Mulan: Warrior Princess – DVD Review
Puppy | Jul 24, 2010 | Comments 0
Distributor: Cine Asia
UK Release Date: 21st June 2010
Format: DVD & Bluray
Certificate: 15
Running Time: 107 Minutes
RRP: £17.99 (£7.99 Amazon) / £24.99 (£14.99 Amazon)
Director: Jingle Ma, Wei Dong
Starring: Jaycee Chan, Jun Hu, Rongguang Yu, Vicki Zhao
Special Features:
- Original Trailer
- Interview Gallery
- Making Of
- Behind The Scenes
Disney once took the story of Mulan and turned it into a musical extravaganza and there was no denying that, the bright colours and talking dragons were something special but this version of the tale is a different beast entirely.
The story remains the same in the fact that Mulan goes to war in place of her father and pretends to be a man. Only two people know Mulan’s secret and all of them could lose their life if the secret is ever exposed. Mulan and her friends however discover that the price of peace comes at a heavy cost. A cost that could range from their lives to personal happiness.
When I first put the disc in I expected Mulan to be some sort of warrior goddess, floating high above the army and slashing down the competition in some crazy kung fu antics but that’s not where the beauty of this film lies. It’s a drama, the scenes of war and the minimal martial arts are secondary to the motivation for the characters.
I wasn’t expecting it at all, the only problem was, some of it felt overly long. Especially during the scenes where friendships were being built. Maybe it’s because there wasn’t as much blood shed as I was expecting which is silly because there was a lot staining the battleground.
Be prepared for some unexpected hard hitting stuff, when the chips were down you’ll really feel for the commander and ‘his’ troops.
Colour me pleasantly surprised but drama was something I was not expecting and it was more than welcome as we follow Mulan from start to finish as she realises that above all else, honour to her homeland is possibly worth more than her happiness.
It’s very a sad sentiment and it will move you.
If you’re ever at a loss for something to watch, you can’t go wrong with Mulan… just remember that you will have to read your way through this film.
So with that I leave you with this musical interlude…
