Dwayne Johnson Responds To Negative Baywatch Reviews

We can imagine it must be difficult for actors when viewers don't totally love a film they're in, but for Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, he's struggling to accept that anyone would dislike his latest movie, Baywatch. 

Directed by Seth Gordon (Horrible Bosses, Identity Thief), Baywatch was released in the U.S. on May 25 to less than optimal reviews—and that's putting it lightly. The film, based on the classic television series of the same name, has been pretty torn apart by critics. Some writers have dubbed it "dead on arrival." One critic called it "a misguided comedy [that] has zero perspective on the low-grade titillation that made the series weirdly popular." Another cheekily stamped it as "a beach-slap to anyone with a brain." Colorful descriptions aside, the Rotten Tomatoes rating says it all: Baywatch currently sits at an abyssal 18 percent approval rating. 

And Dwayne Johnson isn't having it. Upon hearing the negative (and sometimes scathing) reviews, Johnson took to Twitter to express his discontent. He began by reminding his followers of the positive scores fans have been giving the film. "Officially opening today is our lil' rated R beach movie Baywatch! Extremely high scores from the fans which is always the best part," Johnson wrote. 

Johnson then addressed the critics score on Rotten Tomatoes: "Fans LOVE the movie. Critics HATE it. What a glaring disconnect. People just want to laugh and have fun."

Next on Johnson's reacting to reviews list was responding to those who enjoyed the movie, and knocking down those who didn't, particularly the viewers who reportedly laughed during their showing of Baywatch, but later criticized the film. 

"Bold move from this critic who watched Baywatch with other critics who laughed their a** off, but then they decide to trash it publicly," Johnson wrote in one tweet. 

In a pair of later posts, Johnson stated that "people peeing themselves from laughing has been reported in theaters across the country," and that loving Baywatch is the "consensus of the people."  

Johnson took a final blow at the Baywatch haters, again drawing the line between critics and fans. "Oh boy, critics had their venom and knives ready," he said. "Fans LOVE the movie. Huge positive scores. Big disconnect with critics and people."

Though Johnson clearly got quite worked up over the negative press, it doesn't appear that Baywatch has suffered all that much from it. The film's producer, Beau Flynn, recently announced that he and the minds behind Baywatch are already working on a sequel. According to Flynn, the entire cast would return for an overseas adventure in a "whole new world." Johnson might be wise to stay off social media around the time that film is released, just to avoid any future tweet-storms.

Before you head out to see Baywatch, find out everything you should know about Kelly Rohrbach, the film's leading lady.