“The Beekeeper,” released Jan. 12, is the newest action flick to feature Hollywood’s favorite tough guy, Jason Statham (“Crank,” “Fast and Furious”, “The Meg,” “The Expendables”, etc.). His most recent film, directed by David Ayers, has been slammed by critics as nothing more than a trashy and overly clichéd B-list movie (pun intended), but I would argue this flick deserves a bit more positive buzz.
As per usual, Statham plays a stoic, vengeful, morally grey character with a violent streak and willingness to kill. His character, Adam Clay, is a retired, you guessed it, beekeeper living on a quiet farm in Massachusetts living a peaceful life next to his retired schoolteacher neighbor Eloise (Phylicia Rashad).
Everything changes when Eloise falls victim to online scammers who steal all her life savings, which leads to her suicide after losing everything. Clay soon discovers the scammer tech-bros behind the death of “the only person who ever took care of him.” The audience soon realizes that Clay is more than just your average beekeeper when he barges into the scammer call-center and burns it to the ground (literally).
The rest of the film follows Clay’s vigilante- style revenge mission as he works his way up the tech company and toward the top, where playboy CEO Derek Danforth (Josh Hutcherson) runs his high-tech scamming operation unaware of the seemingly unstoppable Clay who will stop at nothing until the bad guys are dead and “order in the hive” is restored. Along the way, Clay encounters Eloise’s daughter/FBI agent Verona (Emmy Raver-Lampman) who is always one step behind Clay’s path of destruction and dead bodies.
Hutcherson’s villain is one of the most enjoyable parts of the film. The former Hunger Games star is clearly having the time of his life skateboarding around high-tech offices and barking orders at his sea of tech-bro minions. As Clay stabs, shoots and headbutts his way up the chain of command, he discovers that the corruption runs deeper than ever imagined, and he strives to bring the whole system down from the inside out in the name of standing up for the defenseless.
Clay defeats an unbelievable number of opponents, and it’s slowly revealed that he is a retired member of a secret organization called the Beekeepers whose job is to maintain balance and order in the nation. Clay’s association with this top-secret society explains his seemingly superhuman skills and survival against all odds. His revenge mission eventually leads him to the very top, the office of the president, whose son happens to be our favorite spoiled tech-douche Derek Danforth. The film ends with a violent confrontation between Clay, Danforth, the President and Verona the witty and determined FBI agent. As per usual of Ayers’ films, we’re left on a cliffhanger that sets up a sequel perfectly, while still leaving viewers satisfied with the conclusion.
Some might be thinking, do we really need another action film with a morally grey protagonist and thinly veiled political commentary. To you I say, why not? This film is the perfect guilty pleasure for action lovers, enough plot to keep audiences engaged, but not enough that you have to really pay attention. Great fight scenes with plenty of violence but not enough to turn your stomach. And a compelling protagonist who is easy to root for and a villain who is a blast to watch as he falls from power.
Basically, this film is 1 hour and 45 minutes of Jason Statham kicking a** and there is no better way to turn off your brain than that. Sure, “The Beekeeper” isn’t going to win any awards, but it wasn’t meant to. Rather, it’s meant to fulfill that cheap thrill that can only be experienced while watching the cool good guy beat hordes of bad guys to a pulp. What can I say, sometimes we don’t go to the theater to think or feel profound emotions, we just want to see a tough dude blowing everything up.
For shameless cheesy action lovers everywhere, this film is currently showing in theaters and will be released soon onto Amazon Prime for streaming. The movie is rated R for violence.
Grace Giger can be reached at [email protected]