The Little Mermaid

"One of the main bets Disney made between 2010 and 2020 is live-action remakes - which are essentially almost literal adaptations of the studio's animated classics. Some results are very bad (like Mulan and The Lion King), many are simply mediocre (Beauty and the Beast, Maleficent) and very few are good, like Aladdin. The Little Mermaid, which tells practically the same story as the 1989 animated original, falls into this middle group: it doesn't have any brilliant musical scenes like Aladdin, despite being directed by one of the big names in the genre (Rob Marshall, from Chicago), but it's not absolutely disastrous either. Much of this is thanks to the good songs we already know from the animated version, but also to Halle Bailey's great performance as the protagonist plus some specific and successful changes, such as a deeper relationship between the princess and her beloved. It's a movie that won't change you (and may even make you want to watch the animated version), but its story is moving anyway."