The Little Mermaid

Bailey’s Ariel is just so lovely and likable, we can’t help but root for her to win true love and prove that humankind and merpeople really aren’t so different after all.

It's flat, dramatically vacant and visually inert, with a lead performance that all too closely resembles a fish out of water.

It reeks of obligation and noble intentions. Joy, fun, mystery, risk, flavor, kink — they’re missing. The movie’s saying, “We tried!” Tried not to offend, appall, challenge, imagine.

The film's diverse casting has already made the point about unity, and done so much more eloquently. The Little Mermaid mostly avoids preaching, though. It remains what it always was: a charming, escapist fairy tale.

An on-the-other-fin mixed bag of a movie that honors its source material with a big, color-saturated production, while never precisely proving that it ever needed to exist.

Halle Bailey’s charms can’t distract from all the bizarre choices at the heart of this underwhelming live-action remake.

With the exception of a few musical numbers, including a nicely choreographed “Under the Sea,” the film just oozes from scene to scene like a puddle of water creeping slowly across a floor.

Whether or not this film will have much staying power, it’s doing what it can to be true to the original vision while only mildly getting in the way of itself. That’s enough to keep this film from being a poor unfortunate new version of a past Disney hit.

It's no secret that the Disney version of The Little Mermaid doesn't have a whole lot in common with Hans Christian Andersen's original. It's a shame they didn't take as many liberties when they decided to remake their own version.

Disney’s most soulless, pointless live-action remake yet.