I was very cautious while renting this film on Redbox, because I had not heard very many reviews or opinions about it. Obviously it is a remake of a beloved American TV show, and I am sure that many people did not take lightly to that. Especially because it started A-list actors such as Dwayne Johnson and Zac Efron. However, once getting past my initial objections, I found that Baywatch was actually a fairly decent comedy with an original take on the classic story of the LA lifeguard squad.
In my personal opinion, I believe that the plot was the best part of this film. It had an hilarious take on the original series, throwing in some new characters and good cameos for effect. While Dwayne Johnson's character Mitch Buchannon struggled to keep his lifeguard program afloat, he was met with even more trouble as they were hiring new recruits. One of these just so happened to be Matt Brody, played by Zac Efron. The Rock and Efron, despite coming from very different fields of acting, had amazing on-screen presence and stole the scene whenever they were on together. Buchannon's constant teasing of Brody was one of the funniest aspects of the film, especially when he called him "High School Musical." There were many comedic moments spread throughout, and it was balanced quite well with the amount of action, plot, and character development. I was honestly expecting it to be a horrible retelling of an episode of the campy TV show, but the writers actually did a good job of making this fresh for the new generation who may not know the likenesses of David Hasselhoff or Pamela Anderson. Speaking of those two, their cameos in the film were placed very well and I am glad that the story did not have to rely on them running down the beach in slow motion to keep up the nostalgia factor.
I do not have many complaints about this film, given that it was neither terrific nor terrible. There was a modest amount of decent acting, but nothing too spectacular. The one thing that I did have a problem with was some parts of the action sequences. While they seemed very Michael Bay-esque, the action scenes were very gratuitous and it did not seem like certain aspects of them served any purpose. For example: when the lifeguard crew was rescuing the government representative and two women from the burning boat. The scene where Johnson was swimming underneath the fire in order to reach the boat was purposely done in slow-motion, maybe to remind you that you are watching Baywatch in case you forgot. However, it was overdone to the point where it seemed to last forever. While a bass-heavy and meaningful-lyric-deprived song bumped in the background, it started to annoy me that they let these transitions and scenes run so long. Whether or not it was to keep the nostalgia factor or not, it became irritating rather quickly.
I do not have very many comments about this film because it didn't ignite anything in me like many films have before, in both positive and negative lights. If you want to see a generic summer blockbuster with generic actors and a generic plot, then Baywatch is the film for you. It is very evident that this film was made to make money, and while that is not a bad thing, I felt that certain parts were not always necessary. However, I do recommend Baywatch to anyone who is looking for a fun date night movie or something to pass the time with many good laughs.
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