Most critics like The Mermaid, and none dislike it: six of the twelve reviews are positive and the rest mixed, with nothing worse than a shrug. The praise gathers in two places. First is Stephen Chow’s slapstick, which the reviews describe as inventive, cartoonish and often funny, the sequence in which the mermaid repeatedly fails to kill her target being the one most often picked out. Second is Jelly Lin, also credited as Lin Yun, whose comic performance several critics call the film’s discovery, and whose chemistry with her co-star is noted more than once.
The reservations are nearly as consistent. Several reviews say the final act turns serious and loses the playful energy that carries most of the running time. Others find the environmental message either too blunt or too thin to match the comedy. The Los Angeles Times adds that some jokes do not survive translation. The spread is wide, from three-star shrugs to The Playlist’s outright rave.