REVIEW: MULAN (2020)

MULAN (2020)

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Story takes place in ancient China. The kingdom is under attack and each household must send one male to fight. As Hua Zhou (Tzi Ma) has only two daughters, it is he who must go and join the imperial forces. To save her aging father from going into battle, headstrong daughter Hua Mulan (Liu Yifei) disguises herself as a boy and goes off to war in his place. Once hidden among the royal forces, Mulan comes face to face with a revenge hungry warlord (Jason Scott Lee) and an evil witch (Gong Li), both intent on killing the Emperor (Jet Li).

Remake of the animated classic has lavish costumes, sumptuous visuals and a cast of Chinese cinema legends, such as Jet Li, Donnie Yen and Gong Li. Unfortunately, it is brought down by some very by-the-numbers direction by Niki Caro and a bland leading lady in Liu Yifei as Hua Mulan. This feminist tale of a young girl who becomes a hero in a male dominated society is written by Rick Jaffa, Amanda Silver, Lauren Hynek and Elizabeth Martin and not one of the four scribes could keep this from being very pedestrian and cliché. It’s simply uninvolving and dull, despite it’s important messages about equality and female empowerment, and having a lot of colorful action. It’s a shame and a major disappointment. The Chinese cinema has been doing these kind of period epics for decades and even the most routine of those is still energetic and fun. Mulan could have used some of both, without diluting or losing what it had to say, but director Caro just doesn’t bring it like her Hong Kong cinema counterparts, and directs this heroic tale with a leaden hand. It takes itself a bit too seriously with very little humor and simply no heart. Where was the sense of adventure? Where were Cri-Kee and Mushu to give it some much needed comic relief between the dramatic moments. The 1998 classic delivered the same messages, but had a good time with it’s story and had much livelier characters. Everyone is so stone-faced here.

There are some great names and faces from the Chinese cinema in the large cast. Legendary Donnie Yen, who was also in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, is present as Commander Tung, a noble and proud Imperial Officer. Yen projects those qualities in abundance, even if he isn’t often included in the action. Equally legendary Jet Li isn’t given all that much to do either as The Emperor, but his presence alone gives the role weight. Gong Li, yet another legendary actress, brings a sexuality and lethality to her witch Xian Lang. She oozes menace and looks good doing it. Jason Scott Lee is a strong villain as warlord Bori Khan, a man on a mission of vengeance. There is also Tzi Ma as Mulan’s proud father Hua Zhou, another actor brining nobility to their role, and veteran actress Rosalind Chao as Mulan’s mother. Of  course, be on the lookout for original Mulan voice actress Ming-Na Wen in a cameo. This leaves us with our leading lady and this is were the film sadly falters. Liu Yifei gives it her all, but is a disappointingly bland and dour Mulan. Where was the girl with a heart full of life and adventure? Where was a touch of humor to give her some spirit and humility? She pretty much wears the same poker-faced expression for the entire movie. She does do well in the action scenes and does project strength, but little warmth. The actress was much closer to the mark as the spirited Golden Sparrow in the fun Forbidden Kingdom, where she also starred opposite the legendary Jet Li.

Mulan is a disappointment when all is said and done. It has some important things to say and a lot of action, but has none of the heart and warmth of the original classic. It takes itself way too seriously and presents a leading lady who needed a bit more of a sense of humor and spirit to make her more endearing. Now it’s easy to see why Disney wasn’t too hesitant to release one of it’s major titles direct to streaming and sadly, one not worth the $30 price tag for rental… IMO, anyway.

-MonsterZero NJ

Rated 2 and 1/2 (out of 4) swords.

