It's fun, it's light, [but] it has a hard time when its tries to get heavy.

I like movies that are aware of what they are selling... without [any] greater aspirations than to make people laugh and that's it.

This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

The acting in this movie is really good.

Forget about the sugar-coated Disney versions and forget about talking animals. This 2009 movie is based on the legend of Mulan, the woman taking the place of her father in order to go to war, and whose accomplishments led her to rise as a general in the Wei army.While this movie is entertaining in terms of action, drama and warfare, then if you are already familiar with the story of Hua Mulan, then there is very little surprises throughout the course of the movie. Well, aside from the devious Mushu dragon is not here."Hua Mulan" does differ from many other movies in the genre, that being big, epic war movies. Sure, there are battlescenes throughout the movie, and they are impressive, but if you are expecting the same grand level of epic warfare as in many other movies of the Chinese warfare genre, then you might find yourself somewhat disappointed. "Hua Mulan" focuses more on drama and character Development, as such it is story- and character-driven, putting the war and action sequences in second line.I was especially impressed with the costumes and props in "Hua Mulan". There were some many great details to be seen here. The armors, shields and weaponry was really impressive. And for a movie set in this age, then having a believable and realistic presentation is a must. So thumbs up on their achievement here.The acting in the movie was good, although I think they could have had some more talented people in the roles of Hua Mulan (played by Wei Zhao) and Fei Xiaohu (played by Jaycee Chan). Don't get me wrong, they didn't do poor jobs, I just think that someone more talented could have added more to the movie. Kun Chen (playing Wentai) was really doing a phenomenal job though, and he alone lifted the movie a great deal."Hua Mulan" is a good and entertaining movie. But there are far better choices in the Chinese warfare genre, should you be looking for such entertainment. I am rating "Hua Mulan" six out of ten stars.

An uninteresting folk tale...The problem with Mulan is the film itself is not interesting enough to sustain the audience attention. The film is actually decently filmed and filled with decent performances. However for a story like Mulan, one expects far better. One main concern is that I felt nothing for any of the characters, no matter how terrible the situation maybe. Nor do I feel the smartness or freshness in the tactics used. This is especially evident, after the Red Cliff series. Truism tells us all, that director Jingle Ma is not exactly the best director for substance. Coolness is what he is famous for. Think Tokyo Raiders. Unfortunately, Mulan never matches the level of fun within Raiders, but a more like-for-like comparison gives us the disappointing Butterfly Lovers. A bit better than his last venture, but the final output remains largely un-spectacular.The story goes like this: Girl goes to army. Girl falls in love with army general. Girl becomes the general. If you are Chinese, chances are you already know the story. If you like Disney, you probably know it as well. For accurately purposes, minus the talking dragon.Vicki Zhao Wei is actually well casted as the tomboyish Mulan. Zhao Wei basically played a similar role in Red Cliff. She is natural enough not to disappoint, but fails to be anything more than decent. Her chemistry with General (played by Alloy Chen) is more manufactured than love. Likewise Alloy Chen does well without standing out. Uninteresting can be as much as a problem as over-doing something. Veteran Yu Rong-Guang does reasonably well considering his limited screen time. Once again, Jaycee Chan continues to show exactly why he is quite simply just riding on the more famous Chan's fame. He does somewhat redeems himself in the final few moments of his screen time, but yet another non-existent performance. As for Mr. Hu Jun, well he is Hu Jun. Just as he played the villain role so well in Bodyguards and Assassins, Hu steals the spotlight. The result is being the most interesting figure within an uninteresting flick.All in all, Mulan is ultimately an uninteresting look at the life of a folktale heroin. Blame should really not be dealt to the actors, but rather the usage of Jingle Ma. Director Ma has never been known for making emotive dramas or at least movies with substance over style. Ma has always enjoyed painting a good picture, striking a good pose and excellent photography skills. Unfortunately, all you can say is that Mulan is beautiful to look at and nothing more. A tad better than Butterfly Lovers, but even that is not an achievement to be proud of... (Neo 2010) I rate it 4.5/10www.thehkneo.com

