The Beekeeper

⭐️ ⭐️ ½ (out of 5)

If any true action stars were left in Hollywood, Jason Statham would have proven to be a mainstay for the studios. He has found regular roles in The Fast and The Furious, Transporter, Expendables and Meg franchises, along with his continued work with director Guy Ritchie. The Beekeeper allows this hard-hitting actor to get busy with a new character that might be his latest series.

Adam Clay (Statham) looks to be a quiet, mild-mannered tenet who manages multiple hives on the property of retired schoolteacher Eloise Parker (Phylicia Rashad). The pair planned to enjoy a meal together after a long day of work, except Eloise does some online banking before the dinner. She is unwittingly scammed by a group that steals her life savings and that of the organisations she oversees. This leads her to take her own life, and once Adam is understood to not be involved in his landlord’s death, he begins a hunt for the perpetrators of the crime. Simultaneously, the victim's daughter, FBI agent Verona Parker (Emmy Raver-Lampman), tries to find out more about Adam Clay and the group that stole from her mother. Unbeknownst to her, Clay is a former ‘beekeeper’ who worked for years above the law in a secret outfit that brought justice where traditional law enforcement could not.

Reminiscent of the scorched-earth methods of John Wick with a healthy dose of 80’s action drama added into the mix, director David Ayer (Fury, Suicide Squad) delivers a familiar style of vigilante justice to cinemas. His action star has all the skills needed to take out a multitude of hired guns and a large contingent of law enforcement ranging from local police officers to the US Secret Service. Yet, it contains enough of the cringe-worthy dialogue that used to be relegated to Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone. A combination that will appeal to those looking for a heavy dose of violence without requiring much thought about the dialogue or logic.

If those are the film's strengths, the weaknesses would be the ever-changing society and the lack of a true villain. In this modern society where rampaging gunmen are in the news regularly, Statham’s methods cut a bit too close to the reality of our times. His actions seem justified, except his approach is hard to stomach as they look uncomfortable, like the nightly news. Yet, the weakest element of this whole project is the underwhelming and unconvincing role of Josh Hutcherson as rich-kid gone bad, Derek Danforth. Arguably, the story’s villain is the phishing industry itself. Still, as the poster child of this seedy money maker, The Hunger Games star fails to deliver. Despite Jeremy Irons and Minnie Driver's efforts to lift this side of the screenplay, all they proved to be was wasted in their anaemic roles.

The Beekeeper will get audiences buzzing if they want a throwback to action at the cinema. Most will realise that the dialogue merely drones on with little sting. Still, Statham and company will keep your attention all the way through to the predictable conclusion.

REEL DIALOGUE: Do we have to resort to vigilantism for justice?

Bringing forth justice can be a challenge for anyone. Still, in the case of personal situations, it moves to an entirely different level. Behind the action in this film, Adam Clay put himself into challenging situations. His character was forced to make decisions that not only affected the lives of the people around him but those impacted by the nefarious work of phishing.

His decisions on taking justice into his own hands, the film proves that categorising each situation into one category is difficult. Many contain moral, human, ethical and philosophical aspects that must be weighed internally and collectively. Where can people find the core to life's more significant challenges in regards to justice? Interestingly, the Bible answers most of the human decisions in The Beekeeper; God's Word might be worth a look at this area of life.

If you would like to discuss justice and God, reach out to us at Third Space. We would love to chat with you about this and more.