Baywatch (Blu-ray + DVD Combo + Digital HD)
Blu-Ray Reviews | Aug 29th, 2017
Starring: Dwayne Johnson, Zac Efron, Alexandra Daddario, Kelly Rohrbach, Jon Bass, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Priyanka Chopra, Rob Huebel, David Hasselhoff
Written By: Damian Shannon, Mark Swift
Directed By: Seth Gordon
Studio: Paramount
Buy On Amazon.com
Based on the trailers and cast, I wanted to see Baywatch when it was released in theaters. Good thing I didn’t because this isn’t a very good movie.
A crime wave hits the beaches, and Lt. Mitch Buchannon (Wayne Johnson) vows to stop it, even though he’s just a lifeguard. Former Olympian Matt Brody (Zac Efron) joins the crew along with surfer girl Summer (Alexandra Daddario), a frumpy dork Ronnie (Jon Bass). The (mostly) attractive lifeguards go after ruthless businesswoman Victoria Leeds (Priyanka Chopra), who plans to disrupt life at the bay.
I wanted to like Baywatch and tried to watch with an open mind and not pay attention to the negative reviews. After seeing it, they were correct. This isn’t really that funny or even entertaining. About the only reason to watch is if you want to gawk at the beautiful people on screen, which was pretty much the reason anyone watched the original series in the first place. It’s all about the slow-mo and there’s plenty of that, which makes it tough to watch at times. At least with Baywatch the series, they didn’t slow-mo the action and just slow-moed girls running on the beach. At least that’s what I seem to remember about Baywatch.
The cast isn’t at fault for this (for the most part), it was mainly the script and the jokes. I’m not a prude at all but it felt like they were trying to vulgar just to be vulgar. Everything felt really forced and many of the jokes fall flat. 21/22 Jump Street worked because the script was great, the jokes and scenes were funny and it didn’t feel forced. Not sure what happened with this one, but man, this movie isn’t funny. About the only funny lines I laughed at were from Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, who plays a cop giving them shit the entire movie.
Dwayne and Zac had a few moments of riffing that was ok but still, could have been funnier. The casting of Jon Bass was a total misfire and they could have gotten someone who was more well known, and you know…funny. I usually like Dwayne Johnson in most things, but felt like he was trying too hard to be funny. Perhaps it was just the material given to him? Zac Efron had a few funny moments and of course I love Alexandra Daddario, who had some good quips to Zac Efron’s character. I don’t fault most of the cast for this bad movie though.
The Blu-Ray features theatrical and extended cut of the movie, a featurette on the cast, continuing the legacy of Baywatch, stunts & training, and some deleted/extended scenes. The Meet The Lifeguards is 20 minute featurette with the cast and shows them riffing on set, and lots of interviews. The deleted/extended scenes were okay but not very memorable. I really didn’t need to see Buzz from Home Alone’s ass. Blech.
Baywatch could have been like 21 Jump Street. It could have been a movie that mixes funny comedy and action along with beautiful people. Except we just get beautiful people and not much else. I don’t fault the cast for this and think the script or riffing could have been a lot better. If you’re bored on a weekend day, give this a shot but I won’t be watching this again any time soon. Let’s hope Dwayne Johnson’s reboot of Jumanji is a lot better.
Features
Meet the Lifeguards
Continuing the Legacy
Stunts & Training
Deleted & Extended Scenes
Audio
French Dolby Digital 5.1
Portuguese Dolby Digital 5.1
Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1
English DTS-HD MA 5.1
Video
Widescreen 1.78:1 Color
Bottom Line: Could have been sooooo much better
Running Time: 116 mins
Rating: R
Extras Rating:
Overall Rating:
