NEW YORK (OSV News) – Cultivating bees may be regarded as a rather peaceful and meditative pursuit. But that doesn’t stop the title character of the preposterous action flick “The Beekeeper” (Amazon MGM) from going berserk when provoked.
Jason Statham plays the honey harvester in question, who goes by the name Adam Clay. Since, however, Adam is – what else? – an ex-elite operative with mad combat skills and a past he’s trying to escape, it’s a safe bet from the start that we’re dealing with an alias.
That makes him a man of mystery as well as the strong silent type. Who’d have guessed?
Just about the only person for whom Adam unbuttons his lip, on occasion, is elderly widow Eloise Parker (Phylicia Rashad), the lady from whom he rents the space needed to pursue his avocation. In fact, Eloise is the closest thing to a friend Adam has.
So when computer illiterate Eloise falls victim to online scammers who succeed in zeroing out not only all her personal accounts but the funds of a charity on whose board she serves, and she commits suicide in despair as a result, Adam is outraged. He’s also sufficiently enraged to embark on a mayhem-littered quest for revenge.
Adam proceeds to mow down anyone who stands between him and those responsible for the crime. The latter include a duo of minions, callous slickster Mickey “Boyd” Garnett (David Witts) and loopy moron Rico Anzalone (Enzo Cilenti), as well as the big boss, spoiled rich boy Derek Danforth (Josh Hutcherson).
But Adam doesn’t confine himself to targeting the security guards and mercenaries these villains employ, in ever increasing numbers, to protect them. He also fells legions of police and whole Army units. Thus Eloise’s daughter, Verona (Emmy Raver-Lampman), who just happens to be an FBI agent, finds her loyalties divided as she tracks the unstoppable killer.
As scripted by Kurt Wimmer and directed by David Ayer, Adam’s ludicrous rampage shows such utter contempt for reality that it could be taken as an over-the-top joke. But there are moments in the dialogue straight-facedly upholding Adam’s crusade and falsely pitting obedience to the law against ultimate justice.
Consequently, serious assessment of the silly story’s blatant immorality is required. But that needn’t be labored and can, perhaps, best be summarized by a bit of advice: Viewers should simply shoo this absurd apis away lest they be stung by it.
The film contains benignly viewed vigilantism, moments of extreme gore, several gruesome sights, drug use, about a half-dozen profanities, a few milder oaths, pervasive rough language and frequent crude expressions. The OSV News classification is O — morally offensive. The Motion Picture Association rating is R — restricted. Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian.
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