#bori khan

[hitchell-mope]

Mulan 2020

Honestly? It was alright. A little bit dour compared to the cartoon. But I knew that going in. And of course there was both good and bad

Good:

I actually quite liked Chen Honghui and General Tung. Honghui wasn’t a prick as I was led to believe. I think he can accurately be described as a “simp”. And Tung was an adequate addition in his own right. Even if they were both slightly one dimensional. Honghui and Mulan were very cute together

That sweet sweet payback via the old hag fainting when the emperors guard award Mulan in public.

Mulan and Xiou’s sisterly relationship. It was nice that the derailing of the matchmaker presentation was screwed up by Mulan looking out for her sister

Yeah the fight scenes were a little bland and predictable but they were also well executed

I like Xianlang. She was interesting. Though the whole “villain sacrificing themselves for the hero” thing could’ve been done better

CRICKET!!!! So adorable. Deserved more screentime

The emperor was so badass

I appreciate the whole personal element they added to Böri Khan’s motivation. It added some depth that Shan Yu lacked

As always. The longer running time was well utilised

I loved the original films music cues they used in the sound track

Bad:

I’m still not a fan of heroes being told to keep their uniqueness under-wraps so they’re accepted. It just seems unnecessarily cruel to me

Chen Honghui and General Tung absolutely needed more development

Yet again I’m at a loss to understand the shipping between the same gender hero and villain. Their interactions were more creepy then anything else.

We deserved more of a back to back badasses moment between Mulan and the emperor

It’s almost definitely a cultural difference issue but I just can’t get behind the honour before reason mentality.

Kind of on the fence about the chi to be honest with you. It seems they were trying to be original but they became cliched because of it.

The song lyrics used as dialogue was well placed. But if they were going to do that then they should’ve just kept the songs in the first place

I feel like they missed the mark in not having Ming Na Wen as Hua Li. Still adored her cameo appearance though

Usually I love long hair. But they really should’ve had Mulan cut hers. It could still have grown out depending on the time frame

Christina Aguilera. I prefer loyal brave and true over the remastered reflection. But I kinda wish they’d gotten someone more culturally appropriate. Like the mandarin version of reflection that played at the end of the credits. I get they used her as a type of bookends/reference to the cartoon like they did with Ming Na Wen. But she just felt out of place to me. Like how Billy Magnussen felt out of place to me in Aladdin 2019

All in all a solid 7.5/10. Not horrible by any means. But certainly not very spectacular either

[crazyrichxplainr]

Jason Scott Lee for Da Man Magazine (July 2020)

[veronaprincess]

Jason Scott Lee as Böri Khan in Mulan (2020)

[yosoyesmesnchz]

Mulan (2020) - Niki Caro

[cienie-isengardu]

A bit about Mulan (2020)

Today, I watched Mulan (2020) and though it wasn’t bad movie per se for a one of Disney remakes (who in general lack charm of the old animated movies and feel to me awful stiff and flat) there are two things that upset me the most

[spoilers ahead]

A) making Mulan into a person with powerful chi/energy/whatever when animated Mulan needed to work hard to become a man soldier and still she kept winning not thanks to strength but being smart and thinking outside the box.

B) as much as Bori Khan was interesting character (appearance- and action wise, especially in the first enemy attack), I’m truly sad how he treated Xianniang (calling her witch something she clearly hated, comparing to a dog) and Mulan (calling her girl, when Xianniang insisted Mulan is a woman, a warrior). And this is the biggest disappointment of the movie, because I went to cinema especially to see the supposed “Shan Yu equivalent” - you know, the villain who as one of few male characters did not look down on Mulan for being a girl and once he recognized her as a soldier from the fight under the mountain, there was no trash talking how woman can’t be warrior, no misogynistic comments, only taking Mulan seriously as the biggest threat in the room. And fine, I knew in advance there will not be Shan Yu in this remake, but it still feels so wrong, ya know? Besides, the nomad people, due to the harshness of their life, usually had different sense of social roles than cultures settled down in one place for good. Also, we heard the bullshit about men/sons/warriors being better than women/daughters/future wives for most of the movie, why Bori must be the same? What pisses me off even more, is that Xianniang changes into falcon/hawk and good lord, why the movie must spit even on that part of animated version, when falcon Hayabusa was more than pet to Shan Yu, why such beautiful bond was turned into this disturbing relationship of Bori and Xianniang? Just… please, no.

[powerofunity]

What I imagined when Bori Khan challenged Emperor Jet Li to a duel.

[typicaltimmeh]

Possible Unpopular Opinion of Mulan (2020)

Bear in mind I haven’t actually seen the film in its entirety— only watched/read summaries of it.

The film plays out Chen Honghui (based on Li Shang’s character from the animated version) to be Mulan’s love interest in the film. But, like with the live-action/CG versions of the Maleficent films, I feel they provided an even better love interest here. Xianniang, the witch who sided with a somewhat sympathetic Bori Khan (who fights mainly to avenge his father), felt like a much better fit.

Forgetting that they were on different sides in the movie, the two both desired to be treated as equals to men; though, Xianniang fought out of respect for Khan, while Mulan fought for a sense of honor. You could say Xianniang fought to bring honor to Khan, who was the first to treat her like an equal. Xianniang also seemed to have deep respect for Mulan, as I’m pretty sure a witch like her would have no problem killing Mulan. Xianniang also seemed to be trying to push Mulan to be greater, supporting her as the titular female experiences all of it. And, eventually, toward the end, Xianniang even takes an arrow meant to kill Mulan, sacrificing her life for Mulan’s— mirroring the “death” of Maleficent in Maleficent 2. Not as impactful as the scene from Maleficent 2, though.

So, while she spends vastly less time with Xianniang than Honghui, I feel that Xianniang would’ve been a better love-interest. Both are powerful women looking to be treated as equals as they fight for a sense of honor. Xianniang supported Mulan for being a female warrior, pushed her to be better, and was willing to die to save her. So, possibly unpopular, but I ship it.

Xilan? Mulang? Mulanniang? Witch and Warrior? I’m no crafter of ship names, so I don’t know.

[mfstgeeks]

‘Mulan’ (2020) Review

We know the new Mulan movie got a lot of criticism for a very valid reason, but Mulan was supposed to be a celebration of diversity. So, we watched anyway to see how the film compared to the classic cartoon favorite that every Asian-American kid must’ve watched growing up.

When a live-action Mulan film was first announced, it faced a daunting task; satisfy lifelong fans while simultaneously delivering a more accurate representation of Chinese culture. As more details emerged, audiences felt conflicted. While the original animated flick has its issues, the music was admittingly catchy and Mushu acted as a strong comedic relief when paired with more serious concepts like arranged marriage and a small semblance of Chinese culture (even if they were inaccurate).

Nonetheless, Mulan, flaws and all, still featured the first Asians I, and (I presume) many other Asian children, saw on screen. Even if it was animated. As an Asian-American woman today, with the knowledge that I have about Asian representation in film and TV, Mulan is the movie that started it all.

The original movie featured Ming-Na Wen (who comes back for a very short cameo) as Mulan disguising herself as a man to fight in the war in place of her ailing father. While the main concept of the story remains, the new film includes the concept of "chi" (or "qi"), a flow of energy that connects everything in the universe, used by soldiers (i.e. men). They've also enforced the values of loyalty, bravery, and truth, and it serves as the driving force behind Mulan's actions.