“The Beekeeper” has notes of “The Equalizer,” “John Wick,” and “Jason Bourne.” That it works, and comes off as more serious and urgent than some of leading man Jason Statham’s other productions lies in its simplicity and return to action roots. It also helps that the film was written by Kurt Wimmer (“Equilibrium,” “Law Abiding Citizen”) and directed by David Ayer (writer of the award-winning “Training Day”). It also gives its Statham-led protagonist more to do and care about than some his prior efforts in the “Fast and the Furious” and the “The Expendables” franchises.
“The Beekeeper” is a film of simple retribution with some morality cooked in. Statham plays Adam Clay, a quiet man renting some farm space from an elderly woman, Eloise (Phylicia Rashad), who lives in the remote country. Clay is cloaked in secrecy; but when he tells Eloise she is the only one who has ever taken care of him, we believe it. We also believe his anger and following rampage when Eloise takes her own life after a charity she runs—and her personal finances—are wiped out when she falls for a phishing scam led by a duplicitous young man, Derek Danforth (Josh Hutcherson). You see, Clay is a ‘Beekeeper’—and not just in the opening, quiet scenes as he takes care of his apiary and produces honey, bottled in neat little jars. He was once a very dangerous man who worked for a secret government agency known as Beekeepers who work to protect the hive (a nod, doubtless, to the United States, society, its citizens, etc.).
A Moral Crusade Soaked in Violence
What works about “The Beekeeper” is we believe Adam Clay as a character. It also helps that Statham plays him with dead seriousness, with only motes of comic relief, as opposed to the opposite he played in “Hobbs and Shaw” and “The Meg.” When a man bottles honey with the precision and care of minting gold and squeezes orange juice slowly by hand, you know he’s capable of much more focused and monstrous things. Or at least that’s what director Ayer hopes, and in this case he’s right. And given Statham’s body of work, the following scene is no surprise where Clay drives up to the call center that runs the scam that defrauded Eloise and informs two security guards that he’s there to burn it down, holding two enormous gas cans in either hand. Of course they protest. And of course Clay drops them with the efficiency and flash of a hardcore mercenary.
In the script for “The Beekeeper” there was the risk for the film to become a morality play, just another Statham ass-kicker, or both. But what stands out about it is Clay’s seriousness and sometimes sadism, both of which are an offshoot of a very noble man who seeks to right wrongs that law enforcement and even the FBI seem ill-equipped to handle. Clay doesn’t necessary seek to kill the group of Wall Street-type fraudsters that ripped off Eloise, but he really doesn’t mind if they die, either. He does intend to make sure they don’t have the means or infrastructure to do it again. Their reluctance—especially Derek Danforth’s—to comply basically ensures escalating confrontations with bodies piling up in between.
Statham is Fun to Watch
The action for “The Beekeeper” is hard hitting and violent. The stunt team and choreographers do an interesting thing with Statham’s violence and make it brutal and forceful. The killing methods are wide and varied, utilizing cars, hammers, guns, metal objects, ropes, fists—and even staplers—but never reach the sometimes comical heights found in the “John Wick” series. Staham’s Adam Clay’s punches land with ferocity, inspired more by the mechanic brutality of Christian Bale’s ‘Batman’ than the elegance offered by martial arts. Ayer also takes steps to highlight Clay’s ability at espionage and wet work, underlining his ability to slip in to areas undetected and to kill with extreme prejudice. Jeremy Irons, playing an ex-CIA director who is now tasked by Danforth’s mother with babysitting Derek, says it best when he informs smart-mouthed Derek of the trouble he’s in. “If a Beekeeper wants you dead, you’re dead.
As an action movie, “The Beekeeper” delivers, helped by the cinematography by Gabriel Beristain, which is reminiscent of some of Ayer’s other projects, namely “Training Day” and “Harsh Times.” The camerawork isn’t so much exciting, but rather objective and bleak. And while the action escalates to what could have been cartoonish levels at times (specifically one sequence with the current Beekeeper—an insane Megan Le—vs. Clay), Statham’s mission—and the fact that we believe his morality—keep us watching. It doesn’t hurt that the filmmakers bring some new tricks the table to make things interesting. I’d never seen an action man kill someone with a jar of honey before, but now we’ve crossed that bridge and passed it.
Josh Hutcherson is a Good Villain
In fairness, “The Beekeeper” does have some problematic elements that work their way into the proceedings. There’s a pair of FBI agents (Bobby Naderi, Emmy Raver-Lampman) who work to piece together who the Beekeeper is with varying degrees of comedy and aloofness. There’s also the fact that Raver-Lampman’s character Verona was the mother of Eloise, and has already had a run-in with Clay earlier on, and incidentally set him on his path of death and destruction. She has a drinking problem and is kind of thinly written.
Also thinly written—and in ways the product of a screenplay that needed to end tidily—is Derek’s mother (Jemma Redgrave), who just happens to be the president of the United States. Film critic Matt Zoller Seitz laments that the film “wimps out” in the end in regards to its failing to indict systemic corruption, and he’s right. There was a real opportunity to show how Derek’s privileged mother led to Derek being the way he is… but I don’t blame the film for wanting to stick to straight action in lieu of this level of introspection. What I will say is Josh Hutcherson turns in a great performance and acts his socks off. You can’t see notes of “The Hunger Games” in his performance, only an entitled, unethical predator who sees no fault in his ways.
Not Perfect, but a Good Action Film
All-in-all, “The Beekeeper” is a good film. It brings the action in bucketfuls, yet never becomes overly gory or inappropriate. Statham is reserved and immovable, and has never been more fun to watch. The film is 1 hour and 45 minutes, and most of that is action. Could Ayer and Wimmer have written a deeper film with more introspection, character building, or drama? Sure. But it wouldn’t have been as entertaining as this, nor as brutal. I like the idea of the Beekeeper. And while the film seems like a one-off, it would be fun to have a continued franchise à la Jason Bourne or John Wick. If that’s not in the cards, at least we got to see Statham at the top of his game in a film that never lets up.
“The Beekeeper” is available to watch on most streaming services.
