'Mulan' Reboot Is Beautiful, But Fails To Breathe New Life Into An Old Tale

Mulan, while far from a great movie, was clearly made for the big screen. The director Niki Caro doesn't skimp on spectacle: She handles the large-scale action sequences with flair, and she fills the frame with beautiful costumes and majestic landscapes — many of them from New Zealand, which stands in nicely for China. But I wish the movie's engagement with Chinese culture went deeper than that gorgeous surface — that it succeeded in breathing fresh dramatic life into this oft-told tale.

Many novelists, playwrights and filmmakers have already tackled the ancient folk legend of Hua Mulan, a warrior who famously disguised herself as a man and fought valiantly in the Chinese army. In addition to drawing inspiration from the epic poem The Ballad of Mulan, the movie is a live-action remake of Disney's charming 1998 animated film Mulan. But Caro strikes a more serious tone. There are no fast-talking dragon sidekicks here, and no upbeat musical numbers. That's a bit of a shame, frankly: The stiffly earnest script could have used a little more showbiz pizzazz.