Jason Statham doesn't really have a lot of variety in output as far as his films are concerned. One might argue that he is incapable of playing any other sort of role other than badass action guy and the closest he has ever really come to it was when Guy Ritchie put him on the map with Lock Stock and Snatch. Well that's how he landed on my radar anyway and I think that is probably also true for most people.
Statham has a long list of films that are basically the same thing: Loner type of guy who just wants to be left alone but for one reason or another he gets drawn into a revenge scheme where he has to take on a giant and normally arrogant organization to eventually get bloody results. The end is always the same: We never enter a Statham film thinking that there is any chance that he might actually fail. The Beekeeper is the same thing essentially but with an even more absurd enemy that he rather easily defeats: I'm not going to tell you what it is because that is part of what makes the movie more interesting than just every other Statham film.
Adam Clay is literally a beekeeper who lives in rural Massachusetts tending to his bees. He doesn't really interact with many people other than the older woman who lives in the house next to the barn that he rents. One day, while doing something on the internet the woman named Eloise gets scammed by hackers with ransomware and her computer is cleared out of all finances quickly. It totally erases all of her money including millions that she had worked to raise for a charity. Seriously distressed, she commits suicide and Clay is the prime suspect.
Clay ends up getting cleared of all charges but at no time does anyone think that he is anything other than just a simple beekeeper that collects and sells honey. Seeing as how this is a Statham film it doesn't take a genius to figure out that there is something much more violent and deadly about this man.
With the help of some pals that we are not made entirely aware of who they are at the time, Clay finds out who is responsible for scamming his long-time friend Eloise out of her money that resulted in her suicide. He goes to the office, and tells everyone in the building that he is going to burn the place to the ground. Anyone who physically confronts him gets torn to bits easily. This is where we are introduced to what we could already see coming that Clay is an ultra assassin that is not to be trifled with.
The story continues in a rather predictable pattern because he is not only interested in taking down this particular branch of whatever company this is, but all of it and all of the people that are in charge of it. This is where the story becomes more interesting because it isn't your typical no-name business or gangster sort of organization. I'm not going to reveal what it is even though it is likely pointed out in the trailer.
What makes this film so great is that the action is better than average as is the fight choreography. The type of killer that Statham portrays is a larger group known as beekeepers are operate outside of the authority of any government agency and are meant to maintain order in the "hive" that is the world by any means necessary. Society are the bees. There are some corny lines in there but it wouldn't be a true Statham film if it wasn't for those as well.
There will be no awards won here and when people cast Statham I don't think they are ever aiming to accomplish that. What we do get is great action and a story that skips a lot of the tiny details about a situation and just keeps us engrossed in the action. There are some pretty kick ass one-on-one fights in this and also the introduction of some pretty creative use of weaponry. It's just simple, low-commitment fun if you ask me and that is why I enjoyed it.
It pulled down more than $100 million at the box office and this number will likely continue to climb once global audiences get their hands on it. That's one thing about Statham: He may not be the greatest actor of all time, but his movies simply make money.
Should I watch it
I think you'd have to be some sort of person who only looks for artsy fartsy films to not get some of enjoyment out of this movie. Sure it's the typical one-man-army film that Statham has made dozens of but for the most part I like those as well. The fact that the movie addresses corruption and theft that I think we can all agree kind of sucks is just an added bonus. This is mindless fun and I enjoyed the hell out of it. I believe most other people will as well.
at least for now, the only way to legally watch this film is to go to cinemas. It will likely be released for rent on multiple services such as Amazon Prime in a few months