The Legend Of Mermaid Movie Review (2020)

There aren’t enough mermaid movies out there, in my opinion, but when it comes to The Legend of Mermaid, there’s actually one too many.

I have loved mermaids since I was little and if I come across a movie or book about them, I will watch or read it. I know I’m not alone in this – there’s just something about mermaids.

The Legend Of Mermaid is about a battle troupe at sail who come across a sea dragon that destroys their ship. While many of the men scramble into a boat, others die in the water, and one is saved by a mermaid. Once on shore, these two become enamored with each other, meet up with the surviving men, and go to find the sea dragon and a magical water that the creepy leader is seeking.

This movie is awful. I thought 75 minutes would feel like a quick film, but it’s a very long 75 minutes…

Some basic things about the mermaid include – she cries pearls or seawater (tears), if she sings more than one time per day, blood comes out of her mouth and she may not be able to sing ever again, she prefers to be carried because her feet hurt when she walks, and she does not feel warm enough on land, so hugging is helpful.

I am an English speaker, so I use subtitles to watch foreign films and I’ve gotten very good at forgetting that I’m reading while watching. In this film, the speech is so fast and the subtitles go by so quickly that you have to rewind by 10 seconds fairly frequently to figure out what is being said. It’s almost as if some of the movie is at 1.5 speed.

The costumes and effects looked as if they’d been created for regional theatre. Clearly some time and money went into this production, but just enough so that the old man with the white hair still looks like he’s wearing a wig. That’s fine on stage, but close up? Not so much.

A few of the CGI effects were creative ideas, but made me laugh. Particularly the one where the mermaid begins to grow her tail again after touching some water. The boots she is wearing begin to be pushed forward as her tail grows (a good thought, as she clearly can’t wear them anymore), but after her tail is fully formed, the boots keep moving away from her.

This last criticism is likely a cultural difference, but there are various lines suggesting that the mermaid should be sure to cover her body so that she doesn’t “attract sin.” Let me just say that I’m glad we are moving away from such ideas now. (Yes, this film is from 2020, but a Chinese movie.)

With a story that I can barely describe, odd relationships between characters, a little person who is a “pirate oddity” trope, Chinese people dressed in Native American outfits, and so many other painful moments, this is a movie to skip. Oh, and it ends on the smallest cliffhanger ever, just so that they could make – you know it – The Legend of Mermaid 2. Which you know I’m going to watch eventually because, of course I will. Bloody hell.

Runtime: 75 minutes

Motion Picture Rating: Not Rated (but I’d say somewhere around PG-13)

Languages Spoken In The Film: Mandarin with English subtitles

Should You Watch It? No, unless you make yourself watch all mermaid movies

Did I Cry? No

My Rating: 0.5/5 Stars

Available: Free on Prime Video and Tubi or may be available for free on other streaming platforms