TGIF Feature: My short, short, short review of the live-action 'Mulan'

Iconic Chinese actress Gong Li as Xian Lang, the witch.

After waiting years and having the rug pulled out at least four times in anticipation of its opening. I couldn't wait any longer for the local theater to watch Mulan. So I oped to watch it in my coronvirus-inspired setting.

Directing: Niki Caro created a visually stunning film, but more attention should have been made towards character development. And, mo god, how did you ever accept the writing? (See below).

Action: Spectacular, but I inherently fantastic Chinese martial art movies and easily accept the jumping on rooftops and running horizontally.

Costumes: Beautiful. Bina Daigeler should get an Oscar nod and if she does walk up to the stage to receive a statue, I hope she brings along Gong Pan Pan, her Chinese fashion consultant. I can forgive them because they're creating for what looks best cinematically, not an anthropological thesis. But then again, I'm not a student of fashion history.

Acting: Adequate. Best in the non-action scenes. Problem was in the dialogue (See below). Gong Li came off the best as the Witch (I'd love to see her in more accessible films.) Jet Li and Donnie Yen had little to work with. Liu Yufei was OK as the Tom-boyish Mulan but she excelled in the action scenes.

Dialogue: Clunky. Did every line from authority figures -- the father, the captain, the witch -- have to have that "Kung Fu, grasshopper" kind of pronouncement? How many times do we have to get hit over the head about the importance of family? The dialogue felt like it was written by those folks who do the translations for the foreign language captions. The clumsy writing sounds like it was by writers and a director just learning about Chinese values (Turns out, that's all-too true.) or former writers of fortune cookie fortunes. It is hard to imagine that with the millions poured into this film Disney couldn't find an Asian writer.

In short: See it in theaters if you can. It's a beautiful film to immerse yourself in. Don't compare it to the 1996 animated version of Mulan, otherwise, you'll be disappointed. They are two separate movies and should be viewed as such. Best to watch it without expectations.

EDITOR'S NOTE: A word of caution, this is news sprinkled with opinion. Readers are encouraged to seek multiple news sources to formulate their own positions. 

TGIF Feature: Coronavirus delays release of Disney's movie 'Mulan'

DiSNEY

In Disney's live-action remake, Liu Yufei plays Mulan, center.

The coronavirus has claimed another victim. The highly anticipated general release of the live-action movie Mulan has been postponed because Walt Disney Pictures believed COVID-19 would dampen attendance.

Originally set to be released in the US on March 27, the spectacle telling the tale of a daughter who disguises herself as a boy to take her father's place in the emperor's army, is now set for a date to be determined.

Mulan cost $200 million to make and was specifically aimed at a Chinese audience. Disney relies on international markets to pad its studios revenue. But since theaters are still closed in China, the studio was concerned about recouping its budget.

On Thursday, Niki Caro, the film's director tweeted out bad news to those fans awaiting the film's March 27 general release.

"Our hearts are with everyone the world over who is affected by this virus, and we hope that Mulan's fighting spirit will continue to inspire those who are working so hard to keep us all safe," she wrote.

In an attempt to be more culturally correct, the new film diverged from the original animated version by eschewing some of its popular musical numbers in favor of more extended martial arts action and spectacular battle scenes.

It stars an international cast of Chinese and Asian American actors led by popular Chinese actress Liu Yufei as the title character, Gong Li, Donnie Yen, Jet Li, Rosalind Chao and Jason Scott Lee.

The movie had its red-carpet premiere in Los Angeles three days ago and got a great reaction from an already receptive audience. Some in attendance called it the best of Disney's live-action remakes.

Mulan, the first Asian American blockbuster, would have been the crowning glory of a month of Asian American debuts. Even with Mulan's postponed release, the month still launches four television series and a movie, Go Back to China, an Asian American production starring Anna Akana.

The coronavirus is continuing to spread and several countries have quarantined it's residents. Italy has quarantined the entire country. China still has millions of its residents in quarantine and residents are encouraged to stay home, which would exclude going to the movies.

Several other Hollywood movies have delayed their releases, including the new James Bond movie No Time to Die and Disney's The New Mutants, an X-Men thriller.

Production on Marvel Studios’ upcoming Shang-Chi has been temporarily suspended because he film's director, Destin Daniel Cretton, is self-isolating himself because he might have contracted the pathogen and he his family might contract the virus.