With phone scams becoming more elaborate, it’s easy to understand and empathize with the wrath Jason Statham as The Beekeeper has when his elderly friend gets drained out of her entire life savings. It’s thrilling to see him punch his way into the scammers’ headquarters and burn the whole place to the ground. And when director David Ayer uses his extra hour to dial up the low stakes tech scheme into a nationwide scandal that implicates the entire U.S. government, it’s ludicrous, sure, but it’s somehow wildly entertaining. That being said, your mileage of the film highly depends on your tolerance for randomly dropped bee facts and silly bee puns, but The Beekeeper isn’t a terrible choice to watch.
Synopsis
One man's 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.
Storyline
After his neighbor falls for a phishing scam and is robbed of $2 million, Adam Clay leaves his quiet life and wreaks vengeance as a former operative of the mysterious Beekeepers.
TLDR
Look, is The Beekeeper a great movie? No. But it is a fun action B(ee)-movie that deserved the buzz.
What stands out
We’re here to see Jason Statham do his thing, and admittedly, his one-man crusade against a deeply corrupt system feels cathartic, bee puns aside, but Josh Hutcherson is a scene-stealer as a sleazy tech CEO with all of the money and none of the idealism.