Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		3.0
Overall		3.5

Mulan Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov April 3, 2010

Jingle Ma's "Hua Mulan" a.k.a "Mulan" (2009) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Hong Kong-based distributors Panorama. The supplemental features on the disc include director and cast interviews; a gallery of deleted scenes; behind the scenes featurette; making of; the movie theme song; and trailer. In Mandarin, with optional English and Traditional Chinese subtitles. Region-A "locked".

Vicky Zhao as Mulan

Jingle Ma’s Mulan rehashes most everything that we know about the legendary Chinese girl (Vicky Zhao, Red Cliff) who became a powerful general after she enlisted in the army in order to protect her sick father - she was brave, intelligent and incredibly loyal. Her soldiers respected her. Her enemies feared her. She apparently lived around 450AD.

Ma’s film also insists that Mulan was an excellent tactician. When the Rouran tribes united and then attacked the Wei nation, she drew a plan that allowed her soldiers to defeat the enemy despite being outnumbered in weapons and men. That is how the legend of Mulan was born.

The rest of Ma’s Mulan is made of protracted subplots that have been added mostly for flavor. One is about a brave warrior, Wentai (Chen Kun, Painted Skin), who steals Mulan’s heart and then fakes his death so that she could grow stronger and become the leader he senses she is destined to be. Another involves Modu (Hu Jun, Everlasting Regret), also a brave warrior, who discovers that Mulan is a girl, and after she nearly loses her mind when she is told that Wentai is killed, helps her get back on her feet; and another that involves the aging leader of the Rouran tribes and his son, who decides to confront his father after he advises his men to give up on Mulan and go back to their homes.

If all of the above creates the impressions that Ma’s Mulan is something of a mixed bag…well, it is because it is something of a mixed bag. There are parts of it that work quite well; the film never evolves into a soapy melodrama, and for the most part the large battle scenes are actually very well done. Then, there are parts of Mulan that are incredibly difficult to swallow. And they all involve Vicky Zhao, who simply does not look like someone you would mistake for a man. She is beautiful, elegant and charming. With other words, she simply looks like a woman.

Some viewers may find Zhao’s presence in Mulan unproblematic, but for me it was a major distraction. Her angry outbursts, passionate speeches and words of wisdom are terribly unconvincing. Just listen to her voice when she addresses her soldiers before the final battle with the Rouran tribes and tell me she does not sound like a woman. Then there are all those close-ups of her beautiful hands. I don’t know, I could immediately tell that they belonged to a sophisticated woman, not a soldier.

On the other hand, I really liked the fact that the creators of Mulan did not infuse it with that tasteless humor other recent Asian period films have been plagued with (Teddy Chan’s Bodyguards and Assassins quickly comes to mind). As a result, Mulan mostly looks and feels like a respectable period film, not a big budget parody.

Tony Cheung’s (Eye in the Sky) lensing is convincing. Kwon Chi-Leung’s (A Battle of Wits) editing, however, isn’t. The pacing is very uneven, especially during the second half of the film.

The special effects, however, are top-notch. Many of the massive battle scenes look very strong; some are as good as those seen in John Woo’s Red Cliff. Though lasting only a couple of seconds, the giant sandstorm that hits Mulan’s army also looks terrific.

Earlier this year, Mulan was nominated for Best Actress (Vicky Zhao) and Best Original Song (Song Li Si/Sun Yanzi) at the Hong Kong Film Awards.

Mulan Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 2.35:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Jingle Ma's Mulan arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Hong Kong-based distributors Panorama.

The high-definition transfer is relatively strong. Generally speaking, fine object detail is pleasing. Many of the daylight close-ups, for example, look crisp and fresh. Clarity is also pleasing, though I must say that portions of Mulan look somewhat soft, at times even pale. Some were shot that way; other, however, reveal minor noise corrections, which I assume most viewers with larger than 50' screens would probably notice.

Mulan has a very unique color-scheme. Practically the entire film boasts a light blueish tint. Yellow, brown, gray and black are also prominent colors. During a couple of selected scenes, I noticed mild edge-enhancement creeping in, but I don't think that most of you would be bothered by its presence; it is extremely minor. Macroblocking is not an issue of concern. There are no stability issues to report in this review either. Finally, I did not detect any disturbing cuts, scratches, warps, debris, or stains. (Note: This is a Region-A "locked" Blu-ray disc. Therefore, you must have a native Region-A or Region-Free PS3 or SA in order to access its content).

Mulan Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There are three audio tracks on this Blu-ray disc: Mandarin DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, Mandarin Dolby Digital 5.1 and Cantonese Dolby Digital 5.1. For the record, Panorama have provided optional English and Traditional Chinese subtitles for the main feature. When turned on, they appear inside the image frame.

The Mandarin DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track is solid. The bass is potent and punchy, the surround channels used intelligently and the high-frequencies not overdone. As expected, the Mandarin DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track is most impressive during the clashes between Mulan's army and the Rouran tribes. The dialog is clean, crisp and easy to follow. I also did not detect any balance issues with the epic music score to report in this review. All in all, the Mandarin DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track is probably as good as it could possibly be.

I tested a couple of scenes with the Mandarin Dolby Digital 5.1 track. However, there is one specific scene - the giant sand storm that hits Mulan's army during the second half of the film - that immediately makes it perfectly clear that the Mandarin Dolby Digital 5.1 track is not a match for the Mandarin DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track. Dynamically, the Mandarin Dolby Digital 5.1 track does not even come close to matching the intensity of the Mandarin DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track.

Mulan Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Note: All of the supplemental features are placed on a Region-3 SDVD. Therefore, in order to view them, you must have a Region-Free SDVD player or a Region-Free Blu-ray player capable of playing Region-3 SDVDs.

Movie Theme Song - with footage from the film. In Mandarin, not subtitled in English. (4 min).

Making of - a standard featurette containing raw footage from the shooting of the film and comments from various cast and crew members. In Mandarin, with optional English and Traditional Chinese subtitles. (15 min).

Trailer - the original theatrical trailer for Mulan. In Mandarin, with optional English and Traditional Chinese subtitles. (3 min).

Director & Cast Interviews - Vicky Zhao, Jingle Ma, Chen Kun, Hu Jun and Jaycee Chan discuss their characters, the message of the film, the legend that inspired it, etc. In Mandarin, with optional English and Traditional Chinese subtitles. (40 min).

Behind the Scenes - additional footage from the shooting of the film. In Mandarin, with optional English and Traditional Chinese subtitles. (29 min).

Deleted Scenes - a gallery of deleted and extended scenes. In Mandarin, with optional English and Traditional Chinese subtitles. (24 min).

Mulan Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Filled with spectacular battle scenes, Jingle Ma's Mulan should appeal primarily to those of you who like period Asian films where style outweighs substance. The Blu-ray disc herein reviewed, courtesy of Hong Kong-based distributors Panorama, looks and sounds good. RECOMMENDED.