Kere Jenner

This remake is stripped of the heart, humour and heroic character arc we fell in love with in the original animated Disney film. Instead of a heroine who uses her brain power and determination to triumph in adversity, we get a girl who wins the day by using magical powers that the audience never satisfactorily understands. Teased in the beginning of the movie by a tantalisingly creepy and formidable witch, we are left confused and disappointed when this capable female lead dies unnecessarily. This leaves us with an inferior villain in the warlord who attempts to strike fear into us in the third act, having been outshone by a more formidable witch lieutenant for the first three quarters of the movie. This made for a very anti-scary, anti-stakes anti-climax. The film is a string of expensive special effects, really awesome action sequences and great actors doing their best to hold up a weak script that felt like it woke up on the wrong side of Google Translate. The plot was a marvel in that it managed simultaneously to be too simple and overly confusing. A shadow of a plot. Overall, this highly anticipated retelling of a Chinese legend wholly missed the mark. No fun, no real friendships, no convincing love interest, no real struggle, no imperial city bowing to Mulan at the end of the movie. Pros: great casting, dynamic action sequences, beautiful visuals. Cons: Pretty much everything else. Sorry. You'll need to watch the animated version after watching this one - just to wash the sad confusion of this live action remake out of your brain.