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REVIEW: JURASSIC WORLD (2015)

JURASSIC WORLD (2015)

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Jurassic World is by far the best of the sequels to Spielberg’s 1993 adaptation of Michael Crichton’s book and wisely ignores the previous two films, being a direct sequel to the first movie. The story takes place about 20 years after the Jurassic Park disaster with Isla Nublar now having been reopened as a fully functional theme park with genetically recreated dinosaurs on display for thousands of visitors. There is a new owner, Simon Masrani (Irrfan Khan) and a new manager of operations, Claire Dearing (Bryce Dallas Howard). Now that dinosaurs are a common sights at the park, though, Masrani and his investors have sanctioned geneticist Dr. Wu (B.D. Wong) to create genetic crossbreeds to keep attendance up. One of those creations is the Indominus Rex, a hybrid between a T-Rex and another species that is obvious, but, I won’t spoil. She is fierce and fiercely intelligent and makes an escape initiating a killing spree of man and beast alike as she heads toward a full-to-capacity park. Now Claire must team with ex-Navy man and raptor trainer Owen (Chris Pratt) to find the monster and rescue her nephews Gray and Zach (Ty Insidious Simpkins and Nick Robinson) who are visiting and have become trapped in the creature’s kill zone.

Safety Not Guaranteed director Colin Trevorrow takes over the reigns this time, armed with a script from himself and co-writers Derek Connor, Amanda Silver and Rick Jaffa. The result is a fun popcorn flick, but, one that could have had a bit more intensity and excitement considering how much action there is. The film is enjoyable and sets up some fun action set-pieces but, it isn’t till the last act when Indominus Rex reaches the park and has a free-for-all with a squad of trained raptors and a very familiar face that it really delivered the thrills that should have started when the vicious lady escapes her pen. Treverrow has certainly delivered a technically sound and fast moving movie but, some of the action scenes feel a bit by-the-numbers for this series and the Indominus Rex is never quite as frightening as she should be. Treverrow needs to remember that this is the fourth time around and we basically have seen it all before. Much like with Jurassic World’s customers, this has all become very familiar. Dinosaurs loose in park, people running and screaming, yadda yadda yadda…been there done that. It’s well-orchestrated but, Treverrow really doesn’t shake things up too much outside the Jurassic Park movie formula to really glue us to our seats. I had a good time but, the wow factor has definitely been deluded. Maybe it’s not all he and his co-writers fault, but, the Indominus Rex and Pratt’s squad of trained raptors aren’t quite enough to make it totally fresh and make us feel like we did when Spielberg first revealed his critters 22 years ago. It’s the lack of wonder that really holds this back from being on more equal footing with the first film. Technically the film looks great with strong production design, great SPFX and a bunch of fun easter eggs for fans of the original. Michael Giacchino takes over on scoring duties but, incorporates elements of John Williams’ original score and John Schwartzman gives the film a nice look as cinematographer.

As for our players, the large cast do very well in helping the story along. Sure most of the characters are clichés but, they work within the context of an old-style monster movie, which this is at heart. Howard is a solid heroine as the rigid, work-obsessed Claire who learns to loosen up and care more about those around her…as she is being chased by an enormous genetically created monster. Pratt is full of charm as the tough but, kind Owen who has a crush on Claire and continually tries to melt the ice queen’s heart. He is a solid action hero, yet has a sense of humor about him and does remind me a bit of Harrison Ford, so, rumors he may be the new Indy don’t sound hard to believe. Khan plays Masrani like Attenborough did Hammond. A entrepreneur with a heart and he is likable. Vincent D’Onofrio is the genetics company InGen’s security head, Hoskins, who has is own agenda concerning the island’s inhabitants. He’s a pro and makes a good human bad guy as does Wong’s pompous and untrustworthy geneticist. Simpkins and Robinson are likable as Gray and Zach, Claire’s troublesome nephews. The two avoid annoying movie kid syndrome and that makes them OK with me. The cast of multiple CGI critters are, obviously, still the reason we see these movies and the raptors especially have some personality as do some of the new faces like the massive Mosasaurus.

This was a fun movie and certainly better than Lost World or Part 3. Trevorrow and his writers don’t stray very far from the JP formula and that keeps this from having the sense of WOW or wonder that it needs to really crank it up to 11. The action is plentiful but, doesn’t really start to impress till the last act when our villainous hybrid is finally tracked down and the really intense action begins. The Indominous Rex could have had more impact and character, but, is far more sufficient a bad guy than the bland Spinosaurus we got last time. Overall, though, it is a fun monster movie with top notch SPFX and still entertained very well despite being the fourth in a series that has yet to really expand it’s boundaries. Recommended as a good popcorn flick and a treat for JP fans who were disappointed by the last two visits.

