Baywatch Review!

The Rock is at it again, and this time he's brought along Zac Efron, Alexandra Daddario, and a bunch of other actors into this crazy reboot of a beloved property. You know, like 21 Jump St, except this time the critics loathed the movie. So, were they right to hate this summer's bomb known as Baywatch? Well...

To be honest I don't understand all the hate. Baywatch is a ridiculous film about life guards taking their jobs way too seriously, to the point where multiple characters will point this out to them. The action is bombastic, the sex appeal is strong, and there are plenty of dick jokes that go nowhere. In fact, unlike most blockbusters Baywatch actually delivered on what they advertised, and I came away happy from it.

Dwayne Johnson is a charm machine, and from frame one you're ready to follow him into battle...er... the ocean on daring quests to save surfers, boaters, and uncover a drug ring that's swarming the beach. He's aided by the cliched newcomer who's the best at what he does, and what he does is swim, but can't seem to play nice with others. He's the lone wolf of the beach. He's the new kid on the block. He's Zac Efron! Who looks ripped beyond belief. Then there's Ronnie, played by Jon Bass, who's the slightly overweight guy who gets his chance in the sun, but you're not sure if it's a trick or not.

While all these sound like they are the perfect outlines for the perfect cliched action blockbuster characters I was surprised how the movie tried to play with their stereotypes and have fun with it all. Johnson's character, while being a very serious life guard, I thought to be a great role model. He's friendly with everyone on the beach, he looks after his peers, and he'll be the first one to save you. His character is very dependable. Efron's character is a two time Olympic winner who has joined Baywatch for probation, although that's rarely ever dealt with, and even though he's built up to be this great guy you see him being bested by his women colleagues time after time, and heck they even had to save him at one point. I'm not saying that Baywatch has changed the way gender roles and expectations are dealt with in film, but I respected the way they used what Baywatch is known for, ogling, and playing with that aspect to some success. Even Ronnie surprised me as he was a character with doubts. He's not sure if he got on the team seriously or as a joke, and I appreciated the respect the film had to make his character grow in confidence, even a little, and pushed him to achieve his dreams.

Sadly, Baywatch does fall prey to every other blockbuster's Kryptonite, and that's pacing and story. If the whole movie was like the first half where Dwayne Johnson and Zac Efron are just competing against each other it would have been fine, but every time the film had to cut back to the villain and how her plan was working I felt bored. I'm never interested in the villain's plan, because it's always convoluted, or the villain doesn't feel like a threat, etc. Thankfully Baywatch spares the mind numbing villain plan and makes the overarching plot simple enough where you don't need to think about it, and the characters simplify the plan for the audience doesn't happen as often as other movies. Again, I appreciated how the movie didn't insult my intelligence by showing me a mind boggling plot that didn't make sense and went for less exposition, more action.

Now since this is an R-rated action comedy it's expected to have raunchy jokes, and boy do they have that and more. Depending on your taste the jokes may be funny, or land so flat that you'll feel like you're wasting your time. For me it fell between those two. At times I genuinely thought there were a few good jokes, and a few smart jokes that made the movie worth it. Sadly, there are plenty of bad jokes that just go on and on, and most of those were dick jokes. I was amazed at how long those jokes went for, and sometimes it was long enough that I started chuckling, while other times I'm asking my TV "can we get on with it?"

Overall Baywatch is a ridiculous "gritty" reboot that I enjoyed more than I thought I would. Is it great? No, but it did what it set out to do, for me, and then some. The cinematography was beautiful at times, like the surfer accident at the beginning, and the action was always fun to watch. There are some jokes that people won't like, as with most raunchy comedies, but I found enough jokes and the surprising character choices to redeem the film. That, and the ending is probably one of the coolest villain take-downs I've seen in a while. Just like it's ridiculous title sequence, Baywatch is exactly as advertised and I had a good time.

B-