Baywatch: reviews

What the critics say average 3.5 from 10 outlets

• 8.0 Time OutJoshua Rothkopf Everyone in Baywatch seems amused to be in a movie version of Baywatch?how could they not be? (Their expressions range from ?Is this really happening?? to ?This is really happening.?) Read
• 5.0 New York TimesStephen Witty Instead of mocking the period, the humor seems stuck in it. There are a lot of corny, uptight gags about big breasts, or straight guys accidentally touching or kissing each other (eww, gross!). The idea of Efron going undercover in drag is supposed to be hilarious. It isn?t. Read
• 5.0 New York PostReed Tucker ?Baywatch? is not nearly as good as this genre?s best entries, like 2012?s ?21 Jump Street.? It washes up on the beach like a dead whale. Read
• 4.0 The Hollywood ReporterFrank Schek Boobs, butts and pecs ? you were expecting Shakespeare? Read
• 3.0 The A.V. ClubSean O'Neal Ultimately, Baywatch can never make up its mind whether it wants to mock glitzy softcore action-fests or just be one. Read
• 3.0 The WrapJeremy Fuster Not even the presence of frontman Dwayne Johnson could save ?Baywatch? from getting panned by critics Read
• 2.0 The GuardianSteve Rose That could have been a golden opportunity. Previous movies based on retro TV shows have taught us, the only way to repackage such brand-name yet dated material is with heavy measures of irony and self-satire. Read
• 2.0 EmpireNick De Semlyen In trying to resusitate the brand for 2017, the writers were faced with a question: should it be an affectionate spoof, or a cuss-heavy raunchfest with scant resemblance to the original product? The answer, it seems, was never decided. Tonally, Baywatch veers all over the place like a drunk on a speedboat, making for one of the most lacklustre comedies of the year so far. Read
• 2.0 CriticKevin Maher The film version of the Nineties TV hit captures its beach porn aesthetics in full glory, but there?s little else to it. Read
• 1.0 VarietyOwen Gleiberman Playing up the insults and playing down the jiggle, a Dwayne Johnson/Zac Efron revamp of the cheeseball muscle-beach TV series is stupidly entertaining...for a while. Read