Baywatch

Dwayne said it himself on SNL, he truly is ‘Franchise Viagra’. While many have panned Baywatch as a terrible movie and dismal first weekend numbers, one has to think what would have happened had Johnson not been in the movie. Now that would be a true bomb. It will easily make its money back and even go into the black with its world-wide release. And the flaws, which are apparent, are solely based on writing and directing problems. Everything Dwayne Johnson touches in the film is gold with the one exception being a nonsensical expositional run Mitch takes at the beginning of the film. Zack Efron on the other hand is very hot and cold, only hitting his stride when he unexplainably changes from the preppy entitled millennial that he is accustomed to playing into the genuine sidekick he needs to be. In the beginning the writers seem to want to push both Johnson and Efron on the same level and it isn't until the middle of the film that they realize how much of a mistake that was. No one is on Johnson's level. They then delegate him to side kick where he belongs and the film finally takes off. There are amazing bodies and crude humor throughout to keep you interested but only when everyone realizes their role can you really sink into the Baywatch world. Once there, it's a one-way trip back to the nineties with bouncing bodies, lifeguards performing too much police work and local corruption. You can just smell the nostalgia. CJ Parker is delegated to a more minor role than in the show due to the lesser acting chops of Kelly Rohrbach. those chops are picked up by Alexandra Daddario as Summer Quinn who is only hampered by her forced relationship to Efron. She continues to benefit from her association with Johnson and is starting to come into her own with superb comedic timing, dramatis and amazing good looks. Get a new director and the sequel can't come soon enough. 

B-