“To bee or not to bee” – that is the question posed to Jason Statham’s character during a fight scene in his latest action flick “The Beekeeper”.
It is just one of the many, many bee-themed puns in the movie – phrases such as “queen bee” and “kicking the hornet’s nest”, plus references to Winnie the Pooh await you – so consider yourself warned!
Pollinating insects aside, what’s the story about? Adam Clay (Statham) is a seemingly ordinary beekeeper who’s content to harvest honey and strike up friendly conversations with his landlady Eloise (Phylicia Rashad).
Sadly, she ends up losing all her savings after falling for an online phishing scam, and takes her own life.
Vowing to seek justice for the only woman who ever took care of him, Clay embarks on a fiery, explosive quest for vengeance against everyone involved in the scam, with Eloise’s daughter and FBI agent Verona (Emmy Raver-Lampman) hot on his heels.
Clay soon discovers that one Derek Danford (Josh Hutcherson) is the man responsible for the entire scheme. He might have a powerful mother (Gemma Redgrave) and protection from former CIA director Wallace Westwyld (Jeremy Irons), but this isn’t going to stop Clay from his mission!
Few action stars can pull off a beekeeping suit while sprouting bee puns and still end up looking more macho than most. In this case, Statham is the perfect casting choice, the type of actor who assures you that a bone-crunching fight is in the offing when he shows up on screen.
The role doesn’t require him to show much in the way of emotion, but this makes the few scenes in which he talks about how much Eloise meant to him or spouts philosophies on the importance of “protecting the hive” that much more tender.
As for supporting characters, it’s evident Hutcherson, last seen in the box-office hit “Five Nights at Freddy’s”, is having a great time portraying the morally reprehensible and sleazy Derek.
His curly blond hair, bright suits, and condescending attitude contribute to his immensely unlikable persona, and the actor delivers perfectly until the very end. Kudos.
Alas, as Verona, Raver-Lampman (“The Umbrella Academy”) doesn’t have nearly as much charm or screen presence as her co-stars. Given that she’s Eloise’s daughter, you’d think she would have as much, if not more, motivation as Clay does to apprehend the scammers.
Instead, she seems to project a blasé attitude towards the case, and is mostly seen drinking or reading a beekeeping guide left behind at one of the crime scenes, sharing trivia about the occupation. Seriously?
Veteran actor Irons is also kind of wasted here, reduced to an exposition tool that spells out how dangerous the Beekeeper is to Derek and, by proxy, the audience.
It’s a real shame given the man’s talent, but hey, at least he’s dressed leagues better than his younger onscreen counterpart!
Action-wise, director David Ayer does a decent job with the fight scenes, some more over-the-top than others. One particularly memorable sequence sees Clay entering the company’s HQ, fighting off Westwyld’s goons and many FBI agents at the same time, and creatively disposing of them with explosives, wires and elevators. Noice.
One small nitpick is how movies of this genre predictably have an extrajudicial super-spy government agency that secretly protects the world (see The Charter from “Heart of Stone” ). In this case, it’s “the Beekeepers”, a group Clay was part of before he decided to become a literal beekeeper after retirement.
Most reviews of this film compare Clay with John Wick, and for good reason: both are silent killing machines hell-bent on revenge after suffering a loss. And while “The Beekeeper” might not be as slick or stylishly shot as the “John Wick” franchise, it’s a good time nonetheless and worthy of buzz.
Now let’s wait for the inevitable honey-filled sequel, shall we?
As of press time, ‘The Beekeeper’ is screening in cinemas nationwide.