My 2021 Fantasia Festival coverage begins here! Hong Kong action maestro Benny Chan’s final film, Raging Fire, kicks things off with an injection of adrenaline. The tale of two men on opposite sides of the law barreling towards a bloody, knives-out confrontation, Chan’s swan song is a throwback to old-school action cinema - even its rote story and sleepy lead performance can’t stop the barrage of brutal, steel-fisted violence. Minor spoilers ahead…

Mulan, which saw its unprecedented streaming release on September 4th in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, rises above the recent spate of facile live-action Disney remakes by trying something a little different, but the bar is so low that it barely feels like a victory. And while there’s something undoubtedly stirring about seeing an all-Asian cast in such a high-profile tentpole film, Mulan’s representation only extends to the actors in front of the camera, resulting in an end product that is woefully dispirited and underwritten. In the end, by glossing over rich historical detail and ignoring an era of atypically empowered women, the film’s all-white producers and writers are never more apparent, especially when tackling what could have been the story’s most fascinating addition: Gong Li’s sorceress villain, Xian Lang. Minor spoilers ahead…