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BAYWATCH
One of the biggest television phenomena of the 1990's was lavishly re-thought for the big screen when Baywatch got the big screen treatment.
This elaborate 2017 action/adventure is loosely patterned after the television monster that made household names out of people like David Hasselhoff and Pamela Anderson (who both make cameo appearances here). In this film, Mitch Buchanan (Dwayne Johnson) finds himself butting heads with new recruit Matt Brody (Zac Efron), a disgraced former Olympic gold medalist who refuses to take life guarding seriously until Mitch and his crew find themselves in the middle of a mystery involving a dangerous drug, a dead city councilman, and a lady gangster who would put Bond villainnesses to shame.
Before saying anything else, I should begin by stating this review is coming from someone who never actually watched an entire episode of the serIes. Screenwriters Damian and Mark Swift, under the supervision of original series creators Michael Beck, Douglas Schwarts, and Gregory J. Bonann have put together a story with a wonderful tongue and cheek sensibility that sometimes flies in the face of the realistic action adventure that Seth Gordon (Horrible Bosses) is mounting here....there are times in this story where it's unclear whether or not this film is supposed to be a loving homage to the original series or a parody of same. Needless to say, fans of the series would be able to tell which is accomplished here.
I do know I found myself amused by the general potshots taken at the show that even non-fans of the show like myself were amused by. The constant use of slow motion and the absolute brilliant reference by Summer regarding CJ, saying "she always looks like she's running in slow motion." The writers were keenly aware of the things that made this show so famous and weren't above putting them front and center, mostly in the name of laughs, with a special nod to the concept that these characters are lifeguards who find themselves doing work that IRL would and should be left to the police.
I actually found myself laughing throughout this movie...these characters have been thoughtfully and breezily re-thought for this reincarnation and most followed the basic pattern of their TV counterparts as far as I know. There was one character, an overweight nerd named Ronnie, played by Jon Bass, who couldn't speak whenever CJ got within ten feet of him who was really annoying and it was hard to swallow CJ actually getting in his face every chance she got, but it was a minor annoyance.
No matter what might have been wrong with this movie, it's very easy to forget every time Dwayne Johnson takes center stage...this guy continues to redefine movie charisma and makes any movie he graces his presence with worth watching. Zac Efron was properly chiseled as young Matt and I have to give a shout out to Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, who is absolutely hilarious as a police officer tired of the lifeguards interfering with his work. It's not Citizen Kane, but this movie was a lot of fun and could become a serious guilty pleasure of mine.
One of the biggest television phenomena of the 1990's was lavishly re-thought for the big screen when Baywatch got the big screen treatment.
This elaborate 2017 action/adventure is loosely patterned after the television monster that made household names out of people like David Hasselhoff and Pamela Anderson (who both make cameo appearances here). In this film, Mitch Buchanan (Dwayne Johnson) finds himself butting heads with new recruit Matt Brody (Zac Efron), a disgraced former Olympic gold medalist who refuses to take life guarding seriously until Mitch and his crew find themselves in the middle of a mystery involving a dangerous drug, a dead city councilman, and a lady gangster who would put Bond villainnesses to shame.
Before saying anything else, I should begin by stating this review is coming from someone who never actually watched an entire episode of the serIes. Screenwriters Damian and Mark Swift, under the supervision of original series creators Michael Beck, Douglas Schwarts, and Gregory J. Bonann have put together a story with a wonderful tongue and cheek sensibility that sometimes flies in the face of the realistic action adventure that Seth Gordon (Horrible Bosses) is mounting here....there are times in this story where it's unclear whether or not this film is supposed to be a loving homage to the original series or a parody of same. Needless to say, fans of the series would be able to tell which is accomplished here.
I do know I found myself amused by the general potshots taken at the show that even non-fans of the show like myself were amused by. The constant use of slow motion and the absolute brilliant reference by Summer regarding CJ, saying "she always looks like she's running in slow motion." The writers were keenly aware of the things that made this show so famous and weren't above putting them front and center, mostly in the name of laughs, with a special nod to the concept that these characters are lifeguards who find themselves doing work that IRL would and should be left to the police.
I actually found myself laughing throughout this movie...these characters have been thoughtfully and breezily re-thought for this reincarnation and most followed the basic pattern of their TV counterparts as far as I know. There was one character, an overweight nerd named Ronnie, played by Jon Bass, who couldn't speak whenever CJ got within ten feet of him who was really annoying and it was hard to swallow CJ actually getting in his face every chance she got, but it was a minor annoyance.
No matter what might have been wrong with this movie, it's very easy to forget every time Dwayne Johnson takes center stage...this guy continues to redefine movie charisma and makes any movie he graces his presence with worth watching. Zac Efron was properly chiseled as young Matt and I have to give a shout out to Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, who is absolutely hilarious as a police officer tired of the lifeguards interfering with his work. It's not Citizen Kane, but this movie was a lot of fun and could become a serious guilty pleasure of mine.