The original animated musical was bright and delightful. This live-action version is darker and less thrilling. The plot is the same: She wants to go on land to meet her true love, but will lose her mermaid powers. Halle Bailey plays the title role and she has a lovely presence. As the prince, Jonah Hauer-King was rather bland. Melissa McCarthy did some nice work as Ursula, the villain, while the 3 sidekick creatures added mild fun (Daveed Diggs, Jacob Tremblay, Awkwafina). Director Rob Marshall doesn’t show much of his previous skills at staging musical numbers. The ones here are OK, just never dazzling. Basically, that’s the whole movie: Enjoyable but not exciting. 
(3 / 5)
