Just look at that cast: Pierce Brosnan, magnificent as an all powerful yet decadent king, William Hurt, great as always as the king's cardinal, Kaya Scodelario, beautiful as ever, Pablo Schreiber as the villain, Rachel Griffiths in a tiny role, even Fan Bingbing as... the non talking CGI creature?! And it's a fairy tale about Louis XIV's France, shot at Versailles, featuring a mermaid! How can you get this wrong?
And wrong they got it. A complete mess where the only redeeming quality is the acting and interaction of Brosnan and Hurt. It's not unwatchable, but a clear failure. And I get it, really. It's not easy to basically do a Disney film (mermaid, pirates, princesses, pompous figures in fancy clothes) in 2015, especially on a budget and with your parent company delaying the release for seven years. But they could have tried harder, made it a two parter, given the characters time to grow and for the viewers to get attached to them. Instead it feels like a bed time story read by a tired parent who just wants to go to sleep.
And wrong they got it. A complete mess where the only redeeming quality is the acting and interaction of Brosnan and Hurt. It's not unwatchable, but a clear failure. And I get it, really. It's not easy to basically do a Disney film (mermaid, pirates, princesses, pompous figures in fancy clothes) in 2015, especially on a budget and with your parent company delaying the release for seven years. But they could have tried harder, made it a two parter, given the characters time to grow and for the viewers to get attached to them. Instead it feels like a bed time story read by a tired parent who just wants to go to sleep.