'The Beekeeper' Does Little To Standout Among The Hive
I'm not sure who's in charge of the marketing for The Beekeeper, but saying "from the director of Suicide Squad" isn't a ringing endorsement. Not to be confused with James Gunn's The Suicide Squad, a vastly superior picture. The film starts with a long opening credit sequence that does little to establish the mood. It's the perfect opportunity for an emergency pee break.
When the plot begins, it starts with a bang. Eloise Parker (Phylicia Rashad) is having a problem with her computer. An alarming message appears, informing her that her hard drive is in danger. On the error message is a phone number to call. When Eloise calls the number, she reaches a scam center. The scammers take everything Eloise has, flushing her bank accounts. When realizing what happened, Eloise knows it's too late to do anything, so she takes her own life. When the Beekeeper, AKA Adam Clay (Jason Statham), arrives at the scene, he's devastated. He vows to take revenege on the scammers ready to burn their operation down.
Eloise's daughter Verona (Emmy Raver) makes a mission to stop Adam on his one-person crusade. Why is Eloise so special to Adam? I understand she had her life ruined, but how does it affect him to the point where he wants to burn the entire scamming operation down? The most backstory we get between the two characters is an exchange with Adam and a supporting character. He tells the person he's speaking with that Eloise was the only person who cared for him. And that's it! There was no further exposition or reason, just that she was special to him for no said reason. The film wants to jump into the action and out of the exposition as much as possible. However, much of the exposition is focused on how the scamming agency works. It's a giant conspiracy that leads all the way up to the top branch of government.
Some of that time talking about the scammer conspiracy could have been spent on Adam's relationship with Eloise. Her suicide doesn't fully explain WHY she meant so much to Adam. The movie is too preoccupied with jumping from one location to another, with little time for character development. I get it; this is an action movie, not My Dinner With Andre. But I'd like to see what drives the character. Most of the picture is spent with people making phone calls to each other. They try to find out who this Beekeeper is and why he's going on a rampage. There's a constant analogy about the Beekeeper having to keep the hive safe, so they take out the queen bee and become the new queen. In other words, the scammers are disrupting society, praying upon the hard-working commoner's bank accounts. Adam's there to take them down and bring balance to the system.
Within less than ten minutes, Jason Statham is bodying thugs. The retribution against the scammers of America is sweet to watch. The kills are plentiful and action high-octane. There are several moments where the crowd was yelling "OH" or "AH." Although fun, the takedowns are nothing new. They're the usual weapon disarmament, fist fights, torture, and takedowns. The action is fun but nothing big to write about. In fact, the trailer gives away the best parts. So avoid it all costs (even if I did put it in the head of my review)
The plot of the film is paper thin. Scammers take away an elderly lady's money, causing her to commit suicide, and her friend, the Beekeeper, exacts terrible vengeance. Everyone tries to stop him, but as we all know, Jason Statham is an unstoppable killing force. It's the classic story of bad guys pissing off the wrong individual. The supporting cast is fine with the prominent role of the top mob boss, played by Jeremy Irons. They do what they can to keep things moving, but there's little story for them to elevate.
This film, by all accounts, is a Jason Statham action vehicle. The odd thing is he lacks a lot of screen time. Much of it goes to Josh Hutcherson yelling obscenities into the phone. It's not very entertaining, bordering on the line of annoying. When the film wraps, it does so abruptly, leaving many questions to be answered. The Beekeeper, like Suicide Squad, is rushed. Unlike that film, The Beekeeper isn't a hot mess. It's more of a typical action film that should satisfy fans of the genre. The Beekeeper is filled with enough blood, broken glass, and explosions to make an action buff giddy. If only it had more insight into its protagonist instead of being intentionally vague, could the movie be more memorable than forgettable. Even worse, Adam Clay is supposed to be a hero, yet he does villainous things.
He kills swat team members who aren't part of the mob Adam's taking on. They're just guys doing their regular jobs. Yet they get in Adam's way, so he mercilessly kills them. How's that heroic? After the movie's sudden end, I couldn't help but self exclaim, "That's it?" Indeed it is, and there wasn't much to be excited about.
