Blu-ray Movie Reviews

In cinema, would-be cautionary tales of our current environmental crisis tend to be heavy-handed, and they frequently fall flat as a result. Maybe the secret to an effective global wakeup call is to tuck it neatly into a slapstick romantic comedy about modern-day merpeople.

Indeed, The Mermaid (Mei Ren Yu) is the all-time highest-grossing film in China, edging out the latest Fast & Furious and Transformers sequels. This is not to say it couldn’t miss with Western audiences: The gags and the cultural references can be somewhat off-putting for viewers partial to more refined Hollywood fare. The R rating, for some disturbing if not graphic violence, is also surprising. But deep down, its greatest weapon is its genuine heart.

A billionaire tycoon’s latest development project on a remote island is endangering the local marine life, including a small band of mythical fish-folk who have somehow managed to survive man’s treachery thus far. How can they fight back? They send their most beautiful maiden to lure him into a deathtrap. Unfortunately, she and her mates are rather inept in the ways of murder, and a growing fondness for her target weakens her resolve. Love and greed collide, and a whole lot of weirdness unfolds. Filmmaker Stephen Chow (Kung Fu Hustle, Shaolin Soccer) excels at physical comedy, often enhanced with cartoony visuals, and The Mermaid’s classic archetype combined with its relevant subtext yield his most accomplished work to date.

The movie displays a healthy splash of Splash (in addition to dashes of Jaws and Waterworld, and even a tip of the hat to Chow’s own canon) brought to life with ambitious special effects, some of which are more convincing than others in 1080p. The movie was shot digitally (and in 3D, although no Blu-ray 3D version is available) yet boasts a pleasing filmic warmth. The colors are amped up here and there as another subtle reinforcement of the over-the-top style, with distinc- tive palettes for the glitzy world of the super-rich and the less glamorous but painstakingly designed home of the water-breathers. The 2.4:1 image is crisp, generously detailed, and stable for the most part, although not immune to some mild flickering in panning shots.

The disc defaults to the original Mandarin DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, although a comparable-quality English dub is just a click away. Even within the Chinese version, many of the voices have been re-recorded, some quite noticeably so, with exaggerated performances with no dynamics. In this regard, the movie does not play well in the home theater. Bass, however, is more than powerful enough to underscore both the comedy and the action beats. Where the soundtrack truly shines is its mix across all channels, sometimes with discretely placed voices and effects and often with a palpable ambience, especially the realistic echoes inside the secret shipwreck lair.

Despite the big budget and extensive use of computer-generated imagery, the bonus features are rather slight. “The Making of The Mermaid” provides a talky over- view of the production, while “The Mermaid: Behind the Scenes” is largely redundant. A comical music video for the song “Invincible” from the film rounds out the supplements. All of these are in Mandarin, with appropriate subtitles. If nothing else, they inspire an appreciation for Mr. Chow: It’s hard work making all of that Chow fun.

Blu-ray
Studio: Sony, 2016
Aspect Ratio: 2.40:1
Audio Format: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
Length: 94 mins.
MPAA Rating: R
Director: Stephen Chow
Starring: Chao Deng, Show Lo, Yuqi Zhang