Mulan (2009) [Film Review]

Mulan; or, Rise of a Legend
     Someone once said, go too far from home and you will lose your roots. Kill too many people, and you will forget yourself. If you die in battle, your life will sink into the ground like rain and vanish without a trace. If at that time, you fall in love with someone, hope will blossom again from the earth and embrace life passionately.
Hua Mulan, the courageous woman who joined the ranks of the Imperial Army and saved China from invasion, needs no introduction. The ancient Chinese legend was popularised in the West by the 1998 Disney animation under the same title. In the view of the approaching live-action adaptation (to be premiered on September 4, 2020 on Disney+), I think it is worth to take a look at other popular retelling of Mulan’s story, namely Jingle Ma’s production from the year 2009 with Vicky Zhao in the leading role.
Release Info

Directed by: Jingle Ma Staring: Vicky Zhao, Chen Kun, Hu Jun, Jaycee Chan, Yu Rongguang
Language: Mandarin Original Title: 花木蘭 Runtime: 114 min

Synopsis
China, 450 A.D. The kingdom is under attack from the Rouran tribes. Due to the announcement of a nationwide draft, a retired soldier Hua Hu (Yu Rongguang) is enlisted again. However, he is elderly man struggling with disability. His only daughter Hua Mulan (Vicky Zhao) cannot accept this and she disguises herself as a man, takes her father’s weapon and escapes the household. She joins the army and participates in the confrontations with the Rourans. Her achievements on the battlefield are so outstanding that Mulan even receives the title of the general. However, in the course of the twelve year war, Mulan cannot stand losing her friends in battles. She mourns the love of her life, Wentai (Chen Kun).

Fight Like a Butterfly
Having seen this movie and the 1998 animation back to back, I noticed that people at Disney have taken a lot of liberties with the original story. Jingle Ma’s movie is an attempt to faithfully represent the source of material. In Mulan (2009) there is no place for magic (sorry, Mushu!) and saving the Emperor subplot does not occur at all. Interestingly, two people know Mulan’s secret and they do not give it away. What is more, she becomes a badass general and fights for twelve years (while accepting no reward for her sacrifices)! The legend of Mulan is about the devotion of a single woman to her kingdom.

The movie follows the pattern of a straightforward historical epic. Introduction is very short and we quickly shift to Mulan as an imperial soldier. There are lots of (and lots) of battle scenes in the film which, to me, are either a hit or miss. If you like watching confrontations between two armies taken straight as if from Shogun: Total War game, then you will enjoy the film.

That being said, I appreciate Mulan (2009) for trying to adapt the legend as faithfully as possible. After watching the animation numerous times in my childhood, this live-action endeavour provides a breath of fresh air in terms of storyline. In contrast, the trailer footage from the upcoming Disney movie leaves me a bit unsatisfied. I am genuinely worried that the 2020 production will suffer from bland script and over-the-top CGI sequences.

With regard to performances, Vicky Zhao totally nails it as Mulan. Seeing her in a military armour, I thought to myself: “Yeah, she can totally pass as a guy in that.” Whereas outside of the outfit, she was a delicate and graceful woman! It is no wonder that Vicky was chosen over such super stars as Michelle Yeoh and Zhang Ziyi. Second best performer is Chen Kun as Wentai. I really liked the love story between the characters which makes the ending all the more heartbreaking.

Recommendations
If you are waiting to check out the Disney's live-action version, try to watch this one as well. Mulan (2009) is a decent historical epic which will make you look at the character of Hua Mulan from a different perspective. I hope that I will also be able to check out the numerous drama adaptations of the legend which were made over the years.Overall score: 8/10

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Seoul Raiders (2005) [Film Review]

Seoul Raiders; or, Trust Nobody in Korea

     I'm under the international spy section of the Japanese National Security Dept. But I just changed jobs, and became... head of Interpol Asian Division. In other words, I'm just... super cool.

As I am still on the lookout for the release of Europe Raiders, I decided to wait patiently and, in the meantime, review Tokyo Raider’s sequel, simply known as Seoul Raiders. Made 5 years later after the original movie and with just Tony Leung Chiu-Wai reprising his role as the jack-of-all-trades Lam.

Release Info

Directed by: Jingle Ma Starring: Tony Leung Chiu-Wai, Shu Qi, Richie Jen

Language: Cantonese Original Title: 韓城攻略 Runtime: 98 min

 

Synopsis

Lam (Tony Leung) retrieves a pair of plates which are used to make American dollars. He hands them over to the US Embassy representative, Owen (Richie Jen), but the man double-crosses Lam and escapes with the plates. Lam is sent by the Hong Kong Police to South Korea in order to track down Owen. The spy recruits a group of beautiful Korean assistants and teams up with JJ (Shu Qi), a small time crook who is also after the plates. The team finds out that Owen intends to sell the plates to a crime syndicate boss known as Polar Bear.

 

Kingdom of the Silvery Plates

First of all, I will start by saying that amidst the sea of fake and quasi-sequels, Seoul Raiders is an actual continuation which references the original film (K.O. and TTTTT :D). However, its primary disadvantage is the lack of the two strong leads: Ekin Cheng and Kelly Chen who, together with Tony Leung, had such great chemistry on screen.

 

Nevertheless, once you get over the absence of Ekin and Kelly, the movie becomes quite fun. Right from the opening sequence, there are nicely choreographed action set pieces, ridiculous jokes, and a standard upbeat music (this time composed by Tommy Wai instead of Peter Kam). In addition, the main setting for the unfolding events is now Seoul and the movie uses some of its interesting live locations.

 

With regard to performances, Tony Leung obviously relishes playing the over-the-top spy and his Errol Flynn-like enthusiasm in every scene is infectious. To be honest, I’m not riding the fan-train of Shu Qi, but I give it to her that she did great with her part and even made me laugh a few times. Richie Jen is quite likeable and convincing in the role of a rogue embassy worker, even though he gets beaten up throughout most of the film. Additional praise goes to Meme Tian for looking badass cool as the syndicate’s “interpreter”.

 

I should point out that there are two plot twists, unlike in the previous film which had plenty(!), yet these do not disrupt the overall reception of the picture. Jingle Ma at least in this case made the storyline simpler and easier to follow. However, I still view Tokyo Raiders slightly superior to its successor. Seoul Raiders might have improved in terms of pacing and coherency, but it ultimately lacks the style and charming playfulness of the original movie.

 

Recommendations

Seoul Raiders may be perceived as an inferior sequel, but it is undoubtedly a fun to watch and a good choice for a free evening. It only gets better with repetitive viewing, because you know what to expect and just wait for the action and laughs. It’s more than watchable and quite entertaining, even if it does not touch the bar set by the first film.  Now, I only have Europe Raiders left to review. If I manage to track down a copy, I will most certainly share with you my thoughts on the film.

Overall score: 7/10

Tokyo Raiders (2000) [Film Review]

Tokyo Raiders; or, Trust Nobody

     A private eye who speaks bad Japanese, but I like him.

With this month’s premiere of Europe Raiders (August, 2018), I decided to find out what it’s all about with the filmmaker Jingle Ma and his directorial Raiders franchise, starring Tony Leung Chiu-Wai as the main lead. Strap yourselves in as we are going to descend into the fun chasm of Tokyo Raiders.

Release Info

Directed by: Jingle Ma Starring: Tony Leung Chiu-Wai, Ekin Cheng, Kelly Chen

Language: Cantonese, Japanese Original Title: 東京攻略 Runtime: 100 min

 

Synopsis

Macy (Kelly Chen) is hopelessly waiting for her fiancé Takahashi (Toru Nakamura) at the altar, but he does not arrive. While searching for him in Japan, she is joined by an interior designer Yung (Ekin Cheng) who claims to have been financially conned by Takahashi. The two find themselves being chased by a yakuza crime boss Ito (Hiroshi Abe) who also, for some reason, is looking for the elusive Takahashi. Macy and Yung are rescued by Lam (Tony Leung Chiu-Wai) who claims to be a private detective framed by Takahashi. The trio decides to work together in order to find the man in question, however, each one them carries their own hidden agenda.

 

Raiders of the Lost Spy

Judging by the title and the trailer, I thought that I’m in for a heist movie, but I was completely mistaken. Tokyo Raiders can be best described as a mix between a mystery spoof and a spy/action thriller made purposely for the Chinese New Year. From the very first scene, the viewers are thrown in medias res of the story as Tony Leung epically knocks down with an umbrella hordes of bad guys to the flamenco beats very much in style of the Gypsy Kings.

 

The development of events (who is who and what is going on) becomes clear only 30 minutes into the picture, as the character of Lam delivers a lengthy exposition. However, this in turn initiates a cascade of triple plot twists, because it turns out that the whole exposition was fake and, actually, our main heroes are not who they claim to be (immortal spoilers!). This method of being kept in the dark may be perceived as the movie’s disadvantage by some, but I didn’t mind it at all and just went along with the light-hearted goofiness on screen.

 

Additionally, the movie is filled with lots of great action set pieces. These may not be Jet Li or Donnie Yen’s standard, but they are enjoyable nonetheless, especially as many of the fights are elaborated into chase scenes. Thus, we get to see a street chase, a road chase, and even a water chase with some memorable Tokyo locations in the background. All of this combined with the crazy awesome music score by Peter Kam.

 

With regard to performances, Tony Leung is evidently too cool for school in the role of a detective/spy as he overtakes the picture with his charisma (it’s clearly visible that he had a lot of fun on the set). Kelly Chen serves as a great addition in the role of a heartbroken bride and provides the movie with a substantial amount of charm and elegance. Ekin Cheng is the third great pillar of the film, especially in terms of the fight scenes. The three actors worked together so well that their chemistry is reflected in the characters. I only wish that Kelly and Ekin could have reprised their roles in the sequels. In addition, Cecylia Cheung as one of Lam’s Charlie’s Angels and Hiroshi Abe as an allergic yakuza boss deserve a mention.

 

Recommendations

Safely recommended to anyone who is looking for an hour and a half of good entertainment. Tokyo Raiders reminded me greatly about Asian “midnight” movies, shoved out of the main TV programme format, which I used to watch a lot as a teenager. The movie is great fun in a light tone and with a well-choreographed action. It really deserves a wider recognition, instead of being underrated. What is more, Tokyo Raiders is also responsible for marking the end of a certain technological era as it was the very last motion picture released on LaserDisc. All things considered, see it if you can, because they don’t make them like they used to.

Overall score: 8/10