Devoted lifeguard Mitch Buchannon butts heads with a brash new recruit. Together, they uncover a local criminal plot that threatens the future of the Bay.
The 80's sitcoms turned into comedy action films continues again with Baywatch. The lovable TV series has hit the big screen reimagined in all the glory of 2017, to a complete panning by the critics.
Baywatch stars Dwayne Johnson as Mitch Buchannon, Lieutenant of the Lifeguards of The Emerald Bay, along with his crew and the addition a few new recruits (mainly Brody played by Zac Efron) they begin to investigate drugs that wash up ashore and murders that are happening in the bay.
Baywatch with all its potential and attempt at being another Jump Street, fails to grab fans. The reason Jump Street worked so well was the chemistry between the pair and Jonah Hill naturally is extremely funny. Dwayne Johnson and Efron while charismatic aren't known to be out and out comedians. Baywatch has an unbearing amount of hate towards it, but I feel it's quite unjust. Critically it's been panned, but I for one enjoyed the film for what it was, I wasn't looking for a masterpiece, just a piece of light-hearted entertainment, with a 2017 gloss. It made me laugh (mainly due to Dwayne's charisma) in places and provided the mindless entertainment I was looking for. It's a predictable and unimaginative plot, but this is Baywatch, isn't that the premise of the TV Show? The film makes fun of itself, pointing out its own flaws, questioning the jurisdiction of its stars as lifeguards and includes the famous running along the beach. Its plot is weak, predictable and cheesy, but I feel its meant to be. Sadly it doesn't execute the charm of the TV show, which makes it lose the fan base as well as critics.
The humour is very hit and miss and not to everyone's taste, with dick jokes mainly at the forefront and various nicknames for Brody, being the only memorable jokes to take away from it. Apart from the unmemorable antagonist and predictability, the main reason Baywatch didn't work as well as it could have done was the crew, there wasn't enough character to engage with any of them. Apart from Mitch and Brody the rest of the crew are surplus to requirements, with barely any backstory or connection to any of them, which was a shame. Dwayne Johnson's charisma carries the film and he is certainly very watchable, without him or Efron the film would never have left the shore.
Dwayne Johnson defends the film, proclaiming it wasn't for critics. I would agree with him, if you're into serious films, this will never be in your favourites pile, but I found myself laughing. As a movie for the weekend with those who like cheap comedy and some degree of entertainment, it will amuse but won't necessarily have you laughing all the way through. Like CHiPs, this had potential to be something, but never reaches the lofty Jump Street heights. If you're in the mood for a mindless plot, beautiful people in bathing suits, dick jokes and Dwayne being Dwayne then this is the film for you.
