The Mermaid 美人鱼 2016- China-Hong Kong

DUE TO COPYRIGHT- WE HAD TO REMOVE IMAGES :[ - SORRY!

The Mermaid 美人鱼 is a Chinese/Hong Kong, comedy directed by the well known director, Stephen Chow. Having only been released a little over 2 weeks ago, it has already made a splash in China. Haha you see what I did there?? As a newly released film, The Mermaid has already climb to the top of movie charts, landing at the highest grossing film in all of China. If that doesn't tell you this film is good, then I don't know what will. Of course, this review will help as well! The Mermaid actually made it into our top new films of 2016. Check out the other films HERE!

The Mermaid is showing in select theatres in the U.S., and I was lucky enough to be able to attend it. I had no idea what to expect from this film, no idea what genre it was, so I was surprised when it turned out to be a laugh out loud comedy, with an obvious darker undertone. 

The Mermaid is about a good-looking, playboy real-estate mogul, Liu Xuan (Deng Chao) who has been implementing the use of sonar to rid The Green Gulf, wildlife reserve, of marine life. Little does Liu Xuan know, but the Green Gulf is home to several merpeople, and these merpeople are angry! As the sonars are slowly killing off their kind, they have sent the prettiest mermaid, Shan (Lin Yun) to assassinate Liu Xuan. Like any story, he begins to fall for her.

From the beginning of this film, the whole theatre audience,including myself, were laughing out loud. Every scene was jam packed with over the top, borderline stupid jokes that were too funny not to enjoy. Though the film is partnered with not the best special effects, the wonderfully written script, random outburst in songs and perfectly timed jokes make up for it. Every character was developed and likable. The only downfall to the film, was that the English subtitles did not always allow US audiences in on the jokes, and few lines are lost in translation. Still, wether you speak the language or not, it does not keep the film from being outright enjoyable and entertaining. 

 Though the film is an obvious comedy, Director Chow, used it in a way to shine light on an obvious world problem- wildlife conservation. As the film reaches its second half,  the comedy is dropped, as the antagonists, led by the beautiful but bad Ruolan (Zhang Yuqi), attack the group of merpeople head on. Though it is no surprise the film would eventually take this turn, since the film's opening credits were synched along with graphic images and footage of oil spills, the well known dolphin massacre and other scenes of ocean destruction. This film does a great job taking a serious topic and educating the audience through a humorous manner.

On a happier note, I absolutely loved this film! It is no surprised it broke records in its home country, and has had an even successful run in its limited release in the U.S. If it is showing in a theatre near you, definitely check it out! You will not be disappointed. 

CHECK OUT THE TRAILER FOR THE MERMAID BELOW

Let us know in the comments below if you've seen this this movie or if you want to! Also, let us know what other films you want to see on the blog!

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