Baywatch
/"She's the reason I believe in God."
Filmology Rating: 1.5 out of 4
Lifeguard Mitch Buchannon (Dwayne Johnson) hires three new recruits, one of them includes a hot headed ex-Olympian recruit named Matt Brody (Zac Efron), to help guard the bay. However when drugs and bodies wash ashore, a criminal plot reveals itself that will threaten the future of the bay.
Before you go to see this movie in theaters ask yourself one thing, after seeing the trailer, what do you REALLY expect from this film? Let’s see in the trailer we see: a very muscular Zac... Efron and Dwayne Johnson, we see some slow motion Alexandra Daddario and other busty women, and we see really over the top slow motion action sequences…. What do you honestly expect then!?!
After I left the theater, I was very happy with what I saw. I laughed throughout the entire film and had a great time. Was the movie dumb? Lol of course it was but the film knew it was dumb and made fun of itself! Then I looked at the Rotten Tomatoes score… an 18%. That is uncalled for. Yes “Baywatch” is really silly and not a great film by any means but it was a really enjoyable stupid movie that will definitely entertain if you let it. Go with the stupidity and the slow motion and you will have a fun time.
Now one of the best qualities of “Baywatch” was its cast and the hilariousity that followed. They all had really great chemistry together. Dwayne Johnson is the same loveable character that is hard to dislike and Zac Efron pairs really well with him. There was also another character that I really liked named Ronnie (John Bass II) who was supposed to be the offbeat goofy character that doesn’t really fit in with the rest. A lot of times when a character like that is thrown into a movie, they are terrible. However that is not the case at all! He was hilarious and owned his screen time whenever he had the chance.
My two big issues where that the villain could have more intimidating. She was just a woman wanting to get rich by cheating people and drug trafficking but really didn’t have much of a presence to her. On top of that, the CGI could have used some work because a lot of times the green screen and CGI was very obvious. Now while the exaggerated action sequences weren't a bad thing for me, I just wanted it to be done better. Use some practical effects and action explosions instead of really spotty CGI work.
Is “Baywatch” a masterpiece? Not even close. Was it funny and enjoyable? Dang right it was. There were many obvious flaws throughout but it was still a funny movie. If you want some mindless entertainment then “Baywatch” will do the trick.
Rating: Rent It
-Nick
I never watched Baywatch when it was on television, I actually have very little familiarization with the Baywatch brand other than attractive lifeguards running in slow motion. Luckily for myself and most of the audience in my theatre, you don’t need to have any knowledge of the Baywatch brand before walking into the theatre, perhaps you will laugh at some of the injokes but most of the punchlines hit without any knowledge of the previous show. The question that most intrigued me going into Baywatch was: will I have any interest in going back to watch the 90s show after this reimagining of it?
Mitch Buchannon, played by Dwayne Johnson, is one of the most likeable, charismatic people to step foot on the beaches in Emerald Bay. Not only is he the most charming person in the beach town, but he is also a lifeguard who has saved a countless numbers of peoples lives. Mitch’s life is going perfectly until Matt Brody, played by Zac Efron, shows up wanting to join the Baywatch program. Mitch is instantly irritated by Matt’s sense of entitlement but the two must put their differences aside when drugs wash up on the shores in Emerald Bay.
More often than not I find some enjoyment in Zac Efron’s buddy comedies; I thought That Awkward Moment was a great realistic look at growing up, in the Neighbors duology he had great chemistry with Seth Rogen and almost always brought a smile to my face, even in the lackluster Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates I never doubted the amount of charm and charisma that Efron brought to the role. I normally say that Dwayne Johnson could be in a terrible film but he will give the role everything he has. This is not me saying that Johnson is going to ever be up for a Best Actor oscar but he always seems to make every film he is in better: Race to Witch Mountain, Fast Five, G.I. Joe: Retaliation are all better with the presence of Johnson. The point that I’m attempting to make is that both Efron and Johnson have great chemistry and you would expect to see fireworks coming off the screen from the two interacting. That’s not what this film gave us at all, this film gives us two rather bland performances and two comedic actors who doesn’t seem to understand the joke but take the roles too seriously.
I would possibly have enjoyed Baywatch more if the cast had been pared down slightly, perhaps making it just a trio instead of sixtuplet. Most of the “plot” points occur around only three characters anyway and, while fans of the series might consider this blasphemy, I honestly think it would make the film tighter. It would have also helped to give the characters an arc in this film but the film is written by the duo who gave the world the 2009 remake Friday the 13th, so asking for character arcs might seem a little out of the grasp of the two writers.
Baywatch commits the biggest sin that any comedy can commit, and that is being unfunny. I thought that Snatched was going to be the most disappointing comedy of the year but that honor has just moved over to Baywatch. I have previously enjoyed raunchy comedies like the American Pie films and Animal House but those films all have a sense of heart. No matter how many times you say the word “family” or “team,” that doesn’t mean that’s what you are; the chemistry needs to be felt and earned.
If this movie would have come out in the late 90s/early 2000s I think it would have had more of an audience; Baywatch was still on the air and the fans were clearly still watching and liking the show. It could have been Baywatch the next generation. Perhaps the actual show ended with a concept like that but I will never know because after this film I have zero interest in watching anything in the Baywatch brand. This film has made me question Seth Gordon’s sense of humor and makes me believe that The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters was a fluke and not the masterpiece that I had once thought it was.
Rating: Let It Burn
-Jonny G