Baywatch

Nope, this didn’t turn out well. I didn’t experience the '90s when Baywatch was constantly on TV and became a bit of a phenomenon, but I figured a comedy for some summer lightheartedness would be nice. However, the new Baywatch didn’t quite convince me. It’s definitely not terrible on a grand scale, but there are many things I would personally improve. Regarding the cast, Dwayne Johnson didn’t fit well for me; he can act, but he needs a decent script and a suitable role. Neither was achieved here; I simply didn’t believe him in the role of Mitch. Among the other roles, only Efron stood out for me. There are a few genuinely great jokes, but for most of the runtime, the film bombards you with one cringeworthy gag after another, which undermines it. The biggest flaw of the film, in my opinion, is the action component. If the main antagonist had been more charismatic and if the explosive, adrenaline-pumped sequences were at least visually appealing, it might have been better. But for that kind of money, the effects were terrible (the digital fire was especially glaring). It really wasn't good, and not even Hasselhoff and Anderson’s cameos saved it. I give it 49%. (08/01/2018)

Testosterone and silicone packed and a pointlessly long showcase of boorish humour worthy only of the popular four letter swear word. I saw (or wished to see) great potential in it, but instead of the creators casually poking fun at the show's naive stupidity and showering us with catchphrases and cameos for an hour and a half, they oscillate for two hours on the surface of a dull detective plot and the most cringeworthy buddy comedy ever to hit theatres. If Johnson had been alive in the 1950s, he would have played at most the second henchman to the bad guy in an Ed Wood movie; today, his iconisation subordinates the entire narrative of a presumed hit that could have had such an all-encompassing parodic feel. Ironically, it's his few scenes with the heartthrob Efron that keep it afloat, at least on the level of episodic humour. This has failed miserably, with only the physical equipment of Alexandra Daddario asking for a much better hit – inaccessible of course. 40% (11/13/2017)

I can endure a lot. I don't have any particularly nostalgic relationship with the original phenomenon Baywatch, and I always appreciate Priyanka Chopra as a villain. But this film doesn't make sense even in the series of the strange "comedies with Dwayne Johnson" subgenre. There is nothing more here than a bit of humor for tweens and completely botched cameos by David Hasselhoff and Pamela Anderson. (08/11/2023)

Great satisfaction on my part as Baywatch lived up to all my expectations. Humor, finally improved by the R-rating, actually only works when Rock or Efron are on screen, the rest of the jokes just don’t land. Slow-motion shots of girls in swimsuits, a relaxed atmosphere, punchy one-liners, some seriously crude moments, pathetic acting performances by certain people and, most importantly, a completely deliberate self-parody that is spot-on. After all those bad reviews and pessimistic expectations, I definitely give it a thumbs up. (09/01/2017)

When I was a kid, I watched the Baywatch quite a lot. That’s also the reason why I was so curious about the Rock’s and Zac Efron’s performances in the remake. In the end, I must say I’m quite disappointed. The comedy isn’t innovative, it’s not explicit, it’s really not anything in particular. It has its moments, but overall, it’s more stupid than it is funny. Pamela Anderson and David Hasselhoff even make an appearance, but they are so utterly uninteresting that they basically copy the movie’s overall vibe. It was bad. And that’s quite a shame. (08/27/2017)