During the Chicago Critics Film Festival, I saw a movie called Starring Jerry as Himself and I feel that film along with The Beekeeper would make a great double feature. Both films have the same premise about online scammers scheming older people for their money. The only difference between the two is that Jerry did not have Mr. Clay, played by Jason Statham, on his side to take down these despicable organizations. In The Beekeeper, Clay makes it his mission to get revenge on the people who hurt his friend.
Yes, the plot of the movie is pretty straightforward and that is all that you need to know. Someone hurt his friend and now he is going to get that person and anyone else who is associated with that person. Reminiscent of early 80s action films, The Beekeeper is a revenge movie where the main character does not talk much but delivers a lot of puns, in this case regarding bees, as he dishes out his form of punishment. The action sequences are intense and the body counts are high.
As we find out in the movie the Beekeepers are a sort of underground unit that was created to make sure the order of the hive is kept stable. If anything disrupts that order, the beekeepers are sent out to correct it by any means necessary. They will take out everyone in their path even the queen if it means restoring order in the hive. Yes, the word “hive” is used a lot in the movie and you may walk out of the theater learning a little more about bees than you knew walking in. Because of the Beekeeper’s reputation, the head of security, played by Jeremy Irons, knows that this is one beehive that should not have been kicked and there is nothing that can be done to stop it from stinging you.
The villains in this movie are comparable to bees in their order of status. The first ones that are taken care of are worker bees that make sure the drone bees are doing their job. In this case, the ones that run the call centers are the worker bees and the drones are the ones on the computers scamming the unfortunate soul on the other line of the phone. As Clay goes through these he finds that they all lead to the queen. Now the revelation of who the queen is pretty farfetched, there were some chuckles in the theater when it was revealed, but in today’s world, anyone can be connected to someone in power. I will just leave that there.
Josh Hutcherson,
Final Thoughts: The Beekeeper feels like a throwback to 80s action films starring Slyvester Stallone and Arnold Scchwartzeneggar. The film has a very basic plot of revenge and our main character barley talks in the movie. Jason Statham is great at being straighfaced while delivering bee puns throughout the movie. There are a lot of big action sequences and some over-the-top acting that make this movie a fun time in the theater.
Kid-Friendly: The movie does have a cautionary tale to it that is geared more to older generations than younger ones, but the idea of getting scammed online is universal. Due to the language and fight sequences, this would be a movie that your older children can watch. I would say 8th grade and up.
Violence: The Beekeeper is buzzing with violence. Jason Statham is delivering justice with his hands in some moments and using everything around him to protect the hive. There are stabbings, fingers getting cut off, and shoot outs that are typical fair for a Statham movie.
In The Beekeeper, one man’s brutal campaign for vengeance takes on national stakes after he is revealed to be a former operative of a powerful and clandestine organization known as “Beekeepers”.