Baywatch (2017) – Miniview

When it comes to nonsensical, completely idiotic fun, Baywatch is definitely one of those movies that falls on that list. If you didn’t know “lifeguard in pursuit” was a thing…well, it isn’t. Baywatch is an action comedy buddy cop style film that stars Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, Zac Efron, Priyanka Chopra, Alexandra Daddario, Jon Bass, and Kelly Rohrbach. While the cast had solid chemistry and some great comedic timing, it’s just one of those movies that leaves you think, “huh?” several times throughout. But hey, it’s not a bad thing because if you’re looking for that raunchy, borderline cringey type of comedy, Baywatch is sure to be your best friend.

And look, I’m by no means a hater; in fact, I’ve give Baywatch a couple rewatches myself when I’m feeling in the mood for it. It’s a great background film, meaning you don’t have to put in any effort to enjoy it. The film is carelessly wacky, and while it’s cool that they pay homage to some of the original cast (like David Hasselhoff and Pamela Anderson), this is definitely the kind of film you don’t need to take seriously. At all.

I’d say for me personally, the best part of Baywatch is the cast. You’ve got The Rock being the The Rock as usual, with his quippy one-liners and big muscly fight scenes, and he’s complimented nicely by the rest of the cast who really lean into the humourous aspect of this film. They do some pretty crazy stuff but hey, they really try to own it at least.

That’s kind of the big thing about this film though – you have to remember that this is a comedy and that you shouldn’t take it too seriously. Because in all honesty, the premise of this film is so so dumb. The script definitely could’ve been better because most of the time, everything that’s going on just doesn’t make any sense. And although I watch Baywatch purely for a good time, even I find it difficult to ignore the completely idiotic plot at times. Maybe it’s just me, and while I understand that the whole concept of the film is having the lifeguards solve the crime, at times I get frustrated by their lack of understanding of how the law works. Because no, just because you’re a lifeguard doesn’t mean you can mess around with a crime scene.

All in all, I would still say Baywatch is a pretty fun time. It’s not the type of film I could handle watching in quick succession (maybe once every couple years if it comes to mind), but I will say it does produce some laughs out of me. For what it’s worth, I’ll give Baywatch a rating of 5/10. If you’re in a carefree, want to see something totally wild and wacky kind of mood, then yeah, this movie could be right up your alley. But if you’re someone who doesn’t appreciate complete nonsense and idiocy, you could definitely avoid this one and not miss out on anything.