Daniel Lu

Mulan (2020): NOT GOOD I was hyped for this movie when the trailer came out last year in December. I watched this live-action remake with low expectations because they introduce new characters and I wanted to be optimistic about how they used these characters for the film in general. This movie is really bad when it comes to writing and how the movie paces itself. Plus there's this ongoing theme of how the characters can teleport to faraway places. Examples are when Mulan gets behind the Huns and is on the mountain already and the final scene where the Emporer and Khan are in a construction site far away from the palace when Mulan is about to rescue the Emporer. The first 35 minutes feel like it has been forever and I don't like how the scenes keep switching between Mulan, the witch and evil dude, and the emperor. I don't like how Mulan has a little sister because somewhere it said that the little sister was to contrast how Mulan was different, but I failed to see that because Mulan's little sister barely talks in the movie - all I know is she's scared of spiders. The main problem with this is movie is how Mulan is already this skilled fighter. Her main inner conflict throughout the movie is that she didn't accept the virtue of being true to herself which I thought they would pull off well, and they sort of did? The witch bird lady is sort of there to just say Mulan is lying when she's on-screen, specifically when the two are alone in the valley. Also, the final fight scene was so out of place because the two are legit fighting in a construction site and the way the camera follows the fight choreography is just confusing because the camera can be moving so fast to the point of you don't care what happens or it moves too slow and you feel bored. The emperor is about to be killed by the Khan but when Mulan tries to rescue him, he's not even at his throne and they are already at the construction site. Anyways, 2/10 for me. I have rewatched it two times, but maybe this review might change.

This was actually a pretty disappointing movie. I don't know if it's just me, but the overall tone of the movie doesn't feel like Phineas and Ferb. The animation to the voice acting to the jokes, it just doesn't sit well compared to the legacy of the show itself. Some scenes seem so choppy when Vanessa was being attacked from that flying dinosaur thing to the shot where the camera moves from the boys' backyard to Doof's complex. Overall, the only thing this movie does good is having Perry the Platypus be the savior of the day yet that concept is gone as you get towards the end of the movie. I don't know why Candace is acting this way, especially with the beginning scene with her telling mom to look behind her but the mom drags her sentences so much that it's just annoying. Then her acting like a complete dick in the midpoint to create this mellow drama that she doesn't feel special. But it was all miscommunication with her relationship with her little brothers. 1/5 for me, Across the 2nd Dimension, makes this movie look like a joke. At least that movie can take concepts from the show and make it work in a cinema setting. I just watched this movie and it's pretty late, I think this opinion might change.