‘The Beekeeper’: Jason Statham Goes on a Fresh Rampage in Absurd Revenge Thriller

Alci Rengifo

Aside from grown ups in tights, the defining superhero of the last decade has been the middle-aged avenger. You know how the story goes. A graying, deceptively nice guy handles an odd job before circumstances inspire him to unleash the deadly killer hiding within. It’s Jason Statham’s turn to fill in those shoes now in “The Beekeeper.” Director David Ayer, an expert in disturbed men and brutal violence, delivers what amounts to one his most curiously standard movies. It almost feels written by A.I. or by a director who just wanted an excuse to use lots of honey jars for production design. It’s so ludicrous only those who are truly devoted to this sort of movie might find merit in the madness.

Statham is Adam Clay, an expectedly quiet sort who spends his time tending to bee hives on a small corner of land he rents from Eloise Parker (Phylicia Rashad), who is so nice we expect her to bring out milk and cookies. Alas, Eloise is soon swindled when a fake virus message on her computer sends her calling United Data Group. The company is a fraud overseen by slimy Garnett (David Witts), who with a squad of phone slaves robs Eloise of all her life savings and $2 million from a charity account. Distraught, the older woman kills herself. When Adam arrives on the scene, he instantly knows something terrible was done to his friend. Now determined to get revenge, Adam goes on a rampage, bringing back his dormant skills from the days he was a “Beekeeper,” meaning a super killer from one of those top secret government programs.

Yes, you read that correctly, the title carries a double meaning. In his previous life, Adam was a Beekeeper assassin working for the government, loyal to protecting his hive and demolishing the one of an enemy. Upon retirement, he simply moved on to be the real thing. That touch in the screenplay by Kurt Wimmer should inspire howls of laughter, though it’s appropriate for the zany, breakneck action Ayer is aiming for. He’s best known for a string of hyper violent thrillers, some obsessed with Latino gang culture like “The Tax Collector,” “Harsh Times” and the quite good “End of Watch.” When he switches to other genres one still sees his odd obsession with senseless killing. Ayers’ DC movie “Suicide Squad” is the bleakest of that studio’s crop. So it’s no surprise he has now landed in a popular genre that’s all about mowing down bad guys. 

There is nothing new in “The Beekeeper” in terms of premise that hasn’t been done better in “Taken” or “Nobody.” Ayer and Statham seem to realize this and go for it with scenes of cheerful absurdity. Adam walks into the villains’ call center and makes everyone repeat a pledge of vowing never to steal from the innocent before setting the place ablaze. He’s built for this movie with that famous, chiseled look and clenched jaw, never flinching when launching someone off a bridge or slicing off fingers. Stylistically the movie is fine to look at with Ayer and cinematographer Gabriel Beristain finding excuses to keep lighting man interiors with an amber or honey glow. Plenty of honey jars get smashed in this movie because you need that in a film titled “The Beekeeper.”

The rest of the lineup are clichés and afterthoughts. Adam is joined on his quest by FBI Agent Verona Parker (Emmy Raver-Lampman), Eloise’s daughter who naturally suspects Adam in her mother’s death before realizing the vast conspiracy at play. There are many layers of villains that start with Garnett and then move on to Derek (Josh Hutcherson), who helps run the big scam company and has a powerful dad, Wallace Westwyld (Jeremy Irons, what are you doing here?). Wallace is married to a powerful politician, Jessica Danforth (Jemma Redgrave), who seems suspiciously designed to evoke Hillary Clinton. It’s no surprise that Wallace was once director of the CIA, therefore he can call out a squad of Navy Seal and Delta Force jocks and warn them that the Beekeeper can easily kill them all. 

From then on, the movie progresses as you would expect. Adam and Verona bond and a massive pile of dead bodies are left in their wake. But there is an audience for these movies, maybe because they assure us that age is just a number and it’s never too late to be a merciless hero. Well, if your prior job description included some secluded corner of the government even the president knows nothing about. Ayer is a skilled director and “The Beekeeper” is not without style and efficient action scenes. Statham could perform this role in his sleep. It’s another dive into a honey pot that has been licked clean by many other killers out of retirement, leaving so many plot devices dead and buried.

“The Beekeeper” releases Jan. 12 in theaters nationwide.