Movie Review: Baywatch (2017)

Movie Review: Baywatch (2017)

I've never seen the TV show that the movie version of Baywatch is based on, but a few of the original cast members are brought back for cameo roles in the movie. The show initially only ran for one season, and then was canceled by NBC; however, it was later picked up through syndication. Baywatch (2017) isn't the first spin-off of the show, but it is the first movie adaptation of it, and it takes place in Florida rather than California.

Mitch Buchannon (Dwayne Johnson) is the Lieutenant lifeguard of Baywatch, and they're looking to expand their team by three people this year. One slot will definitely be going to former Olympian Matt Brody (Zac Efron), who is mandated to be there for community service; the other two slots end up going to Summer Quinn (Alexandra Daddario) and the dedicated but clumsy Ronnie Greenbaum (Jon Bass), who is shocked when he's chosen for the team. However, something's not right currently in the bay - bodies keep washing ashore, as well as the drug flaca, and Mitch is convinced that real estate mogul Victoria Leeds (Priyanka Chopra, Quantico) is somehow involved. The team must keep the bay safe, as well as investigate Leeds and see what her ultimate plan is.

The original Baywatch was not a comedy, I believe, but this movie is, and for the most part, I was laughing throughout the film. It's definitely a lot raunchier than I expected - for some reason I thought it was rated PG-13, but it's R-rated, which you see throughout with profanity and a bit of (mostly male, actually) nudity. However, the cast works really well together - Johnson and Daddario were actually co-stars together already, in San Andreas, and Johnson and Efron's characters, although enemies at first, are able to play off each other's jokes easily. The rest of the supporting cast includes Kelly Rohrbach, as C.J. Quinn, and Ilfenesh Hadera, as Stephanie Holden.

Yes, see this movie - I can't say whether fans of the original TV show will enjoy it, but it was much funnier than I expected, overall, and it's a good summer "popcorn" movie. A conversation between Johnson and David Hasselhoff (cameo!) at the end leaves the film open for a sequel, too, and I wouldn't mind seeing another Baywatch movie - the film plays out more like a cop movie (in swimsuits) versus a lifeguard movie, and it's highly entertaining to watch.

Baywatch is in theaters today, May 25th, and is rated R with a runtime of 116 minutes. 3.5 stars out of 5.


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