DVD review: Baywatch starring Dwayne Johnson & Zac Efron
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- Published on Wednesday, 30 August 2017 12:36
- Last Updated on 30 August 2017
- Monica Costa
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Based on the original TV series, Baywatch the comedy brings back great memories from my childhood adding hilarious jokes and more contemporary scenarios. An extended version will be available first on Digital Download on 21 September and the original version on DVD along with an Extended Edition on Blu-ray™ and 4K Ultra HD™ on 25 September 2017.
It has a 15 UK rating for strong language, crude humour, nudity, violence. So it’s not really suitable for young children which is a shame because the original TV series was really watched by everybody.
The story
Don’t expect the Huff and Pamela Anderson to run on a LA beach on this movie. Although the beach is the same, a whole new crew is on board at LA Baywatch now, as boisterous as ever including The Rock Dwayne Johnson (Moana, Fast & Furious 8) starring as the legendary Lt. Mitch Buchannon (who character once played by David Hasselhoff) and Zac Efron (Bad Neighbours 2) starring as Matt Brody.
When a dangerous crime wave hits the beach, Mitch leads his elite squad of badass lifeguards on a mission to prove you don’t have to wear a badge to save the bay. Joined by a trio of hot-shot recruits including former Olympian Matt Brody, they’ll ditch the surf and go deep undercover to take down a ruthless businesswoman (Priyanka Chopra, TV’s Quantico), whose devious plans threaten the future of the bay as she wants to privatise the beach.
The trailer
BAYWATCH Single-Disc DVD
The single-disc DVD is presented in widescreen enhanced for 16:9 TVs with English 5.1 Dolby Digital, French 5.1 Dolby Digital, and English Audio Description and English, English SDH, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, French, Norwegian, and Swedish subtitles. The disc includes the original version of the film in standard definition, as well as the following bonus content: Continuing the Legacy and Deleted & Extended Scenes. The DVD includes access to a digital download of the original version and extended edition of the film.
The verdict
Adapting cheesy but fabulous TV series from the 1980s-1990s into movies is nothing new. It worked out well for Jump Street and CHiPs, and Baywatch will be no different. The Baywatch movie includes all things we loved about the cult classic 1989-2001 TV show: gorgeous looking beach guards in California who run in slow motion (there’s even a joke about this), rescue surfers from big waves and in their spare time they even catch criminals.
The Rock and Efron bring funny silly moments throughout the movie, as you would expect from a semi-parody of the TV series, but it won’t everybody’s cup of tea. The underlying swearing and the crude humour contributed to the 15 rating, but they could have kept it at 13 certificate considering the sort of violent movies that are out there with 12 rating.
Quite a few gags come from the unfit and clumsy character of Ronnie played by Jon Bass. Overall all the characters interact well with each other and this creates humorous situations. The spirit of the original show is kept throughout and there’s even a cameo by the Hoff and Pamela making fun of themselves.
In the bonus materials, the filmmakers talk about how much they love the 80s-90s show and did not want to make too much of a parody of it. Their approach seems to work and I quite enjoyed it.
But if you are nostalgic about the 80s series, watch this.
London Mums’ rating: 7/10
Monica Costa founded London Mums in September 2006 after her son Diego’s birth together with a group of mothers who felt the need of meeting up regularly to share the challenges and joys of motherhood in metropolitan and multicultural London. London Mums is the FREE and independent peer support group for mums and mumpreneurs based in London https://londonmumsmagazine.com and you can connect on Twitter @londonmums
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