Directed By David Ayer

Starring – Jason Statham, Emmy Raver-Lampman, Jeremy Irons

The Plot – In The Beekeeper, one man’s (Statham) brutal campaign for vengeance takes on national stakes after he is revealed to be a former operative of a powerful and clandestine organization known as “Beekeepers”.

Rated R for strong violence throughout, pervasive language, some sexual references and drug use.

THE BEEKEEPER | Official Restricted Trailer (youtube.com)

POSITIVES

With “John Wick”, screenwriter Derek Kolstad conjured a humanistic conflict of a man avenging the loss of his pet dog, as the last link to his deceased wife, and likewise here screenwriter Kurt Wimmer lashes us on to a set-up and antagonist that everyone can relate to, in phone scammers. This not only provides an appealing accessibility into the film that we weren’t privy to during the film’s marketing trailers, but also imbeds “The Beekeeper” with enough cathartic fun to make this ferocious fantasy come to life in the depths of an audience who has experienced this annoyance on plenty of occasions. Much credit equally goes to Ayer’s direction here, as he refuses to take his protagonist or his revenge tour too seriously, instead appraising elements of devilish delight in the vitriolic brutality that he unloads like the merchant of fate who has finally caught up to this awful people. Because of such, the intensity of action sequences is remarkably off of the charts, with crisp fight choreography and consistent energy that helps to override some of Ayer’s typical issues with claustrophobic framing and overzealous editing that obscures some of the clarity in depiction from what’s presented. Helping in this element is some boldly rich and immersively detailed sound designs that brandish the blunt brutality of every blow, with magnified intensity for atmospheric elements ring echoingly like the soundtrack for carnage that Statham instrumentalizes. If there is one reason to pay a little extra for the enhanced theatrical experience, it’s definitely sound that’s as unforgiving as it is articulately defined, making “The Beekeeper” and its action as close to three-dimensional as technically possible from within the divide of a silver screen. Aside from the action, Statham is just as brilliant as ever, commanding the mystique of this punishing figure with an assertive confidence that never withers, no matter how big the adversity. While this role is certainly nothing new or innovative with the extent of Statham’s documented career, it doesn’t make him any less perfect for the role, and between swiftly smooth movements of physicality that don’t seem slowed down by his 56 year age, and dry off-beat charisma that would fall flat in the hands of a weaker actor, he proves that he’s more than happy to maintain his impact as one of the single greatest action actors of all-time. Beyond Statham, there’s also quite a colorful group of assorted actors and actresses to solidify some surprises behind every corner with the ensemble, but especially Josh Hutcherson, with such an against type role as this spoiled C.E.O of scammers. Hutcherson vividly embodies the kind of cowardice and privilege that this role especially calls for, and considering he’s going against a ruthless madman who will stop at nothing to exact revenge for someone close to him being wronged by his system, bet that Hutcherson’s character exploits his connections until there are simply no more left. Lastly, I want to also commend Ayer’s sense of urgency within the developments of the narrative, as throughout 100 minutes of screen time the film rarely slows or stalls its sense of progression, creating an engagement that consistently builds towards something bigger in both the narrative and its pay-offs. Part of this helps with an opening act that is definitely the highlight of the film for me, with much of the action and interactions that were shown in the trailers, but credit also goes to the individual pacing of each scene or sequence, which never overstays its welcome, leaving the overall editing for the finished draft as light and energetic towards audiences with long-term attention deficits.

NEGATIVES

While “The Beekeeper” had just enough entertainment value for me to recommend it to action hungry audiences, it’s not without creative issues, especially in the depths of the script, which doesn’t always make the most of its minutes. Instead of focusing a majority of this film on Statham, the lore of underworld in the Beekeepers, or his surrounding actions, the film instead focuses the narrative on two outsider police officers, with interactions growing more tedious and even frustrating with each passing moment. I can understand this duo as being the eyes and ears that represents the exposition of the audience, but nothing in this film ever feels too cryptic or incoherrent to accurately pick up on, and as a result of each time the film’s second act forcefully cuts back to them to only repeat what we learned during the previous scene, it cuts energy from the engagement in ways that, while not boring to the integrity of the film, is alienating in separating the audience from the person we all came to see, and that’s Statham. As previously conveyed, there’s a lack of emphasis into the lore and world-building of this underground group of assassins that essentially goes nowhere besides them being the most dangerous badasses walking the planet, and while it helps to explain Statham’s distinct set of skills, it does little to understand the man behind the mayhem. Speaking of the protagonist’s skillset and the misuse of minutes within the run time, I wish that more vulnerability was unloaded on him, as the entirety of his physical conflicts, until the very last ten minutes, leaves unscathed and never even remotely tested against his opposition. This requires more suspension of disbelief than I care to admit, as Statham outlasts C.I.A agents, rogue wrecking crews and FBI armies with ease, keeping him from even breaking a sweat, let alone building some kind of atmospheric tension or ensuing drama to enhance the stakes and circumstances of what his character is fighting for. Aside from this, the dialogue is annoying in doses, primarily when the script attempts to tie as many of Statham’s actions to those of the bee colony. A couple of these would’ve been harmless enough to downright ignore, but it eventually becomes a chore that one of the police characters forcefully unloads on her partner, as the meandering metaphors start to stack like plates that you wish would just crash and scatter at any of the annoying moments. Finally, while much of the movie’s action maintains crowd-pleasing intensity within Ayer’s aggressive direction, the special effects used during scenes of big pay-offs left more to be desired, particularly the cheaply rendered C.G that stood out like a sore thumb. In my first and only engagement with this film thus far, I noticed three glaring instances where the artificiality in special effects fail to attain believability or influence in their appeal, and considering they come during key moments in exclamation points to Statham’s own aggressive efforts, they attain more unintentional laughter to their integrities than needed with scenes so ripe with the kind of adult gruesome brutality that consistently takes advantage of the cherished R-rating.

OVERALL
“The Beekeeper” stings with stunning action, absorbing sound designs and Statham squashing scammers, which help it to overcome the flaws of some its own creative limitations. While the film occasionally swells from its own sweetly syrupy indulgences of outsider perspectives and underwhelming artificiality of special effects, there’s just enough buzz to bask in the rarity of a fun January delight, with Jason serving as the master of mayhem to our own vengeful fantasies.

My Grade: 6/10 or C