The Beekeeper

Starring: Jason Statham, Emmy Raver-Lampman, Bobby Naderi, Josh Hutcherson, Jeremy Irons, David Witt, Michael Epp, Taylor James, Phylicia Rashad, Jemma Redgrave, Minnie Driver, Don Gilet
Directed by: David Ayer
Rating: R
Genre: Action, Thriller
2024

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: When an elderly woman (Phylicia Rashad) is scammed out of her life's savings, a friend with a mysterious past (Jason Statham) embarks on a journey of vengeance against those who wronged her.

Review:

Tim: The Beekeeper might seem like a silly idea for a movie, but it's a surprisingly effective revenge story. I had a lot of fun with this film, even as I recognized its weaknesses and shortcomings. This isn't a film that's going to reinvent anything- it delivers all things we've seen before. However, David Ayer approaches it all with a bit of flare and enough earnestness to work. The movie is pure entertainment, but it's one that I had a surprisingly fun time with.

The film scores a big hit by landing on the absolute worst villains- the antagonists here are the scum of the earth, who scam elderly people out of their life's savings by exploiting their unfamiliarity with technology. Within the context of the film, this is brilliant- these techno scumbags are the worst of the worst and it's a pure delight to see them get their comeuppance. That's truly one of the aspects of this film that works best- we're not seeing our protagonist face off against nameless Russians or some foreign enemy, but the worst domestic thieves you can imagine. Half of the fun here was seeing these jerks get tore apart. That was a huge success for this film.

The story itself is utterly predictable, but in this case, that's okay. Jason Statham's character goes scorched earth on the organization that destroyed his caretaker's life. We know exactly where this is going- so, no points for originality. However, the film executes on this story exceptionally well. All we want to do is see Statham outsmart and take down the bad guys. Ayer knows this and delivers plenty of scenes of exactly that- we see the smugness of the villains, and then their shock and awe as Statham rips through them. It's wildly entertaining. Statham's character doesn't face that many obstacles- the movie isn't interested in him overcoming odds, it just delights in seeing him blow through bad guys. This approach was done perhaps the best in Man on Fire, but John Wick fans will recognize the same feel. This movie isn't as good as those, but it does enough to stand on its own.

I've always liked Jason Statham, even when he's made consistently substandard movies. This is how films need to use him- he doesn't need to say a lot. He's stoic, a few quips now and then, and mostly in action mode. He still delivers one of the best kicks I've ever seen an actor perform. Seriously, watch this movie- it happens like three times. It's one of his signature moves and it's so fun to watch. Statham is great here- it's a safe role, but it leverages all of his strengths. He's the force taking down the big guys who picked on the little guys- it's predictable, but entertaining.

Emmy Raver-Lampman was solid in the second lead role. Her performance works and she brings a different energy to the film. I wouldn't say I loved her work, but it was effective. David Witts was excellent simply because it was so unbelievably easy to hate his character. He's the first face of the organization and he plays this slimy, arrogant tech bro brilliantly. One aspect of the film that was a bit harder to watch involved Josh Hutcherson. It felt like he might have been slightly miscast- it's not that his performance is bad- it's actually really good! It's just that Hutcherson is such a likeable guy- he'll always be Peeta to some. It was hard to watch him play this unlikable, flawed character. If it was easy to hate Witts, it felt impossible to hate Hutcherson. Now, this does bring an interesting complexity to his character. I thought Hutcherson embraced the role well, delivered a top notch performance, and yes, broke out of his comfort zone a bit. It's a good role for Hutcherson, but it was hard for me to root against him.

I thought Jeremy Irons delivered a solid, effective supporting performance. At first, it might seem like Irons is slumming a bit- however, he picked a solid movie to step into this role. He's such a good actor and he consistently elevates his role with a strong performance. It was fun seeing Minnie Driver here- it's been a while since I've seen her- but she's given so little to do. Phylicia Rashad was wonderfully cast and she delivers an essential performance. In just a few minutes, she makes us care about her character- the whole movie in some ways rests on her establishing this emotional connection to the audience early on. She accomplishes this, and the rest of the movie works. The rest of the cast is solid- Jemma Redgrave gives a nice performance, among others.

One aspect of the film that felt forced was the whole idea of the "Beekeepers". I struggled with this. In some ways, it was kind of cool to learn about this secret organization within the government. It felt like the movie tried to do some world-building like John Wick- it's just not nearly as effective here. Still, to differentiate this movie from many similar ones, I did appreciate that concept and exploration of what it means to be a beekeeper. I do think that it's utterly ridiculous that a member of the Beekeepers would retire, and then actually become a literal beekeeper. That felt so forced and utterly ridiculous. It's just bad writing- I see why it was done, but come on.

Now, I've seen enough of these smaller action movies to know that they usually don't turn out well. Shoot, Statham himself has made countless of these- The Bank Job, Cellular, Crank, Parker- I could go on and on. The Beekeeper seems like another forgettable one. However, with a solid script and effective direction from David Ayer, the movie is surprisingly good. I do have to acknowledge that the climax of the film really loses it. The suspension of disbelief required is immense and none of it makes much sense- the idea of upping the stakes was solid one, but how the movie does this, the story it tells is utterly ridiculous. The ending is so farfetched that it nearly sinks the movie. However, it was still fun to see Statham in this mode, and it did create some solid action sequences. So, while The Beekeeper was flawed, I enjoyed the film and had fun with it. It's not remotely close to great, but it was a solid, successful film.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 7



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: Homefront, The Transporter, Wrath of Man, End of Watch, The Tax Collector