Baywatch

Baywatch is a 2017 American action comedy film directed by Seth Gordon and based on the television series of the same name. Written by Mark Swift and Damian Shannon, the film stars Dwayne Johnson, Zac Efron, Jon Bass, Alexandra Daddario, Kelly Rohrbach and Priyanka Chopra. The plot follows lifeguard Mitch Buchannon and his team, who in an effort to save their beach have to take down a drug lord.

Principal photography began on February 22, 2016, in Florida and Savannah, Georgia. The film was released in the United States on May 25, 2017, by Paramount Pictures, grossed $177 million worldwide and received negative reviews from critics, with criticism for its crude humor, storyline, and character development, but did receive some praise for its cast. Baywatch received five nominations at the 38th Golden Raspberry Awards, including Worst Picture and Worst Actor for Efron.

Plot
In Emerald Bay, Florida, Lt. Mitch Buchannon and his team of lifeguards, including second-in-command Stephanie Holden and veteran C. J. Parker, protect the beaches and the bay as part of an elite division known as Baywatch. Having made over 500 rescues in his career, Mitch is beloved by the community, to the annoyance of local beat cop Garner Ellerbee and Mitch's superior, Captain Thorpe. During one of his morning patrols, Mitch discovers a small pouch of flakka drug washed up near the Huntley Club, which is now under the ownership of Indian businesswoman Victoria Leeds, who has been secretly bribing city councilman Rodriguez and others in efforts to increase her stake in the bay.

At the tryouts for prospective lifeguards, three people stand out: surfer Summer Quinn, an old friend of Holden; Ronnie Greenbaum, a chubby computer nerd with a mutual crush on C. J.; and Matt Brody, a former Olympic gold medal swimmer who fell from grace to grass after vomiting during a relay race. Summer and Ronnie both pass the trials, but Brody refuses to participate, insisting his Olympic status and recommendation letter entitles him to have a place on the team. Mitch challenges Brody on a course of the former's choosing, but a drowning woman and her kids interrupt the challenge and they rush to save her. Mitch learns Brody has to perform community service as part of an unspecified plea deal, and that Thorpe insists rehabilitating Brody's image is necessary to convince the city not to further cut Baywatch's funding.

When a private yacht catches fire, Brody disobeys orders and dives directly under the flames, causing Holden and C. J. to have to save him. The occupants are evacuated, except for the deceased councilman Rodriguez. Ellerbee disapproves of Mitch's further investigative actions. Mitch and the gang attend a party held by Leeds to look for more evidence but without much luck as Brody makes a fool of himself getting drunk. Mitch, Brody, and Summer later infiltrate the city morgue, where they record two of Leeds' men planting a falsified autopsy report to cover up the fact that Rodriguez was murdered on her orders. Unfortunately, they are discovered, and though Mitch manages to subdue and capture one of them, the recording is destroyed and Ellerbee is forced to release their suspect on a lack of evidence. Angered, Thorpe threatens to fire Mitch if he oversteps his authority again.

Convinced that Leeds is running drugs out of the Huntley, Mitch and Brody go undercover and sneak into the club kitchen, where they witness her workers retrieving the drugs from barrels of fish and processing them. They contact Ellerbee, only to learn that another body has been found on the beach. Thorpe, enraged that Mitch essentially deserted his post, fires him and names Brody as the new lieutenant. Brody accepts the job reluctantly, and Mitch takes a job as a cellphone salesman.

After finding another pouch of flakka on the beach, Brody steals the second victim's report from Ellerbee and brings it to Summer, who confirms his suspicion that the man was murdered. Ronnie, upon recognizing the victim as his friend Dave, helps Brody hack into Leeds' servers, revealing her plan to privatize the entire beach by systematically buying out or eliminating every competing business owner.

The team infiltrates a private party on Leeds' personal yacht, discovering how she's been using the hull to smuggle the drugs. Brody is captured and placed in a bait cage to be drowned, and a gloating Leeds reveals that she bribed the corrupt Thorpe to set Mitch up so he could justify firing him before pushing the cage into the water. Just before Brody drowns, Brody’s love interest and fellow lifeguard Summer, who he may or may not be kissing underwater. One minute he’s kissing her, and the next he’s kissing Mitch who appears and saves him. The two catch up to Leeds, while Ronnie and C. J. launch fireworks to prevent her escape helicopter from landing. Just as they run out, a wounded Mitch, having intentionally stung himself with a sea urchin to boost his adrenaline, uses a Roman candle to blow Leeds up, saving Brody once again. Ellerbee arrives and takes Leeds' henchmen into custody, apologizing to Mitch for doubting him. Thorpe arrives and begins to berate Mitch for returning to the beach. In response, Brody punches Thorpe in the face. Thorpe is subsequently arrested for his role in Leeds' plan.

In the aftermath, Ronnie and Brody begin relationships with C.J. and Summer respectively. Mitch, having been reinstated, formally inducts Summer, Ronnie, and Brody into Baywatch and introduces them to their new captain, Casey Jean (Pamela Anderson).

Cast

 * Dwayne Johnson as Mitch Buchannon
 * Zac Efron as Matt Brody
 * Priyanka Chopra as Victoria Leeds
 * Alexandra Daddario as Summer Quinn
 * Jon Bass as Ronnie Greenbaum
 * Hannibal Buress as Dave the Tech
 * Kelly Rohrbach as C.J. Parker
 * Ilfenesh Hadera as Stephanie Holden
 * Yahya Abdul-Mateen II as Sgt. Ellerbee
 * Oscar Nunez as Councilman Rodriguez
 * Rob Huebel as Captain Thorpe
 * Amin Joseph as Frankie
 * Jack Kesy as Leon
 * Pamela Anderson as Casey Jean Parker
 * David Hasselhoff as The Mentor

Release
In January 2016, Paramount Pictures scheduled Baywatch for a May 19, 2017 release, which was originally scheduled for a sequel to Terminator Genisys.

Box office
Baywatch grossed $58.1 million in the United States and Canada and $119.8 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $177.8 million, against a production budget of $69 million.

Home media
Baywatch was released on Digital HD on August 15, 2017

Sequel
In May 2017, the producers of the film revealed that a sequel was being planned.

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