The Beekeeper

When my grandfather was alive i used to spend a lot of summers out in his summer cabin, he had a neighbor not far away who would sell home made honey. This was honey that his neighbor produced through his own honeycromb. So instead of buying honey from a super market my grandfather used to get fresh honey locally produced. I remember we tried some great ice cream topping it with the honey while having fresh brewed coffee on his porch. Those were good days and i still remember the glass jars that he used to keep the honey in, just in case he would need the honey for other things than just topping ice cream. From what i understand a lot of people are worried about the decline of living bees worldwide. As most of us know bees are a very important part of the eco system who help wild trees and wild flowers so we need to make sure bees survive. Luckily there are great non-profit organizations such as Save The Bees USA who work hard to make sure that all bee species will be able to survive into the future. They also educate children to learn about bees and why they are so important. If you want to find out more just google Save The Bees USA and you will see their official homepage with all information on what they do and how you can help them. Speaking of bees there is especially one classic horror film that i especially remember from the 70´s that i used to watch many times on VHS. And that is the 1978 horror film The Swarm from director Irwin Allen ( director of the 1961 sci fi disaster classic Voyage To The Bottom Of The Sea ). The Swarm tells the story of scientist Dr. Bradford Crane ( Michael Caine ) who discover that African killer bees are the cause of chaos that broke out in Texas, at a United States Air Force ICBM commander bunker. After this horrible attack Dr. Crane is worried that these African killer bees will attack civilians as well and warn everyone. The Swarm is a classic natural horror film in true 70´s horror style where actors such as Michael Caine ( Get Carter ), Katherine Ross ( from the 1975 classic The Stepford Wives ), Richard Widmark ( from the 1974 classic Murder On The Orient Express ) and many more legenday actors are included in this film. I highly recommend you pick up The Swarm on DVD or blu ray if you enjoy 70´s horror films. Speaking of bees in film i was suprised lat year when i heard action star Jason Statham was coming out with a new film in 2024 where he plays a beekeeper. You might think this is a drama film about bees but it seemed to be an action film in true classic Statham style. Directed by David Ayes who gave us the 2016 superhero action film Suicide Squad ( which i enjoyed but had issues with Jared Leto´s performance as The Joker ). I did watch The Beekeeper in cinema and the question is, does Statham still manage to do solid action films or is he running out of good ideas with his latest attempt to please his audience?

Retired schoolteacher Eloise Parker ( Phylicia Rashad ) lives by herself in a house out in Massachusetts, but she has a tenant in her barn, Adam Clay ( Jason Staham ), who is living a quiet life as a beekeeper. Eloise falls for a phishing scam and is robbed of over 2 Million U.S. dollars, the majority which belongs to a charity organization she manages. Devestated over all that happened, Eloise decides to take her own life. Adam find her inside the house and is seen by Eloise daughter FBI agent Veronika Parker ( Emmy Raver-Lampman ) as she arrest him. Veronika find out that Adam have no traces of gun powder on him and have nothing to do with Eloise´s suicide. However, Adam is not only a beekeeper but belong to a secret group known as the Beekeepers. He sets out to find everyone responsible and make sure they regret it.

To be honest i did not have really high expectations about The Beekeeper just in case i would be disappointed being a true Jason Statham fan. But this is honestly one of his better action films in recent years and i am so happy to see that he is able to deliver solid action films. The Beekeeper may sound like a pretty boring idea on paper, but don´t judge this film by the movie poster it is more entertaining than you might expect. To see Jason Statham do a different kind of character is actually a great idea, since he seems to be able to try more dramatic roles as well. Does this mean The Beekeeper have dramatic scenes? At least in the early beginning where we see his character Adam Clay living as a tenant in a barn where he works hard to produce honey. After the more dramatic opening scenes the film switches over to true classic Statham action and we are right back to where he belongs. The violence is of course really over the top with lots of fighting, the sound effects are really good during these fights and the quick dialogue works well even if some of dialogue scenes are a bit cheesy. I think in an action film like this you can´t take everything too seriously and just have a good time instead. Statham is known for looking a bit stiff with his facial expressions but it is when he actually goes into his character where the magic begins. Even if he knows how to punch people he knows how to act as well when some scenes need to be more dramatic. We have to talk about actress Emmy-Raver Lampman ( from the Netflix TV series The Umbrella Academy ) as the character Agent Verona Parker and i know some people are very divided about her character. I personally enjoyed her tough attitude and i feel she fit in well with the story. So any issues i have with The Beekeeper? Honestly not really since i actually had a good time with this film. Is it a bit over the top in some fighting scenes? Sure, but i honestly don´t care i just want to be entertained while watching a Statham film. Director David Ayes knows how to make fun action scenes and he proves that clearly in The Beekeeper by letting Statham go all in with extreme violence. The Beekeeper may not win a new audience unless they like Statham as an actor but if you are a fan i guarantee you will enjoy yourself. Who knew kicking ass and helping bees would be a great combination? The Beekeeper proves that this combination actually works.

Rating: DDD