Year of Release: 2024
Director: David Ayer
Starring: Jason Statham, Emmy Raver-Lampman, Josh Hutcherson, Jeremy Irons, Bobby Naderi, Minnie Driver, Phylicia Rashad, David Witts, Michael Epp, Taylor James, Don Gilet, Megan Le, Dan Li, Georgia Goodman, Derek Siow
Genre: Action
Score out of ten (whole numbers only): 5
Watch it on Amazon
Synopsis and Review
Director David Ayer is back, after back to back poorly received films, namely the Netflix original "Bright" (which was a big hit for the streamer, bad reviews aside) and the barely seen "The Tax Collector". "The Beekeeper" is based on an original script by Kurt Wimmer, who has made a name for himself both as a writer and director with films that have not fared particularly well, namely "Equilibrium" and "Ultraviolet", though he has written a variety of high profile features, including Phillip Noyce's "Salt", John McTiernan's "The Thomas Crown Affair" and also Len Wiseman's "Total Recall" remake. "The Beekeeper" follows the story of Adam Clay who lives a quiet life as a beekeeper in rural MA. He rents a barn from a retired school teacher by the name of Eloise Parker. Eloise falls for a cyber scam, that strips her from all her savings, and from a charity whose bank account she also managed. Desperate, she commits suicide, which leaves her daughter Verona shocked and enraged. Verona is an FBI agent, and while she initially suspects Adam, he is soon released, as he had nothing to do with Eloise's death. Turns out Adam is also more than anyone anticipated, he is in reality a Beekeeper, part of a specialized and highly trained program of operatives. Though he retired, Eloise's shocking death brings him back from his self-imposed retirement, and he goes on a vengeance journey, one that puts him on a track towards Derek Danforth, who has direct ties with the President of the country. And no one is able to stop him.
While watching "The Beekeeper" I couldn't help but think of some of Michael Winner's films with Charles Bronson, including "The Mechanic" (which Jason Statham also starred in a remake dated 2011), and of course the "Death Wish" series. That is to say, "The Beekeeper" works best when it assumes the mantle and legacy of a slick B-movie, where characters are swiftly described, and most of them also swiftly dispatched by the unstoppable Adam Clay/Jason Statham. While succinct/limited character definition can be at times a big issue when it comes to understanding the exchanges/relationships between characters, David Ayer manages to bypass these issues by making the film keep a steady momentum, where the lead character doesn't really exist beyond its intent to seek revenge. There isn't much that is known about his background, or what he has been through, he's an instinctual character who is reacting to an extreme situation. This of course has its own limitations in terms of making these characters more than just paper thin clichés, but thankfully the film doesn't take itself very seriously, though it does make some interesting political insinuations/allusions. Alongside some character dimension, the film could also have benefited from some additional humor, but overall, it's a film that moves at a good pace, never filling itself with fluff, even if some of the "Wolf of Wall Street" inspired sequences don't necessarily add much uniqueness to what is being staged onscreen. The cast is uniformly solid, with Jason Statham having great support from the always excellent Jeremy Irons, Minnie Driver, Phylicia Rashad, and even Josh Hutcherson, who is playing against type. The production team is solid, including Gabriel Beristain's cinematography and Ben Munro's production design. It's a fairly watchable film, even if it is ultimately a forgettable endeavor.
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