Starts with nice shots of the beach. There is a surf glider accident. Mitch (Dwayne Johnson) saves the surfer and he carries him to shore with a big "Baywatch" title coming out of the water, hahaha. First of all, I liked the beach setting of this movie. It's rare that a movie is set mainly on a coast/beach. The lighting is fresh and sometimes you feel like your there next to the waves.
Zac Efron plays Matt Brody who has been newly assigned to Baywatch. He is a dual swimming gold medalist known for partying and his ego. Mitch calls Matt Brody all sorts of hilarious names during the movie including: "New Kids on the Block", "One Direction", "NSYNC", "High School Musical", "Jonas brother", "troubled youth" and "Malibu Ken" among others. He is up himself, funny and trying to survive a post olympic career.
Joining the team are lifeguards CJ (played by Kelly Rohrbach), Stefanie (played by Ilfenesh Hadera), Summer (played by Alexandra Daddario) and Ronnie (a geek played by Jon Bass).
An early scene sees CJ do a heinlick manouvre Ronnie who chokes on a snack. The ronnie gets his private parts lodged in a beach chair. This sets the comedic mood of the movie. Kelly Rohrbach does a great job to emulate the original CJ (Pamela Anderson) from the old Baywatch series. She moves in actual slow motion in some scenes, hehehe. The other girls, Stefanie and Summer are also beautiful but dedicated lifeguards. Stefanie does well in her action scenes and the banter between Summer and Matt Brody is entertaining.
There is an obstacle course competition scene between Mitch and Matt Brody. The two actors are at their fittest. These guys must work out during their sleep! Matt Brody has no where to sleep so Mitch takes him in.
The Villain in this movie is well crafted, a villainess played wonderfully by Priyanka Chopra (Victoria Leeds). She's charming and allouring yet dangerous at times. Great acting.
There is a boat catching on fire scene which is exhilerating. The baywatch team has to save the passengers. One of the passengers dies but the team suspect suspicious circumstances. Drugs are involved. They go to a soiree helld Victoria Leeds to get some intel. Aside from all the jokes this movie sometimes changes to a serious tone e.g. the argument between Mitch and Matt Brody. Although it's a comedy, the Baywatch team takes there job very seriously.
Another body is found and they go to a morgue to try and investigate. There are some funny ballsack scenes. Then the bad guys (working for Victoria) come to exchange morgue files. There is a fist fight between Mitch and one of the bad guys in a kids room so toys get thrown around and punches thrown. This was a wonderfully coreographed scene. A jet ski race ensues. Victoria is importing drugs to reduce real estate prices. Mitch and Matt go undercover at a fish company and find they are making drugs.
Mitch gets fired for making illegal investigations, the music is sentimental during these scenes, hilarious! (Say you Say me by lionel Ritchie, hahaha). David Hasslehoff then shows up! He inspires Mitch, who now sells mobile phones, to return to the team and solve the crime. A big finale occurs with a hell of an action sequence.
"I must say the whole Baywatch team worked together very well. The actors must have gelled well, they look like they are having fun"Most of the conversations between the team are entertaining even when they're not comical. I'm guilty of having watched the original TV Series. It was a fun series with interesting beach side story lines.
This film got some negative reviews but I think the cast did great for the material they had to work with. What happens is that these action comedies have elements of more serious action movies and the lines get blurred... am I watching a comedy or is this a serious movie? The lines did get blurred in Baywatch but that is a genre onto itself. I think that when the movie gets serious it engages you unexpectedly. It takes time to get used to it but I think there will be a sequel. Fantastic soundtrack! The music suited the mood of the scenes perfectly and some what sarcastically! Some big laughs and superb action sequences. 116 minutes of fun and action!