‘The Little Mermaid’ reviews suggest Halle Bailey’s Ariel stops the project from completely sinking like a heavy stone

On Friday, Disney’s latest live-action animated remake (or cash grab, depending on your cynicism level) will be unleashed when The Little Mermaid releases. Reviews of the new take on the 1989 adaptation are out now, and it is unclear if it sinks or swims.

Over at the Hollywood Reporter, writer Lovia Gyarkye argues star Halle Bailey is excellent and adds some edge to what is ultimately a serviceable film. In the outlet’s review, Gyarkye says the whole of the piece seems padded to weather any controversy which may come up — it feels risk-averse, and when Ariel goes above ground, the new take does not seem to be better than wetter.

“Prince Eric’s island pales in comparison to Ariel’s world — and the charm differential between the two performers makes it challenging to be as enthralled with the rest of the film. If the beginning of The Little Mermaid — which includes Ariel’s dealings with Ursula — pays homage to the original Disney version, the middle and parts of the end are, at best, pastiche.”

While Gyarkye’s assessment had some kind words for the Rob Marshall-directed endeavor, Kate Erbland at IndieWire was not as polite. Her review of the new take begins by saying it desperately wants to be a part of the audience’s world, and from there says apart from Bailey, the production is treading water. All the beats are predictable, the runtime is bloated, and, oh boy, there are rapping animals, which someone thought would work well.

“Most of Marshall and Magee’s additions and alterations are easy enough to understand (of course Eric should get his own song; yes, it makes sense that Scuttle, originally a seagull, is a diving bird), though others seem to be less in service to the story and more designed to appease other forces at play (like another new song, a rap for Scuttle and Sebastian entitled “The Scuttlebutt,” which could only have been written by Lin-Manuel Miranda, and that’s not exactly a compliment).”

Elsewhere in the discourse, people say it is the best of Disney’s recent wave of live-action remakes. Bailey is destined for bigger things, and there are some wondrous moments in the package which does not quite work entirely. However, there are incredibly scorching articles, too, and over at The A.V. Club, Leigh Monson writes that the piece does not have any reason to exist on its own.

“Its most iconic moments are borrowed and copied wholesale, serving as little more than a reminder of simpler days watching clamshell VHS tapes from the Disney Vault. Maybe that’s enough for some. But maybe, like Ariel, we should want more.”

At this time, The Little Mermaid has a 71 percent positive rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on more than 30 reviews.