Have I mentioned that Hollywood is in the business of producing a few original films amongst the plethora of reboots and franchise films they produce? It's getting ridiculously obvious when anyone can see that original films are becoming rare these days--so much so that expecting reboots and franchise films is the norm rather than the exception. So when "Baywatch" came along, I had extreme trepidation thinking about going to the multiplex to see this one, and now I see why.
In this big-screen reboot of the popular '90s TV series, legendary California lifeguard Mitch Buchannon (Dwayne Johnson) is frustrated when a cocky, hard-partying gold medal Olympic swimmer named Matt Brody (Zac Efron) joins his beach-patrol team, but only after a grueling tryout. However, the two men must learn to work together when they stumble upon a local criminal conspiracy headed up by rich, greedy real estate tycoon Victoria Leeds (Priyanka Chopra). Because of her manipulative plans to gobble up the real estate of the bay, this poses a threat to the way of life there. Can Mitch and Matt along with their co-lifeguards which includes Summer Quinn (Alexandra Daddario), CJ Parker (Kelly Rohrbach), Stephanie Holden (Ilfenesh Hadera) and Ronnie Greenbaum (Jon Bass) actually save the bay from Leeds and her henchmen before it's too late?
Others to round out the cast are Yahya Abdul-Mateen II as Sgt. Ellerbee, Hannibal Buress as Dave the Tech, Rob Huebel as Captain Thorpe, Amin Joseph as Frankie, Jack Kesy as Leon and Oscar Nunez as Councilman Rodriguez.
This was directed by Seth Gordon ("The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters" (Documentary) '07, "Four Christmases" '08, "Freakonomics" (Documentary) '10, "Horrible Bosses" '11, "Identity Thief" '13) plus some shorts and a ton of TV. On one hand, this filmmaker is eclectic in his work, however it's certainly understanding how this film would be familiar ground to him. His ability to bring out those chaotic characteristics given the appropriate scenes is executed well. It's not expressly remarkable directing, but for the projects he leans toward, it works for him as with the film. It was written better than I thought it would be by Damian Shannon and Mark Swift ("Freddie vs. Jason" '03, "Friday the 13th" '09). Interesting that two writers with your basic 'slasher' films to their credit was chosen for this particular film, considering this is a comedy/drama. However, I must say, it was executed far better than I dreamt it would. Although this script was predictable as one would assume, it still worked, probably because it wasn't a flat out comedy. Given more projects will serve these two writers, and if you're curious of their style (being team writers), look forward to "Genie" which is in pre-production. This film was based on a story by Jay Scherick, David Ronn, Thomas Lennon and Robert Ben Garant which is based on the TV series, "Baywatch" created by Michael Berk, Douglas Schwartz and Gregory J. Bonann.
If you liked the TV series, you'll love this. I didn't really watch the show, so I'm not a purist. But the fact that it's a drama with comedic overtones helps this work as mentioned prior. It's great escape and fluff. Grab the popcorn!
Out of 4 Stars: 2.5 Rated: R 116mins.
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