"Mermaid 2" entered post-production, saw the actors and introduction, netizens pinched the sweat for Stephen Chow

More than 4 years after completion, Stephen Chow's "Mermaid 2" finally has new progress.

According to media reports, "Mermaid 2" has now entered the post-production stage and is expected to be released within this year.

This was originally good news, but the cast and plot introduction of the film are a little unreliable no matter how you look at it.

Let's start with the starring role.

The male and female protagonists of "Mermaid 2" are Allen and Lin Yun.

As one of the main members of the Happy Twist team, Allen is tall and handsome, and his temperament is humble and simple with a little "bad". Although it is not like Shen Teng that makes people want to laugh when they see it, it is also considered to be comedic.

Because the big spring in "Charlotte Troubles" is well known to the audience, Allen has starred in many comedy movies with a happy twist style. In particular, his cooperation with Ma Li "Iron Fist of Shame" was even more because of the baggage, the laughter was not embarrassing, and the storyline was smooth and natural, and finally won more than 2.2 billion box office.

Allen, who stepped to the peak of his career, became acquainted with "Mermaid 2".

But what people didn't expect was that after "Mermaid 2" was completed in June 2018, it became an uncertain release time. In the following years, Allen's original popularity was gradually exhausted by several works with poor reputation, and he became the "bad film king" in the mouths of netizens.

In this case, even if "Mermaid 2" is the work of Stephen Chow, Allen as the male protagonist lacks enough driving force.

And Lin Yun, who debuted with the halo of "Star Girl", although he won a step at the starting line, but because the popularity and quality of subsequent works are not enough, he has become an example of "debut is the peak".

Most importantly, the acting did not improve.

In recent years, Lin Yun has been brought out every time, which is a typical example of exaggerated performance, and he has also been accused of playing big names and poor character. The popularity won by the role of Shanshan has also been lost in these negative reviews.

The popularity is naturally not as good as before.

What's more, between Lin Yun and Allen, no matter how you look at it, it doesn't look like they can collide with sparks, and whether they can control and support Stephen Chow's comedy style is even more questionable.

Let's talk about the plot.

Although the box office is as high as 3.391 billion, compared with Stephen Chow's past works, "Mermaid" is not a success.

After the release, from the funny mode, plot to actors, it was complained about by the audience, and even some netizens felt that "Stephen Chow's era has passed". If it weren't for the later "New King of Comedy", I'm afraid "Mermaid" would really become "Stephen Chow's worst movie".

Under the premise of the poor reputation of the previous work, it is reasonable for the audience to question the sequel.

Moreover, judging from the synopsis of "Mermaid 2", it is another shuttle through space, another wormhole plan, and the heroine has become an astronaut by mistake. Coupled with the "entangled four-corner relationship", the "shocking conspiracy" hidden behind, and the love line of "Grandma Mermaid and Zheng Ye" mentioned in the revelation, it always gives people the feeling of a big platter.

This kind of plot setting is really far from the style of Stephen Chow's past works.

Finally, let's talk about the production and producer.

"Mermaid", which received nearly 3.4 billion box office, became a big card played by Huayi Brothers that year. But this "movie big brother" who once almost monopolized half of the Chinese film and television industry has not had a good time in recent years.

According to online data, from 2018 to 2021, Huayi Brothers suffered a cumulative loss of about 6.4 billion yuan due to investment failure, market value shrinkage and other factors.

Last year's quarterly earnings numbers were also not good.

The successive absence of the summer file and the National Day file led to a serious decline in Huayi Brothers' revenue, and although 3 films were released in the third quarter, they were not the main controllers, and their income was naturally limited. For example, "Embracing You Through the Winter", which has a box office of 936 million, can only be divided into about 1.5 million by Huayi Brothers.

In the 2022 performance forecast disclosed by Huayi Brothers, the company's annual loss is expected to reach 875 million to 1.3 billion. Coupled with the previous 6.4 billion, the loss in 5 years is nearly 7.3 billion, which has exceeded the current market value of Huayi Brothers.

The "big tree" behind it is difficult to protect itself, and it can't help "Mermaid 2" much. After the film was completed, it has been in a state of "difficult birth", which is most likely related to the situation of the Huayi brothers in recent years.

Moreover, Stephen Chow's golden signboard has obviously faded in the hearts of many audiences in recent years.

From "Mermaid" to "Journey to the West", and then to "The New King of Comedy", which was later accused of "telling old terriers, selling feelings, and fried cold rice", the essence of Stephen Chow's works is increasingly lost, and the works that exude the smell of "lack of money" slowly wear down the audience's trust in the "king of comedy".

Therefore, "Mermaid 2", where the hero and heroine do not carry the drama, the story is released to "heaven", and the producer is also in doubt, is not so expected.

Is it really as some netizens say, it will completely smash Stephen Chow's signboard? But then again, after all, it is the "star master" who is a representative figure in the Chinese film industry, and he may not be able to create another miracle. How, we'll see.