The new film “The Beekeeper” released by Amazon MGM Studios portrays multiple meanings of a Beekeeper: one ordinary and the other, you’ll have to watch to find out. This nonstop action-packed film follows a hardheaded, former military operative seeking vengeance for the death of the only person who truly ever loved and cared for him in his life. This film shows the impact someone can leave behind on you.
“The Beekeeper” is set in a peaceful modern day, and takes place in partially rural and urban areas. The film follows the vengeance, beekeeper and tenant Adam Clay (Jason Statham) obtains for the tragic passing of the kind, old lady he worked for and loved Eloise Parker (Phylicia Rashad). Eloise sadly takes her own life after falling victim to a phishing scam. After this tragedy Clay comes out of retirement from his past military job no one knew about. Eloise’s daughter Agent Veronica Parker (Emmy Raver-Lampman), starts to investigate her mother’s death as well and attempts to stop Clay before he does irreversible damage. The antagonist and leader of this phishing scam, Derek Danforth (Josh Hutcherson), sits back and uses his powerful family and connections to stop Clay.
The acting in this movie is something few people should pay attention to, as this is a non-stop action film and has few slow drama-filled scenes. I will say that Statham did a great job, as he played a low profile, quiet, and violent character, just like every other action-packed film he’s starred in. This was my first time seeing Phylicia Rashad and Raver-Lampman star in an action film. Raver-Lampman did a mediocre job, as she let the emotional side of her character interfere with some of the more serious scenes. I will cut her some slack as this was her first lead role in an action film. In the past, she has mainly been a voice actor in popular shows such as “Family Guy” and “American Dad”. On the other hand, Phylicia Rashad’s role was too short to judge, as she was only in the first 10 minutes of the film. Josh Hutcherson played a fantastic role as a rich, millennial character. He also did a great job mixing in some comedy as well.
I enjoyed the close-up, action-filled scenes. The amount of intensity and detail used in these parts were great, but some of them were too detailed as the sound of bones breaking and flesh ripping was a recurring theme. My favorite scenes were Clay forcefully entering his way into buildings and making his way to the top with high-intensity action. I specifically liked the first real action scene at the beginning of the movie, where Clay finds one of the scammer outposts, fights his way through security, and proceeds to burn the place down.
This movie is not morally accurate throughout most of it, but it does show the meaning of justice for the innocent. Eloise Parker truly cared about Adam Clay, something he never endured. Her death meant something to him, which is why he brought justice to her along with millions of other scamming victims. Viewers will learn that what took place is not the solution. You can bring justice in a legal way not through violence. It also shows you that there are some people you probably shouldn’t mess with.
Anyone who enjoys blood, fighting, and action will love to see this film. I recommend this film to anyone who is 13 years or older. If you are not into any detailed and graphic violence I would advise you not to watch this. This film was given an R rating due to the strong violence, pervasive language, some sexual references, and drug use throughout. This movie was awesome, and therefore I give it an 8.2/10.
