The Beekeeper

A delightful B-movie with a demented script by Kurt Wimmer, with extreme and bloody action. I don't understand who consulted and explained to the filmmakers the general workings of computers, how phishing takes place, what the lairs look like, where the millions disappear from the retirement accounts of American pensioners, but the result presented here is so over the top that I suspect Wimmer and David Ayer of making a satire of sorts. And Jason Statham is something of a force of nature. A hurricane that takes out the amoral call center fuckers, while looking like my dad watching cycling on TV. Ayer and Gabriel Beristain keep the visuals in check, and that's what makes the film look great. Josh Hutcherson, unfortunately, is not ugly enough as the vile perpetrator of all evil. He tries, but you just don't believe the self-absorbed prick. Jeremy Irons has virtually nothing to work with. And that security guard at the end, that's something. But what I enjoyed the most was the role of the FBI agent, a stay-at-home dad who figures out how to get out of work and all of Statham's destruction, only to have his stupid partner (Emmy Raver-Lampman) drag him into the hardest shit, only to change her mind about the whole thing. Maybe it's not even a B, it's a C. It's terribly bad, but I had a royal good time in places. Guilty pleasure? To bee or not to be? (17.05.2024)

Stathamovies were really thoroughly binge-watched by me at one point, and I'm glad that Jason is gradually returning to them. Beekeeper is truly the essence of all kinds of clichés from the eighties genres, and although I still see quite a few of these action movies, I haven't had such a strong feeling in a while that the things Statham is saying with a completely serious face are so crazy to the point of being lobotomized nonsense, that I facepalmed every five minutes. However, that's not what it's about, of course. The point is for Statham to kick as many thugs' butts as possible, and he certainly still does that credibly, and David Ayer will once again achieve a minor success in cinemas, although certainly not a critical one. But a good tip for genre fans. (14.02.2024)

A simple and straightforward classic Statham film, the kind that hasn't been around for a while. Granted, they're perfectly simple templates that actually almost always go along the lines of "pissed off Statham gets revenge on everyone else", but I still find this stuff incredibly entertaining. There’s nonstop action, the close combat is on full display, and the whole thing moves along nicely and is simply entertaining. You could accuse the film of being too simple, that the protagonist's goes through dozens of villains like a knife through butter, or that it is too far-fetched in places, but we've all actually got used to this within the "Statham" subgenre, so we can't help but shrug and just enjoy. I would have liked more R-rated blood and more brutal shots, but that's more than made up for by the dynamism of all the scenes and the solid hand-to-hand combat. An inoffensive genre addition spiced up with an interesting Beekeeper theme. (03.02.2024)

An enjoyable, simple, effective and gritty action flick from the old school, for fans of intense action. Jason Statham is an actor I'm always happy to see in an action film and this one is rather reminiscent of his films of 10 years back, but that's okay. Here we have a former agent of the mysterious Beekepers organization who goes to execute revenge on the scumbags who are robbing innocent and old people (phishing scams) (thanks to the organization's novel lore, it's at least a little more interesting). In short, we all love these roles of retired agents who have to get back into action, and Statham takes them down for the whole movie! There's a lot of action, Statham takes on both SWAT and Delta teams (no ordinary people, but all tough guys with experience, but even they don't stand a chance). There are some of those army tricks (the elevator scene is the best), or how Statham marches alone like the biggest dude among the whole SWAT unit, so that was a very cool moment. Too bad there weren't more agents from the Beekepers organization after him. The final act is cool too, with a bunch of assassins coming to the rescue, and the final duel with the fighter without a leg is intense and brutal as fuck. Statham uses maybe four types of martial arts – Aikido, Muay Thai, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and Kung Fu – and I thoroughly enjoyed it. David Ayer made me happy with this actioner right off the edge of the year. 8/10. (01.02.2024)

One dead bee caused by phishing scams, and Beekeeper Statham, climbing the hierarchical pyramid, will show them the true cost of honey. I like you, Jason, and I’ll be honest with you, even if I have to rip off the top button of your shirt to do so. This colossal nonsense about an immortal insect keeper is worth hardly two honeycombs. But I’m not mad at you. It’s not your fault that Kurt Wimmer is a fool. (05.02.2024)