David Ayer is the director of The Beekeeper and Jason Statham plays the lead role of Adam Clay, who is a former member of an obscured group called The Beekeepers. Their purpose is doing different operations to save the planet which is known as The Hive among its members.
At this point in time, Clay is a retired ‘Beekeeper’ and is an actual keeper of bees. But when a friend of his gets killed by one of the dubious phishing companies, Clay is forced to change. It is embedded in mortal coils of vengeance which force him to peel away the Beekeeper’s uniform.
In commencing the review, I would like to appreciate a few positive aspects first, the most important of them is that it is an over-the-top ludicrous action film that is self aware of its absurdity. Indeed, it also enjoys much of its cheesiness especially the various gags and puns about bees. There are all these really corny bee-related punchlines and one-liners like it’s some comic book when this film is being enjoyed, “To bee or not to bee” etc.
Quite a few of those deluded me in the most hilarious way possible while some of them made me cringe but very much in a way I bet was very purposeful on the part of the movie makers. This is where you can see why it is important not to think too highly of this particular movie and why it is okay if the movie is even based on this ridiculous premise.
In terms of action, there are also a few giant set pieces which are entertaining too. In the influencing death scenes, I was emonished as were the audience upon some of the killings in the movie, and other portrayals of violence were just enjoyably over the top and the silliest, most purposeful attempts at stupidity.
I would even argue that the large battle that was the climax of the film was in fact well constructed as far as battle scenes go, and was probably one of the most enjoyable scenes in the entire plot. There is maybe one or two instances of close-up blurry footage and rapid cuts that I usually can’t stand, but these instances are few and far in between and at the end of the day, I was pleased and entertained from an action perspective.
Concerning the performances, I think that everyone is doing just fine. Jason Statham is playing the usual Jason Statham role that he can play sleep walking at this point in his career and it’s perfectly serviceable. I have to say I actually found Josh Hutcherson’s portrayal of the movie’s antagonist to be quite comic, showing a spoiled and whiny little brat who serves Jeremy Irons – and yes, Jeremy himself sportingly goes along with every single silliness his character has to go through. It is nice comic relief to such a villainous pair which works towards reviving the spirit of amusement which the film aims for.
The term ‘trying’ is very critical in that last statement and if I acknowledge the fact, yes the movie does have some entertainment to offer in it’s just dumb fun with it’s cliched over ambitiously action drama, at least that same form from a rather befuddling point of view in terms of direction and editing. To begin with, this is the only movie where it does actually appear like there are parts which are there but have been edited out.
There are some characters who will drift in from nowhere for probably just two scenes and after that, they would leave as abruptly as they came, and the audience will not have another chance to see them. For quite a large portion of the film certain parts of the actual story are excluded from the audience’s understanding so that for some time I was ready to accept the shortcoming of the motion picture and assume that it is only seeking to avoid overloading itself with explanations of everything and everyone, and then all of a sudden it occurred to me that some important scenes must have been missing from the final cut.
It’s aggravating considering that as I am guessing some of these scenes cut off were very impactful regarding some details of the actual The Beekeeper organization, it does not get fully developed as much as it should have been in relation to this narrative.
What’s also equally mysterious and infuriating is the editorial choice made by the filmmakers as to why they need to force the audience to invest emotionally on this sub plot involving two FBI agents. One would expect some emotional buy-in to it for the reason that one of the agents happens to be the daughter of the woman who is depicted getting killed at the beginning of the The Beekeeper movie, but it just appears like something added that is unnecessary.
If the movie had just struck this out, we probably would’ve spent more time in addressing and exploring the peripheral characters and story beats that deserve more portrayal than they get.
Let’s bear in mind that this is not a shot in the dark and this film actually respects boundaries – but only just. True, it’s far from the devastation that Rebel Moon inflicted on what felt like a third to some of the most illustrious films out of Hollywood but this film does borrow heavily from the ‘John Wick’ stable particularly the call centre and the old man who warns the young male partner of the dangerous skills of the protagonist.
All in all, The Beekeeper is one movie that presents itself well as a cheesy action film, which does not ask whys. This is a dumb and absurd movie, and a lot of people will appreciate it for that. I…relate to that, yes, but there is still one borderline in which I can’t make myself cross even in the slightest instinct of appreciating the movie as a whole.
There were just all too many instances of it being poorly held in the editorial sense – you just can’t fathom the dramatic destinies of the film and how it always walks away with a sense of incompleteness. To be honest, I do not really want to know whether or not this movie has anything like some director’s cut stored away in some safebox somewhere.
All I can say is that I have reached the extent at which I can indulge myself in these stories of some superhero or ex bad ass who leaves retirement yet again seeking vengeance on an antagonist. In the end, I just have some same emotions concerning them that some of the other people (including myself) currently have concerning comic book The Beekeeper films: Bored.
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