Mixed feelings about this one. I'm a die-hard Jason Statham fan since I first saw him in The Transporter and he was vintage Statham here, showing us that he still has some moves left. I will say that I'm glad I read a couple of reviews on here before watching the movie, or I would have been sorely disappointed that it was such a blatant ripoff of John Wick (still one of my favorite action movies). Much like the JW movies, The Beekeeper is extremely over-the-top simply unbelievable non-stop action with a veritable one-man unstoppable machine who can take out entire squads of police, SWAT, FBI, Secret Service, and even the elite "Special Forces"-type mercenaries who all (at times simultaneously) congregate to take him out. In fact, it was SO "over-the-top" that it was ridiculous at times but still fun to watch and laugh at. Reminiscent of the old 80's action flicks with Schwarzneggar, Stallone, etc where they could take down an entire battalion with scarcely a scratch. The story - what little bit there was of one - just got absolutely lost somewhere in here...maybe about 10 minutes in, in fact, in the middle of all the bedlam so it was difficult, at times, to know exactly WHAT this Beekeeper was fighting for. On the negative side (apart from all the aforementioned ridiculous unstoppable one-man army type stuff) was the "also-ran" cast, especially Emmy Raver-Lampman (as "Agent Verona Parker"). She was completely unbelievable, unlikable, and so easy to hope that at some point she would get shot and written out of the remaining film. The rest of the bunch were completely forgettable…with, perhaps, the exception of Phylicia Rashad, as Eloise. She actually made you feel some emotion for her as she portrayed the victim of cyber-theft. Another big letdown (for me) was the oh-so-abrupt conclusion; I mean, it was happening and then it wasn't...and you're left wondering, "That's it? That's all there is?!!" So, yeah, as a Jason Statham movie, I enjoyed it; probably won't be in a big hurry to re-watch this one simply because it IS just a big wad of Batman-esque "KAPOW! OOF! BAM! OUCH! ARGH! BIFF!" action that all points to...not really anything? Solid 5½ here, IMO. Watch it at your own risk.
Review by ShubesBlockedParent2024-02-21T02:11:23Z
Mixed feelings about this one. I'm a die-hard Jason Statham fan since I first saw him in The Transporter and he was vintage Statham here, showing us that he still has some moves left. I will say that I'm glad I read a couple of reviews on here before watching the movie, or I would have been sorely disappointed that it was such a blatant ripoff of John Wick (still one of my favorite action movies). Much like the JW movies, The Beekeeper is extremely over-the-top simply unbelievable non-stop action with a veritable one-man unstoppable machine who can take out entire squads of police, SWAT, FBI, Secret Service, and even the elite "Special Forces"-type mercenaries who all (at times simultaneously) congregate to take him out. In fact, it was SO "over-the-top" that it was ridiculous at times but still fun to watch and laugh at. Reminiscent of the old 80's action flicks with Schwarzneggar, Stallone, etc where they could take down an entire battalion with scarcely a scratch. The story - what little bit there was of one - just got absolutely lost somewhere in here...maybe about 10 minutes in, in fact, in the middle of all the bedlam so it was difficult, at times, to know exactly WHAT this Beekeeper was fighting for. On the negative side (apart from all the aforementioned ridiculous unstoppable one-man army type stuff) was the "also-ran" cast, especially Emmy Raver-Lampman (as "Agent Verona Parker"). She was completely unbelievable, unlikable, and so easy to hope that at some point she would get shot and written out of the remaining film. The rest of the bunch were completely forgettable…with, perhaps, the exception of Phylicia Rashad, as Eloise. She actually made you feel some emotion for her as she portrayed the victim of cyber-theft. Another big letdown (for me) was the oh-so-abrupt conclusion; I mean, it was happening and then it wasn't...and you're left wondering, "That's it? That's all there is?!!" So, yeah, as a Jason Statham movie, I enjoyed it; probably won't be in a big hurry to re-watch this one simply because it IS just a big wad of Batman-esque "KAPOW! OOF! BAM! OUCH! ARGH! BIFF!" action that all points to...not really anything? Solid 5½ here, IMO. Watch it at your own risk.