Baywatch

Baywatch has quietly become one of the more dependable comedies currently available in Australia on BINGE and Foxtel Now, and in the US on Amazon Prime Video and fuboTV. The runtime earns every minute, with nothing here that feels like padding. A 6/10 rating says what the writing already makes obvious: this one works. Dwayne Johnson leads a cast with real comic timing. There is no real reason to keep putting it off — it is right there on BINGE.

Baywatch is not trying to be everything to everyone, and that focus is exactly what makes it work. Baywatch gets the fundamentals right first, then finds room to get weird with it. Devoted lifeguard Mitch Buchannon butts heads with a brash new recruit. Together, they uncover a local criminal plot that threatens the future of the Bay. Dwayne Johnson and Zac Efron lead a cast with the timing to make it work. Baywatch came out in 2017. What keeps Baywatch from feeling disposable is a cast that clearly understands the material better than the format usually demands. It knows exactly what it is, and does not try to be anything else.

Baywatch is the kind of thing you put on in the background and end up fully watching. It has built its own audience without needing a direct comparison. It is a manageable watch, easy to fit into a single evening. Dwayne Johnson is funny in a way that holds up on rewatch. Put it on when you need something guaranteed to land.