The Beekeeper
In The Beekeeper, Jason Statham plays an actual keeper of bees who also just so happens to be a retired super solider (no serum or anything, he’s just Jason Statham) from a covert government task squad known as The Beekeepers.
I’m halfway tempted to just stop right there because it so perfectly encapsulates what’s so great about The Beekeeper, a back to basics action flick that we used to get so much of in the 90’s. However, to compare this movie to that era of action filmmaking would be doing it a disservice. The Beekeeper has no interest with lounging in nostalgia, instead it steams ahead knowing it is simply a rock solid Statham flick with a decent budget and a movie star who can still whoop ass with the best of them.
The film opens with Statham tending to his bees in a barn he rents from Phylicia Rashad (Creed’s Mom). The two share a certain kinship with one another, with the bald man especially feeling like she’s the grandmother he never had, probably. Honestly, the movie doesn’t even try to explain their history is any way, and immediately barrels forward with Rashad getting scammed out of her life savings by Josh Hutcherson and his crew of hackers. After the sweet old lady takes her own life, Statham comes out of retirement in a bid to rid the world of the corruption and harm that Hutcherson and company have inflicted.
Yes, the plot is simple and to the point, but aside from it just serving as an excuse to let Statham make his way through dozens of goons, it actually stays very committed to its own bit. The Beekeeper believes in good over evil above all else, legal system be damned, and he’ll tell you so every chance he gets (usually with a metaphor involving bees). Again, it’s something that seems very simple and obvious, but it’s actually a relief to watch an action movie with a decent budget that has no time for moral ambiguity. The bad guys are bad and Jason Statham is good, and that’s that. Honestly, the movie treats Statham like he’s a superhero in that way, even going so far as to give him a big hero shot as he finally puts on his suit jacket as if he were Bruce Wayne suiting up in the batcave. Just incredible.
Like any standard superhero movie, Statham takes out an infinite amount of highly trained hired guns without so much as a scratch. Between this and the fact that everyone basically shits a brick anytime they hear that a beekeeper is coming for their ass gives Statham’s character a mythical quality. It’s only when The Beekeeper goes one on one with the biggest and baddest hired gun that he meets his match. The two trade blows over and over, when suddenly, as the two catch their breath for a moment, the goon says to Statham, “You’re just a man” as if he was trying to convince himself. It’s a quick but awesome moment, as the power of Statham has proven to be so strong, even the hardest of men aren’t sure if he’s human. Of course, Statham’s response is equally as captivating. Upon hearing the accusation that he is simply a man, he answers, “I know” before obliterating this dude for being a dumb idiot.
I know this all sounds ridiculous and over the top, and it is, but it really helps that you have actors like Jeremy Irons, Josh Hutcherson and even a brief cameo by Minnie Driver (!) that can help the viewer get on the movie’s wavelength. Along with Statham, these three actors know exactly what kind of movie they’re in and have a ball with it. Hutcherson in particular is having fun being the main bad guy and I honestly hope we see him more in the future.
In terms of three star action flicks, The Beekeeper is five stars. A perfectly enjoyable Statham vehicle that delivers on its promise of prestine Statham ass kickings. Don’t be dumb, watch this movie now.