 10 Not for everyone but deserves more attention Jingle Ma's depiction of Mulan has merits all to its own to make it stand among these others. Overall, if one is into a movie that is emotional (depending on individual's views upon what is regarded as emotional), and does not showcase violence for violence's sake, then i guess one can do themselves the favor of partaking on this trip of 2 hours into another era.Īgain i must stress, do NOT go into this film hoping to see the likes of battlefield scenes.įor me, i would classify this film like the other greats of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon The House of Flying Daggers Warlords Musa, and the very recent Red Cliff saga. Having said this, there is no need for me to summarize the film for you readers as that is one of the beauties of storytelling, where it is for the viewers to partake for themselves to let the story be told to you by the story's presentation. While concepts based on being a filial daughter to her father, and loyalty to the fellow troops that she commands and finally patriotism that drives her to do what she does for twelve years are all being explored, minimally but it is enough to drive her overall characterization in just under 2 hours (even though it may seemed longer than that).
These feelings are then broken down into different categories, showcasing the main obvious emotional parts of her for the affection that she has for another. Whereas the subplot to it is that of her feelings. There is a plot, and that plot is to drive the main theme of this film that is to showcase to us about how she grew into the character in legends. There are battlefield scenes, Yes.but they are of minimal depiction based on the context of this film, that are used to carry the characterization of Hua Mulan that was perfectly casted with Vicki Zhao at the helm. Warlords that was released in 2007 starring Jet Li, Andy Lau and Takeshi Kaneshiro). I would still classify it as an Epic to some degree, but leaning it more towards the genre of Drama and Romance, more akin to the likes of Tau Ming Chong (aka. and so is this depiction of the legend of Hua Mulan. Those are epic genre all to their own merits. For if you do, you will be disappointed for this is NOT one of those films that had been over-populated due to other greats like Braveheart, Gladiator etc. I remembered as the lights to the cinemas brightened as the credits start to roll, it felt breathtaking to had partake in this film as an audience of it.ĭo NOT, and i repeat, do NOT, go into this film wanting it to be one of those battle-like army type of films one generally associates with the genre of epic at its core.
Having just caught it not too long ago, the memories of it is still fresh in my mind. Reviewed by dvoon-missy-mcmuffin 8 / 10 / 10 Gladiator it isn't, but has merits of its own