The Beekeeper, 2024.
Directed by David Ayer.
Starring Jason Statham, Jeremy Irons, Emmy Raver-Lampman, Bobby Naderi, Josh Hutcherson, Minnie Driver, Enzo Cilenti, Dan Li, Taylor James, Adam Basil, Reza Diako, Phylicia Rashād, David Witts, Michael Epp, Jemma Redgrave, Sophia Feliciano, Don Gilet, Enzo Cilenti, Megan Le, Georgia Goodman, Derek Siow, Jay Rincon, Kojo Attah, Joe Urquhart, Peter Brooke, Martin Gordon, Rebecca Jane Hazelwood, Baba Oyejide, and Jessica Maria Gilhooley.
SYNOPSIS:
In The Beekeeper, one man’s brutal campaign for vengeance takes on national stakes after he is revealed to be a former operative of a powerful and clandestine organization known as “Beekeepers”.
The latest Jason Statham action vehicle, The Beekeeper, comes with such an unexpected and refreshing emotional hook executed with heartbreaking authenticity that one immediately wonders whether or not director David Ayer or screenwriter Kurt Wimmer have gone through the devastation of a loved one inexperienced with computer technology preyed on by a phishing scam that sucked away a large amount of savings.
The specifics of who and what the eponymous Beekeeper is and does are left vague for the opening sequence, where it’s communicated that he takes care of bees, often helping out and sometimes gifting honey to a woman named Eloise Parker (Phylicia Rashad), whom he claims is the only one that has ever looked out for him. After cleaning up a bee infestation, she politely insists that he return later that night for dinner. However, between that time, she finds herself falling victim to an Internet scam convincing her that there is a virus on her computer and to call a number for assistance, which turns out to be some Wolf of Wall Street-reminiscent greedy predators (everyone is going to make that unavoidable comparison) operating from a call center lit up in neon colors.
Eloise is a respected woman who has raised millions of dollars for various charities. Admittedly, there is some shakiness to this sequence, such as pictures of her children (one of them a dead military veteran) on the computer as a reason to call the number and get this “fixed”, but Phylicia Rashad is also a veteran actor who knows how to convey that she knows in her gut something is not quite right here. It is a sustained, emotionally draining, gut-wrenching segment born from scummy behavior that unfortunately runs rampant in real life. Later that night, in a hasty development that feels somewhat forced to put the real plot into motion, Eloise kills herself.
Flashing forward about 10 minutes to the first major action sequence where Beekeeper Adam Clay has waltzed his way into the call center to burn it to the ground, there is also emotional weight let alone the brutal weight of his fists smashing faces. Here is a protagonist who is deathly serious about not letting anyone get taken advantage of, especially the elderly, whom he sees as individuals who don’t always have someone to turn to for mental or financial help (his comparison also includes the tidbit that there are usually people ready to step in for children in need.) It’s also just plain old-school badass watching Adam/Jason Statham straight-up announce what he’s going to do to this building, casually forcing his way in and taking no prisoners.
From there, The Beekeeper continues with more action, obviously, but with less personal stakes. Instead, it begins to unspool the background of the Beekeeper as an enforcer for the various arms and legs of US government agencies, and a skilled killer ready to step in and correct wrongs. Naturally, this is done with copious amounts of bee metaphors. The problem is that it’s also convoluted and elaborate, which is not helped by how far up the chain this narrative inevitably goes, at one point involving a fictional President of the United States.
In charge of the several scammer call centers is Josh Hutcherson’s Derek Danforth, a silver-spooned crypto-bro hipster bitch who quickly finds out his racket has irritated the wrong man, working closely with Jeremy Irons’ Wallace Westwyld, a former CIA director with enough connections to ensure some protective reinforcements. This aspect also works best whenever the film introduces some of its more colorful personalities, such as a brute with a metal leg or a quirky, violent woman looking to usurp Adam as the Beekeeper.
Since The Beekeeper is directed by David Ayer, there is no shortage of truly gnarly wounds and blood to go with the expected Jason Statham bone-crunching brawls. It is, however, frustrating that the middle portion sags along before recovering for a rousing, killer finale at an estate. That’s without even mentioning that Eloise’s daughter also happens to be an FBI agent (Emmy Raver-Lampman) investigating the death of her mom, Adam, and everything else that happens, which quickly comes to feel unnecessary.
The Beekeeper certainly continues to deliver the expected ruthless carnage, but there is that disappointing feeling that the story has lost its emotional edge and is now going through more familiar action-flick motions.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★ ★
Robert Kojder is a member of the Chicago Film Critics Association and the Critics Choice Association. He is also the Flickering Myth Reviews Editor. Check here for new reviews, follow my Twitter or Letterboxd, or email me at MetalGearSolid719@gmail.com
