It is always a relief when I hear that a somewhat well-known actress has been cast in a major release as something other than the love interest. So, yeah, I was happy to discover right from the start that Priyanka Chopra, best known in North America for the ABC drama/thriller Quantico, would be playing not Dwayne Johnson's love interest in Baywatch but rather his opponent. And, perhaps in a nod to international audiences (and a thumb in the eye of those who smelled controversy over Chopra's absence from the first team-centric poster or two), this third Baywatch trailer is basically the Priyanka Chopra show. And it offers a nice change-up after two pretty similar trailers.
Beyond that, most of the jokes are stuff that we've already seen in prior trailers, which is either encouraging (they have material they don't want to give away) or disconcerting (what you see is what you get). Nonetheless, Dwayne Johnson (who is attempting to cement himself as the last preeminent movie star of his era) and Zac Efron (who is an added value element even if he's not worth a ton by himself) look to be having fun, while Alexandra Daddario will hopefully get to be funny as well. Even though the film itself isn't that expensive, Paramount/Viacom Inc. is betting very big on this action comedy since they don't have a ton of big release out this year.
The good news, presuming it's at least somewhat watchable, is that this is a pretty solid package. The film is based on a known and well-liked (especially overseas) IP but also comes packed with elements (the aforementioned cast, R-rated comedy, male gaze and female gaze-friendly offerings) that make it an appealing package even sans any interest in the IP. Point being, the film may well score primarily because it's an R-rated action comedy set on a beach that stars Dwayne Johnson, Zac Efron, Priyanka Chopra and Alexandra Daddario. So the IP isn't remotely the one and only trump card.
This plays into Dwayne Johnson's game plan of late, choosing franchise fare and/or IP adaptations where he is bigger than the property. So Rampage becomes "The Rock versus monsters!" or Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle becomes "Dwayne Johnson, Kevin Hart, Jack Black and Karen Gillan in a jungle adventure comedy!" And, like Will Smith in his heyday, Johnson seems more concerned about crowd pleasing packages than exceptionally excellent movies (although I will defend I Am Legend and Hancock among others). To be fair, you all avoided The Rundown and Faster in theaters while no one remembers Snitch, so you can't blame Johnson for making a Jungle Cruise movie.
Anyway, Baywatch opens on American shores over Memorial Day weekend, where it will share the water with Walt Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales. Until then, surf's up!
