Action man Statham floats like a butterfly but weak plot stings like a B-movie bruiser
Jason Statham has been one of Hollywood’s most reliable action heroes for more than 20 years. And the English actor, 56, shows no signs of slowing down.
In the last year alone he has starred in five additions to the genre – Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre, Fast X, Meg 2: The Trench, Expend4bles and now The Beekeeper in which he teams up with director David Ayer (Fury, Bright and Suicide Squad).
Statham plays Adam Clay, a beekeeper who works in the barn on Eloise Parker’s (Phylicia Rashad) property. Parker becomes the victim of an elaborate phishing fraud, which results in all of her money being stolen, as well as $2 million she protects for a charity. She later takes her own life.
As Parker was the only person who ever cared for and showed warmth towards Clay, he immediately seeks revenge against those responsible for her death. It soon becomes clear that Clay is not merely a quiet and lonely beekeeper. Instead, he is a highly trained former operative for one of the most covert organisations in the US government.
Rather than simply pulverising the people who took advantage of Parker, Clay sets out to bring down the entire multibillion-dollar company, run by Derek Danforth (Josh Hutcherson), in as violent and bloody a manner as possible. It quickly transpires that the company includes some prominent politicians. But, thankfully, Clay has no problem dishing out punishment to them, too.
The first half of The Beekeeper is an exhilarating dose of action filmmaking. Ayer and writer Kurt Wimmer (Salt, Equilibrium) waste no time in setting up the refreshingly simple plot and its stakes, before showing just how ruthless, smart and deadly Clay is.
While Statham may have played the same character throughout his action career, there is a good reason why his popularity has endured.
He is willing and able to deal with every sequence that is thrown his way. He can – believably – be lethal, intelligent, smooth, vulnerable, handsome, stylish and funny while looking like an everyman. He simply oozes charisma and presence that means you cannot take your eyes off him.
The Beekeeper is also enthralling during its opening 50 minutes as Ayer and Wimmer remind us exactly why audiences should hate on-screen villains – there is no character softening or sub-plots trying to explain away the evil deeds. Plus, who doesn’t hate cold calls?
It is all amplified by Hutcherson, who is clearly having a ball playing Danforth and makes the villain downright detestable. It is deeply satisfying to see Statham giving the arrogant and abhorrent cretins who work for him the comeuppance they so richly deserve, even if he does go somewhat overboard with his retribution.
During the film’s highs, watching Statham in full swing is enough to forgive The Beekeeper’s awful dialogue. Not only does it include an overabundance of bee analogies and references to hives, but Statham gives one speech about the elderly that is so on-the-nose, sincere and out of place that it is impossible not to laugh at it.
As The Beekeeper reaches its halfway mark, one question arises: Can it keep audiences emotionally engaged in Statham’s pursuit of vengeance while also raising the stakes and delivering the requisite action that the genre demands?
Unfortunately, it is a no. While its fighting sequences deliver, The Beekeeper’s attempt to take its plot to another level detracts from the intimate revenge storyline that initially made it powerful. At one point, Ayer seemingly embraces his inner Michael Bay and decides to go as over the top as possible with action sequences, especially in its preposterous and, frankly, rather stupid finale.
Despite its many obvious flaws and its inability to keep viewers invested in its characters, The Beekeeper is still fun.
More than that, it is a highly entertaining alternative to the awards contenders currently populating cinemas in the build-up to the Oscars, highlighting why imperfect dollops of cinematic escapism are just as important as serious and lofty films.