“Who the f**k are you? Winnie-the-Pooh?” deadpans Agent Verona Parker (Emmy Raver-Lampman) early on in The Beekeeper, a pleasing indicator that everybody involved knows exactly the movie they’re making.
Jason Statham stars as Adam Clay, a former operative of a organisation known as the “Beekeepers”, now an actual beekeeper. But this isn’t a John Wick revenge tale as he hunts down those who killed his bees (although we would watch that setup too, if we’re honest).
Instead, in one of the few believable scenes of The Beekeeper, he’s taking revenge after his friend Eloise (Phylicia Rashad) is scammed. She dies by suicide after becoming a victim of a phishing scam, losing not only her life savings, but also those of a charity she works with.
Cue Clay taking an old phone out of one of his beehives and getting his revenge on. Within 20 minutes of The Beekeeper, he’s burning down a million-dollar arm of the phishing scam – and he’s only just getting started.
It’s a conspiracy that, naturally, goes much deeper than anybody expected. And if you still had any doubt that director David Ayer knew the movie he was making, it’s a conspiracy that culminates in a reveal so ludicrous that you have to applaud.
The script from Kurt Wimmer might not be the strongest, but it never passes up the opportunity for a bee pun, which is the important thing.
It also sees Statham called a “bee boy” and government agencies talking in the shadiest way possible. At one point, Minnie Driver’s CIA Director says with a straight face: “Why are you calling me on the ‘never call this line’ line?”
Wimmer’s script also smartly gives Clay one of the most slappable villains in recent history to deal with. Josh Hutcherson is exceptional as main antagonist Derek (yes, really), an overconfident, rich hipster with bleached tips and loud suits who runs the phishing scam and is fond of calling himself “daddy” when talking to his minions.
Along the way, there are various groups of foes that Clay has to punch his way through. We know he’s a good guy though, because he only kills the bad ones and merely incapacitates FBI agents.
And when Clay is punching away or dismembering somebody with a lift, The Beekeeper is a glorious watch.
Statham doing his own stunts adds an effectively crunchy feel to the fight sequences. He’s also done enough of these movies to perfectly pitch lines like: “You have laws for these things until they fail – then you have me”.
Sure, you could criticise several aspects of The Beekeeper, but there’s no way you’re watching this movie expecting something different to what you’re given. It might not be a great movie exactly, but you’ll be buzzing to see Jason Statham back doing what he does best.
