There are few pleasures in life that are as satisfying as watching Jason Statham royally mess up a bunch of baddies. There aren’t many action stars working today who do the no-nonsense hardman act quite as well. His special brand of stoic cockney charisma matched with brutal proficiency in fight sequences makes Statham one of a kind. It’s no mystery why he’s maintained a successful career in action films over the past several decades. Like all the best action heroes, Statham has made his share of great movies alongside as many not-so-great ones, but no matter the quality of the film, Statham always delivers. Alongside Parker, The Mechanic, and the first three Transporter films, The Beekeeper would rank as one of his best.
Statham plays Adam Clay – a mysterious beekeeper with an even more mysterious past – occupying the barn of Eloise Parker, a retired schoolteacher living alone in the Massachusetts countryside. One day, Eloise succumbs to the duplicitous methods of a phishing scam, losing millions in savings. Distraught, Eloise commits suicide. Clay, visiting that evening with a jar of honey for Eloise, comes across her body … No prizes for guessing what he does next!
In many ways The Beekeeper is Statham’s answer to John Wick; you’ve got a laconic protagonist with links to a shadowy covert organisation, armies of disposable thugs, ridiculous henchmen, wildly violent fights in neon-drenched rooms, and big-name actors delivering exposition about how goddamn dangerous the hero is (in this case Jeremy Irons).
Statham has little dialogue throughout, even less than usual, and what he does say is generally hive-based. The rest of the time he’s punching, kicking, shooting, and stabbing his way through innumerable enemies sent his way by a thinly-vailed version of a Paul brother – portrayed with slimy excellence by Josh Hutcherson. There’s a nice subplot with Statham being pursued by Eloise’s FBI agent daughter Verona, who uncovers disturbing links between the scammers and the White House.
There are no surprises in terms of its story, but The Beekeeper more than delivers what it promises. My partner pointed out the progressiveness seamlessly woven into the narrative, with well-written supporting characters and diverse representation – particularly in the cases of Emmy Raver-Lampman’s Verona and Jemma Redgrave’s President Danforth. The film’s adrenaline-pumping score adds greatly to the proceedings.
I for one would welcome another entry in The Beekeeper universe, and judging by how much is teased in its world-building, there’s a good chance more will follow.
4/5
