The Beekeeper is a movie that will make those YouTubers who troll scam call centers happy. While they spend their day remoting into scammer’s computers, Jason Statham is out here loaded with gasoline cans ready to burn this mother down. He’s a hero of the people.
The flick is about a woman who gets conned by a predator… she’s played by Phylicia Rashad (<insert Bill Cosby joke here>). Her tenant is a beekeeper played by Jason Statham… and to the surprise of nobody ever, he’s more than just your friendly, neighborhood apiarist. He’s also <gasp> a super secret badass who never gets hurt, never strains himself with acting, and beats everyone up no problem… He’s three-dimensional!
Statham’s made this movie a half a dozen times already… just change his job title and voila… instant B grade action flick. But what makes this generic action vehicle better than usual is that the director has a certain set of skills. David Ayer is just a better director than these B grade action films usually get. So while this film has a whatever plot with whatever stakes, it’s shot with a certain crunchiness and glitz that makes it stand out from the crowd.
Is it a GOOD movie? Well, it has its charms and the action is generally pretty good. But it IS generic to the point I wondered if maybe they were taking this piss. Like maybe there was some satire of the B tier of action films Statham gets plugged into… but I don’t think so.
<RANDOM ASIDE>The roll of Beekeeper has thematic ties to the idea that Statham’s character is the protector of the Hive… the Hive being a metaphor for the innocent and exploited among us. But I’d like to remind the screenwriter that a beekeeper is only protecting bees in order to exploit them for honey. Kind of like how call center scammers exploit people in this flick. Sir, your metaphor is showing.</RANDOM ASIDE>
The Beekeeper is a pretty good action flick. It’s better than most of Statham’s other generic films go due to Ayer’s visual and kinetic skill. Unlike a number of Statham’s movies, I might even remember this one in a year. How about that?
Score: 78