If you’re in the mood for low-stakes, big explosions, and a gruff male lead offering up the occasional pithy one-liner, then director David Ayer’s (Suicide Sqquad) lastest, The Beekeeper, action extravaganza is calling your name. Jason Statham stars as Adam Clay, a retired secret agent turned unassuming beekeeper, who goes on the hunt for the grifters who drove his landlady, Eloise Parker (Phylicia Rashad) to suicide. Yes, you should be getting huge “you messed with the wrong woman” meets “man with a ‘partiuclar’ set of skills” vibes about now. Screenwriter Kurt Wimmer (Expend4bles) didn’t stary too far from the top of the action/retired secret agent bag of tropes for this one. If you’re expecting subtle spycraft, stealthy moves, or earnes character development from this elite agent, The Beekeeper will sadly disappoint.
As should be expected, Clay both foes and federal agents stand between him and his target. Eloise’s daughter Agent Verona (Emmy Raver-Lampman) is one step behind him the entire time. Everything we learn about Clay’s past and the secret agency he worked for comes curtesy of her investigation. The upside: a solid backstory for the shadow organization Clay worked for. The downside: way to much data dumping dialogue, multiple lost opportunities to elevate the narrative beyond the generic. Adding to the trail of wasted opportunities, Ayer’s direction over plays into neop baby/golden child tropes for it’s take on scammer Derek Danforth (Josh Hutcherson) and the role of his long-suffering minder, ex-head of the CIA Wallace Westwyld (Jeremy Irons). Don’t take that to mean The Beekeeper isn’t entertaining. It is. Just don’t expect it to ever be more than the sum of it’s preposterous parts. Whatever juice David Ayer and Kury Wimmer had for building a wicked smart action-thriller full of twists and intriguing turns that works on multiple levels ran out a long, long time ago. But you won’t have to take my word for it, the extremely anticlimactic – and underwhelming – finale act tells the tale.
But if all you’re looking for a one-man wrecking crew cutting a loud path of destrution on his quest for vengence then lock in and enjoy this ridiucous ride.
♦
Director: David Ayer
Writers: Kurt Wimmer
Starring: Jason Statham, Emmy Raver-Lampman, Bobby Naderi, Josh Hutcherson
Runtime: 1 hr 45 min
Synopsis: One man’s 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.”
The Beekeeper opens wide in theaters January 12, 20224.