The Mermaid
Sony Pictures Releasing | Release Date: February 19, 2016 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
69
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 16 Critic Reviews
Positive:
13
Mixed:
3
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
The PlaylistAndrew CrumpJul 14, 2016
In Chow’s hands, the lens becomes an elastic guidance tool for comic energy: fixate on a single image, pull back the band, let go, and snap, his story and characters launch forward in a blur of madcap amusement. Read full review
90
Los Angeles TimesMartin TsaiFeb 24, 2016
Crass and macabre, yet big-hearted, it makes a wonderfully adult bedtime story. Read full review
88
RogerEbert.comSimon AbramsFeb 22, 2016
The Mermaid will make you laugh. It doesn't matter if you don't like subtitles. It doesn't matter if you've never heard of the director. It doesn't matter if you've never seen a Chinese movie in your life. It will make you laugh. Guaranteed. Read full review
80
New York Magazine (Vulture)Bilge EbiriFeb 22, 2016
Mermaid is a very, very funny movie, but its caustic swipes at China’s nouveau riche, combined with its despairing look at the devastation of the country’s environment, suggest a filmmaker trying to find ways to reconcile his buoyant sense of fun with deeper, darker themes. Read full review
80
The New York TimesGlenn KennyFeb 20, 2016
While second-guessing the marketing strategies of movie conglomerates is happily not the concern of this reviewer, it does seem a shame that this exhilarating, bizarre, good-hearted, blatantly obvious sci-fi-fantasy-slapstick eco-fable isn’t getting wider fanfare. Read full review
75
The A.V. ClubJesse HassengerFeb 26, 2016
A relatively straightforward comic love story/environmental parable, it’s a sharper bit of whimsy than CJ7 and less weighed down with mythology than Journey To The West. Read full review
75
The Film StageMichael SnydelFeb 24, 2016
While the story doesn’t always hold together, it remains moving. Read full review
70
Wall Street JournalJoe MorgensternFeb 26, 2016
The most remarkable thing about The Mermaid, though, is its clarity as a cautionary fable. Read full review
70
VarietyMaggie LeeFeb 19, 2016
Stephen Chow’s The Mermaid defies the time-worn nature of its material, concocting pure enchantment with the director’s own blend of nutty humor, intolerable cruelty and unabashed sweetness. Read full review
70
The Hollywood ReporterElizabeth KerrFeb 19, 2016
With no time for allegory or parable, the fantastical Mermaid delivers its message without a shred of subtlety (and is unapologetic about it) but with considerable charm, wit and darkness to make up for it. Read full review
70
Screen DailyJames MarshFeb 19, 2016
Newcomer Jelly Lin brings a delightfully quirky demeanour to her literal fish out of water. Read full review
67
Entertainment Weekly Dylan KickhamFeb 20, 2016
The Mermaid is at its best when it embraces the ridiculous, no-holds-barred, farcical comedy that Chow has become known for, thanks to films like Kung Fu Hustle and Shaolin Soccer. Read full review
63
Slant MagazineChuck BowenJul 4, 2016
It offers a wonderful visual reprieve from the cumbersomely mechanized aesthetic of so much contemporary fantasy. Read full review
60
SlateDavid EhrlichFeb 26, 2016
The heat [Chow] conjures between his leads never rises above a low boil. That’s because Chow never bothers to pretend as if the romance really matters —it’s merely an excuse for a parade of blisteringly clever comic set pieces. Read full review
60
The GuardianStaff (Not Credited)Feb 19, 2016
This live-action cartoon finds Stephen Chow (Shaolin Soccer) elevating a Disneyish set-up – ruthless developer is mollified by the mermaid inhabiting the lagoon he’s plundering – with more of his usual good-to-inspired sight gags. Read full review
40
Village VoiceMichael NordineMar 1, 2016
For all its aspirations toward movie magic with an activist bent, The Mermaid’s potential implications for the film industry are ultimately more noteworthy than the movie itself. Read full review
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