Baywatch

There is not much more to say about Baywatch other than the fact it is a film about lifeguards and is based on the TV series of the same name. Directed by Seth Gordon, the story follows the leader of the team, Mitch Buchannon (Dwayne Johnson), as they recruit new members and uncover criminal dealings taking place in the bay.

A more accurate summery of this movie would be “a series of slow motion action shots paired with heavy bass music”, as this is what seems to compose most of the screen time. The plot, while also being weak and uninteresting, sits on the back-burner for half the film, meaning that when it becomes central the audience has no emotional investment in it. There is no real relationship between the characters, making it seem forced and lacking in genuine feeling; though we get to know the central protagonists, Buchannon and Brody (Zac Efron), all the other roles – especially the female ones – are only there as support. There are an overwhelming number of clichés: the attractive girl falling for the unattractive guy and the reluctant lady, Summer (Alexandra Daddario), succumbing to love, showing how these characters are tools for romance and not much more.

The two famous faces, David Hasselhoff and Pamela Anderson, from the Baywatch TV series do make cameos, with Hasselhoff now playing Buchannon’s mentor and referred to as “other Mitch”. This is one example of the script making fun of itself with an amusing result, and shows how the movie works best when being silly – any dramatic scenes fail to add anything to the audience’s enjoyment. Victoria Leeds (Priyanka Chopra) tries to play the serious villain, and ends up seeming like a parody of the traditional bad guy. A redeeming quality comes in the somewhat entertaining banter between Buchannon and Brody but this alone does not do enough to carry the film’s flaws. Overall, the only draw into the cinema here is to watch attractive people running in slow motion on a beach.

Manisha Sondhi

Baywatch is released nationwide 29^th May 2017.

Watch the trailer for Baywatch here: