Most people who will go see the movie adaptation of Baywatch were probably not even alive twenty-five years ago when the TV show made household names of David Hasselhoff and Pamela Anderson…
In the movie version of “Baywatch”, Dwayne Johnson is a Tony Robbins-esque lifeguard whipping everyone into doing exactly what he wants especially the new kid with the six-packs, Zac Efron, a scorned Olympic medal winner who is trying to redeem himself as a lifeguard.
In theory lifeguards in swimwear and beautiful California beaches sound like a good concept but when the story goes nowhere you lose interest very fast. Dwayne Johnson literally carries the movie on his wide shoulders until the moment he gets knocked out and so does the whole flick.
Baywatch the TV series, which told the story of lifeguards playing detectives, was almost absurd when it originally aired, so re-creating a movie version should’ve at least have been accompanied with a solid story, which unfortunately this one does not.
I say lower your expectations and maybe you will find this one mildly entertaining. For me, it wasn’t enough to recommend someone to go invest in a ticket to go see it, therefore I have to give it a THUMBS DOWN!
Ron Jacobsohn