First, let us dispel some misunderstandings. 'Mulan' is folklore--like Robin Hood, King Arthur--initially popularized as literary fiction, perhaps with some 'historical grounding', but so heavily mythologized that what is 'fact' and what is 'fiction' is virtually indistinguishable (this in turn produces multiple versions of the story, including of course, Disney's campy animated 'revision'). I specifically mention this because as silly as the 'plot twist' near the end of the film may seem to those familiar with the premise of the story, it is not nearly as silly as the rest of the film—-and just as a footnote, this version is campier than Disney's.Zhao Wei plays Hua Mulan, a young woman who pretends to be a man in order to substitute her ailing father as a conscript in an army raised by the Northern Wei dynasty to fend off incursions by the Rouran Confederacy. Since women are not allowed in the military, she conceals her sex from her comrades while simultaneously demonstrating how much better she is as a warrior than her male colleagues. Yes, Zhao Wei is a bad choice for this role. Her 'speech scenes' are particularly painful to watch. She seems incapable of shaking her soft-spoken and demure mannerism and it is hard to believe how anything she says can actually mobilize the morale of an entire army before a battle. There was virtually no transformation between her 'rural girl' persona and her 'soldier' persona other than what she was wearing (which made the gap in her acting even more apparent). Her appearance in this film as 'a woman dressed as a man' is no more convincing than her cameo appearance as 'a woman dressed as a man' in John Woo's "Red Cliff II." The difference is that in this film, that is actually central to the plot.The battles were uninspiring and poorly paced. Fast-motion fight scenes intended to conceal the fact that most of the actors were physically inadequate for their roles, coupled with too many slow-motion sequences of people getting impaled or killed, made for lousy, lousy battles. "300", while not a good film, has at least proved that this could be better done (first by asking the actors to get into shape...). The army field formations were sort of epic but brief, as much of the cameras' attention were focused on individual fighting (meaning that you don't see "big battles", only CG generated/enhanced armies standing around or moving, then small battles with that annoying fast-motion sword swings/spear lounges and slow-motion death scenes...). Lastly, the whole 'band of brotherhood' rhetoric was just entirely over-the-top, more so than even the silly (but at least expected) love story. Poor choice of actors, poorly written script, mind-numbing dialogue, bad filming techniques, and too big a budget for its own good. If you liked this film, you're letting something get the better of you....like your h***-on for Zhao Wei or a misguided sense of Chinese nationalism....

We all know how the story of Hua Mulan follows that of other legendary folk heroes in China's rich history, and to date there's only a reference poem which accounted her exploits which stem out of filial piety, at a time in the Northern Wei state centuries ago when the Emperor decreed that all families must contribute to the war effort. Being a military family, the Huas have no male heir to represent their family, which automatically meant the aging father has got to volunteer himself. Rather than send her father to instant death in the battlefield, Mulan disguises herself as a male, and takes her father's place. That's basically the gist of the story, where she spends 12 long years at the war-front to the amazement that she was never found out, before returning to the gratitude of family and country.This also means that storytellers have almost a full reign at what could have transpired during her tour of duty, and suffice to say this will always mean that there will be elements of hardship during training, attempts or situations at putting her true identity at risk, and given the soft hearted nature of an adolescent female, affairs of the heart will come knocking. The same goes for this film, written by Zhang Ting, which adopted the romantic angle rather heavily, exploring the relationship between Mulan, and General Wentai (Chen Kun), in a love that's quite forbidden since firstly a female cannot be serving in the army, and secondly, face it, two male soldiers, and later on, of general rank, can't be seen behaving lovey-dovey in front of their men. Besides, being romantically involved also served to be a roadblock to Mulan's innate war ability, or so Wentai believes that needs some way to be severed so that she can unleash that beast within.As Wei soldiers, they're tasked to defend their country from the nomadic invading forces which seek to conquer Wei for their iron, in which to make weapons, and then to plunder some more. There's some gigantic contrast between the troops on both sides, one sans heavy armour, while the other gets more beautifully decked out, and in some ways, better equipped. But what the film is rather all about, is its take on leadership. One can have strength in superior numbers, or to have technology on its side, but without an effective, charismatic leader, it's as good as not being able to harness the multiplier effect that comes with the territory. Imagine having morale, trust and belief so high, that troops will rally behind you, trust your vision, and literally to lay their lives down for the cause. I suppose with any effective leader who walks the reasonable talk, should be able to attest to the respect that they command over their followers.Then there are the battle scenes, because what's a Mulan film without one. Unfortunately though, most of the scenes were featured in some way in the trailer, so they do not come as a surprise. There's no big-bang action sequence as well, choosing instead to opt for a rather more personal, intimate battle rather than one involving the masses, and also wrapping things up a tad too conveniently, although it tried to redeem itself with a pathos filled finale revisiting the romantic angle once again. The war front scenes were like a quick summary of 12 years of iconic battles that Mulan had led, so those looking for fantastically choreographed battles in the mould of Red Cliff, will be sorely disappointed.Then there are some rather questionable scenes which comes out of the blue, and somehow marred the enjoyment of the film a little because of their convenience, with that little bit of vampirism which I felt was not quite necessary, and a natural phenomenon which just appears and seem to take sides, again for reasons I am not able to fathom, and speculate only for the showcasing of special effects. Disaster movie, this is not.But thankfully the performances all round provided that lift to the film, and made it bearable. Zhao Wei is no rookie to period war dramas, since she has Red Cliff to thank for in modifying her role there to become a warring princess. There are too many parallels to be drawn between her characters in Shangxiang and Mulan, such as going forth to the forefront of war to the disapproval of family, her desire to defend her country, her disguises and so on, one can still feel her Mulan here to be distinct and if I may say, quite definitive. Chen Kun also held his own against the veteran actress, although one can feel that since this is a Mulan film then he's playing second fiddle. Supporting roles range from Jaycee Chan to Hu Jun, who seem rather functional than to add any emotional depth to the film.Mulan is just one version from a folklore open to vast interpretations, and you can bet your last dollar that this isn't going to be the last of Mulan related stories that we'll hear of. While it isn't an instant classic, this version can probably still shout out to be the definitive version for now.