-MonsterZero NJ

  3 and 1/2 T-Rex

REVIEW: DAWN OF THE PLANET OF THE APES (2014)

DAWN OF THE PLANET OF THE APES (2014)

I really enjoyed Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes, it was an inventive way to reboot the series by going back to the very beginning and re-inventing it from there. It was well acted, solidly directed and gave the series a good start with plenty of material to be covered before the films even progressed to what we saw in the original classics. The movie was a critical and box-office success and thus the series is being continued.

The sequel picks up 10 years after the virus, that began in Rise, has decimated a massive amount of the human population. The apes, led by Caesar, (Andy Serkis) have started a community deep in the California wilderness where they are living a relatively peaceful existence and have seen no humans for years… until now. A small band of humans led by a man named Malcolm (Jason Clarke) happens upon the apes territory and after an accidental wounding of one of the apes, are sent fleeing. The apes follow them back to San Francisco where they find a human colony still exists and one that is well armed. Caesar goes there with an army as a warning to the humans to stay away from the apes’ home. But, Malcolm begs Caesar to allow the humans to work at dam nearby their village, to restore electricity to the human colony which is running out of fuel. Caesar agrees in an effort to promote peace but, as Malcolm and the ape leader form a fragile alliance, fear on the human side and hatred on the other side in the form of an ape named Koba (Toby Kebbell), threaten to not only end that peace but, elicit all out war.

Sequel is this time directed by Cloverfield’s Matt Reeves who does a great job of creating a film that is it’s own movie yet, still fits in with the previous chapter. Reeves gives the film some very strong dramatic weight while not skimping on the action or suspense and it has a really effective look of a world where nature has grown over cities formally populated by people. The script by Mark Bomback, Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver takes it’s time to establish the characters, especially all the new human ones, and where the world stands at this time. It also achieves this as the story moves forward and thus we get the information we need as part of that story and the film never needs to stop for exposition. A lot is achieved in it’s 130 minute running time and the film has a brisk pace and yet, covers all the ground it needs to. The action, when it comes, is exciting and very well staged and carries a lot of impact’ as well as, an epic scale. The gunfire, chases and explosions also serve the story and is never overindulgent for the sake of satisfying the Summer movie crowd. This is an intelligently written movie that also vastly entertains and should satisfy both the popcorn movie audience and those looking for a little more substance in their movie. The SPFX are flawless, for the most part and the film is wrapped in a very effective score by Michael Giacchino that evoked some of the music from the classic Apes series of the 70s. In fact the film’s story has some nice echoes of those classic 70s flicks too that will be obvious, but not obtrusive, to fans of the original series.

Also serving the story and supporting Reeves excellent direction is a great cast. Serkis’ motion capture acting for Caesar is fantastic and he gives the simian star a very emotionally expressive face and body language that really creates a three dimensional character from the CGI. The same goes for most of the ape performance actors with Kebbell’s Koba  also being strongly portrayed. Clarke makes a noble character in his Malcolm. He really wants what’s best for everyone and his pain when conflict arises seems genuine and it is understandable that he and Caesar would bond. Gary Oldman is strong as the head of the human colony, a man named Dreyfus. His leader wants what’s best for his people even if it brings war but, he is never portrayed as a villain. It’s about the survival of the human race and Oldman conveys that the man’s harsh decisions are not from hate as much as simply willing to take what his people need to live. Keri Russell plays a former CDC nurse and part of Malcolm’s team who  is a sympathetic and strong woman and one who has her inner pain too. She gives the character a nice dimensionality despite not really being all that major a part when all is said and done. The rest of the supporting cast are equally good and really add the final piece to making this a smart and highly enjoyable film.

So, a first rate sequel to a first rate reboot and a really enjoyable and entertaining movie. The script is intelligent yet, still weaves in plenty of action and it’s all brought together by a really well done directing job from Matt Reeves. When all is said and done, probably the best movie I have seen so far this summer.

3 and 1/2 Caesars.