But as always, their earnest good humour gets them off the hook. THE title is a bit misleading: Bill & Ted don’t stand still long enough to be confronted by the consequences of their actions in this fan-oriented threequel. Verdict There’s more mileage in being excellent to each other than a sceptic might expect Starring Keanu Reeves, Alex Winter, Samara Weaving The studio, however, doesn’t bring nearly as much to the table.Īlex Winter and keanu reeves in a scene from Bill & Ted Face The Music. Mulan’s blokey squad, particularly Cricket (Jun Yu), lends some welcome humour.īy drawing from the fantastical tradition ofĬhinese martial arts cinema, with a rich, colour-saturated palette that recalls Li Gong’s 1991 film Raise the Red Lantern, Mulan certainly enriches Disney’s cultural canon. The gender-fluid chemistry between Mulan and Honghui (Yoson An) - a peer-appropriate replacement for original love interest Captain Li Shang - is handled with delicacy (the open-ended nature of this romance also suits the new treatment.) Surviving a clash with her arch nemesis, Mulan grows even stronger by embracing her female identity, even when this results in disgrace and exile.Īs the body count mounts, only she can save the emperor from the brutal warlord Böri Khan (Jason Scott Lee). Only Li Gong’s shapeshifting witch Xianniang is more powerful. Mulan learns to channel her powerful “chi” makeing her a warrior to be reckoned with.Īt a massive training camp, she learns how to channel her powerful “chi” under the watchful eye of Commander Tung (Donnie Yen). Under attack from northern invaders, the Chinese emperor (Jet Li) issues a decree that one man from every family must serve in the Imperial Army.ĭisguising herself as a boy, Mulan sneaks out under the cover of darkness to take her ailing father’s place. Her father, Hua Zhou (Tzi Ma), a decorated warrior, indulges Mulan’s natural gifts - until it becomes clear that they will render her an outcast. It’s clear, from a very young age, that Mulan is different. The result, in Caro’s own words, is a “big, girly martial arts epic” that’s grittier and more muscular than Disney’s animated 1998 musical (the songs have been integrated into the score).īased on the ancient Chinese Ballad Of Mulan, composed around AD400, the film is set in a world in which women are destined only to become wives. With a strong female lead (Chinese actor Liu Yifei), an all-Asian cast, and sumptuous production values, Mulan certainly has plenty to recommend it.Īfter approaching a number of Asian filmmakers, the studio eventually tapped New Zealand-born Niki Caro to direct (the story’s thematical parallels with her breakout 2002 drama Whale Rider are striking). The martial arts epic is based on an old Chines tale.
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