Director: Seth Gordon
Running Time: 121 mins (Extended Edition)
Certificate: 15
Release Date: September 25th 2017 (UK)
It was almost inevitable that at some point they’d make a movie version of Baywatch. It was, after all, the most popular TV show in the world in the 1990s, and its reputation for being a bit silly and cheesy meant it was ripe for comedy/parody. However, it’s also the sort of property that could have resulted in a truly dreadful film.
I suppose I ought to say what the Baywatch movie is about, but it doesn’t matter an awful lot, as the plot often feels like the least important part of the film. Dwayne Johnson is Mitch Buchanan, head of Emerald Bay’s lifeguards. He has a new recruit thrust upon him – disgraced double Olympic swimming champion Matt Brody (Zac Efron). The young buck isn’t that impressed about being there, and thinks the lifeguards should be honoured he’s walking amongst them. He’s also a bit confused about why Mitch and his fellow guards seem to spend most of their time fighting crime rather than saving people from drowning. [Read more…]
It’s only a couple of weeks until we get to see whether the idea of rebooted 90s TV hit Baywatch as a big screen comedy vehicle for Zac Efron and Dwayne Johnson was a good idea or not. To help convince us it will be, a new Red Band trailer for the movie has arrived.
For people who aren’t that interested in American Football, probably the most memorable moment from the Super Bowl wasn’t on the field, it was in the ad break, when a spot for the big screen version of Baywatch featured Zac Efron in some very small stars and stripes speedos. I’m not sure whether that would be classed as patriotic or not?
Just take a look at the picture above, and tell me it hasn’t reached the point where it looks like Zac Efron’s head has been transplanted onto someone else’s body. This is admittedly from a particularly pumped up shot from the new Baywatch red-band trailer, but even in his other shirtless shots, he does look like he should be told that having more than 2% body fat is not a crime. But hey, perhaps he felt hulking it up wa necessary if he was going to be shirtless next to the bulk of Dwayne Johnson.
From the evidence of this first trailer for Baywatch, Zac Efron is trying to very slowly turn into the Hulk – he may start turning green at some point, although for this movie, he’s gone for orange. The man has the most ridiculously defined, bulging torso. But then, he may not see it that way, as perhaps he was feeling puny next to the bulk of Dwayne Johnson.
