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.
I'm conflicted about 'The Beekeeper'.
On the one hand, it's fantastic entertainment as Jason Statham plays a brilliantly badass character - every scene with him is top, top notch. The editing, action and score are positives, though everything around those aforementioned elements is annoyingly very hit-and-miss... and I'm not sure how much the other bits affect my enjoyment.
Away from the great Statham, the cast are also up-and-down. Josh Hutcherson and Jeremy Irons are decent, I think inferior actors would've done much worse so those two do do well in fairness. Sadly, for Emmy Raver-Lampman & Co. on the FBI side of the story... not the best. I mean, they're OK but kinda boring at the same time.
Raver-Lampman's character is also quite lamely written, not the actress' fault of course but still. Without spoiling anything, I feel like her character should've been way more sympathetic to Clay's cause given the obvious - like, still 'do your job' absolutely but it's as if the character forgot what happened at the start of the movie.
The scummy organizations are also portrayed a bit too cartoony, based on what I've seen in real life about those sorta people is that they're usually lousy losers who happen to know how to do what they do - rather than 'Gen Z' (please do forgive me for using that term shudder) smartasses who party 24/7 as this 2024 release shows.
I'm happy with the rating I've settled on, Statham merited more though.
Review by SpiderJerusalemInTheMountainsVIP 2BlockedParent2024-01-30T18:48:31Z
Spoiler Free:
This movie has some very well choreographed fight scenes, and Statham does his bit as amazingly as always; but the story is very weak at points. I like the overall idea of the storyline, etc. (more details below in spoilers), but it just went a bit too far, almost like Crank, but not as successful. I still give this a 7, as I was entertained from beginning to end from the action, and honestly most of the acting was great (plus Phylicia Rashād and Jeremy Irons, I mean, come on!)
Spoilers Below:
I really like the idea of the beekeeper organization, similar to the Kingsman type of scenario, working independently but for the government, these always make for fun spy/action type movie. The second they switched to "Queen Slayer" mode, and he is on his way to kill the president's son, but they think the president, there was no ARMY of secret service in the room with the president, they just left here alone in a room with 1 FBI agent who happens to be the number 2 FBI officer?
I am sorry, but while the action in the entire attack on the President's location was so messed up; as if the secret service would EVER allow a private security force there fully armed... I don't even know who that dude in the amazing fight scene was supposed to be, outside of some badass who was the "hard-to-kill" enemy at the end...