Film Review: "The Witcher: Sirens of the Deep"
Though well-animated and featuring a talented voice cast, the newest entry in the franchise never quite overcomes a story that's scattered and filled with holes.
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Warning: Full spoilers for the films follow.
It’s no secret that The Witcher has had a rather patchy history with Netflix. In addition to the truly terrible series that was Blood Origin, there’s also the fact that Henry Cavill, who did such a magnificent job bringing Geralt of Rivia to life, has now been replaced by Liam Hemsworth. There’s nothing wrong with Hemsworth, of course, but I’m probably not alone in thinking that he’s never going to be able to live up to the very bar set by Cavill.
Given all of this, I went into The Witcher: Sirens of the Deep, with guarded expectations. I’d really loved Nightmare of the Wolf when it came out a few years ago, so I thought that this might be something similar. Still, you just never know what you’re going to get with Netflix productions these days and, having finished this newest entry, I can say that it’s definitely entertaining and worth a watch, even if it is also a bit of a mess.
Sirens of the Deep begins, as most entries in this franchise do, with Geralt battling against a monster. In this case, however, he realizes that it’s not the real cause of the problem, which leads him to become enmeshed in a brewing war between humans and merfolk. Though he tries to defuse the situation, he repeatedly finds his efforts stymied by King Usveldt, who wants to keep his legitimate son and heir Agloval from pursuing a marriage with the mermaid princess Sh'eenaz. War, as we all know, has a momentum of its own, and all the more so when there are bad actors prodding things along for their own selfish and short-sighted reasons. In addition to the king, the merpeople are being goaded to war by Melusina, a shrewd seawitch and sister of their reigning queen. So it is in Sirens of the Deep, and a great deal of bloodshed and tragedy ensue.
Doug Cockle, who has long provided the voice of Geralt in the video games, is right at home in this film. There’s a grit to his voice that’s perfectly suited to this Witcher with a heart of gold, and there were times when I could swear that I was actually listening to Cavill himself. Joey Batey is likewise very welcome as Jaskier, both because he’s just a great voice actor and because I literally can’t imagine anyone else voicing the character. As with the live-action series, it’s clear that Geralt has a great deal of fondness for his irreverent companion, one that is returned in kind. I particularly like that we get to see the two of them riding off into the sunset together.
For all that he was raised to be a killing machine, Geralt is a great character precisely because he is far more than that. He has his own code of honor, one that guides his actions and his interactions with others, particularly women. Thus, he has a short dalliance with Jaskier’s old chum Essi, only to once again leave her behind because he knows that he can never really give her the love and life she deserves. And, as his repeated visions of Yennefer suggest (once again perfectly voiced by Anya Chalotra, who plays her in the TV series), theirs is a bond that can never be broken, for better and for worse.
The animation in the film is quite beautiful, both in the quieter moments–such as those between Geralt and Essi, who’s become quite a beautiful bard in her maturity–and in the bigger action sequences. The climactic fight between the terrifying kraken that Melusina transforms herself into is a particular highlight. I remain convinced that animation is a great means of capturing the unique power and magic of fantasy literature, particularly a world as rich and complex as that created by Sapkowski. I also loved the ending, in which Agloval ends up transforming into a merman, leading to some beautiful animated sequences of this tormented and melancholic young royal finding a measure of happiness in a body that clearly matches his soul (some have suggested this is a bit of a trans allegory, but that feels like a stretch).
So much for the things that I enjoyed. Now, on to the things that don’t work nearly as well.
As other reviewers have pointed out, the narrative of Sirens of the Deep has some major plot issues that undercut its overall coherence. Foremost of these is the issue of motivation, particularly when it comes to its two main villains: Melusina and King Usveldt. They have motivations, to be sure, but these aren’t really strong enough to explain the horrific actions that they undertake. Not only does King Usveldt tell his bastard son that he loathes him–having said just the opposite a short time earlier–he also doesn’t bat an eye or seem to be at all affected after Melusina tears the poor young man in half (in fact, this whole death is never really mentioned or reckoned with, despite the fact that the young man undergoes a redemption arc of sorts, going from a brat who tormented Jaskier in his youth to someone willing to defy his father). And all of this because…he wants his legitimate son and heir to stop dating a mermaid. This doesn’t really add up, I’m afraid.
Melusina’s motivations are even more simplistic and even somewhat trivial. The whole reason that she’s brought about such death and destruction–up to and including nearly killing her own niece–is because she’s been driven mad that her sister married the man that she loved. This might be enough motivation in a trashy pulp novel, but it just doesn’t cut it when it comes to an entry in The Witcher. Melusina could have been one of the franchise’s great villains, not least because she transform into a Lovecraftian horror, but her imposing powers are fatally undercut by her flimsy (and borderline misogynist, because of course a powerful woman would lose her mind over love of a man).
Then there’s the affair between Prince Agloval and Princess Sh'eenaz. I think it’s also worth pointing out that the entire mermaid-falling-in-love-with-a-prince story is virtually cut and pasted from Disney’s The Little Mermaid, right down to a vengeful sea witch who promises said mermaid the chance to become a human. There’s even a little song, though obviously it doesn’t hold a candle to “Poor Unfortunate Souls,” one of the best Disney villain songs in the history of the studio. I’m not sure if Disney wants to file a copyright infringement lawsuit, but this particular iteration of the story (especially since none of this is in the short story on which the film is based). It’s also just an inconsistently-executed story, and I couldn’t quite keep track of whether the two could actually speak each other’s language or even whether their bond was romantic at all or just physical. Like I said, the screenplay is a bit of a mess.
Overall, then, I’d say that Sirens of the Deep is a bit of a mixed bag. While I did appreciate the way that the ending flips the typical Little Mermaid script and allows Prince Agloval to make the choice to become one of the merpeople, leaving his father to bear the burden of no longer having an heir thanks to his own choices, some of the other story elements just don’t land quite as effectively as they could have with a tighter and more polished story. To be quite honest, the whole thing feels like it was rushed into production, and it’s particularly frustrating when a few more passes on the screenplay would have helped to clarify some of these glaring problems.
I’d rank this Witcher outing in the mid-tier. While it never attains the heights of Nightmare of the Wolf or some of the strongest parts of the TV series, it’s still miles better than Blood Origin, about which the less said the better. Let’s hope that the creative minds that are in charge of the franchise get their shit together before the fourth season of the show hits our screens sometime this year.