Action star Jason Statham returns in a new revenge-laden film that while
thin on plot and character; it is loaded with the kind of action that fans of the genre should enjoy with “The Beekeeper” .
Statham stars as Adam Clay; a man who loves bees and spends his time
working with them in the barn of kindly Eloise Parker (Phylicia Rashad) who has rented the area to Adam so he can do his work in peace.
Adam is a quiet man but has a bond with Eloise as he says that she is the
only person who has really cared for him even though he is simply a person that rents space from her.
When a targeted scam takes everything from Eloise; Adam falls under the suspicion of the FBI Agent and Eloise’s daughter Verona (Emmy-Raver Lampman) who does not trust the mysterious Adam who upon an extensive background check appears to have no identity.
The scam is the work of the spoiled Derek Danforth (Josh Hutcherson) who uses his family power, wealth, and connections to run an elaborate system of offices that scam billions from vulnerable people.
The government is unable to locate and track the group and as such; they
have operated without consequences.
That is until Adam becomes involved and it is learned that he is a retired member of an elite secret organization that operates above and beyond all of the others and is basically tasked with ensuring that society or “The Hive” is protected from organizations, agencies, policies, etc that will deeply harm society in the long run.
Adam is at the top of the list and uses his expert and deadly skills to wage= a one-man war on those who have wronged Eloise and others even when it puts him on the wrong side of the law.
What follows is a violent series of encounters as Adam dispenses his own version of justice.
While it does not deviate from an established formula for the genre and offers little in the way of character development or unexpected twists; Director David Ayer knows what people wants and he gives the audience plenty of Stratham in action and often using some creative ways to deal with those who cross him.
The movie was a very enjoyable slice of action despite offering nothing
new.
What really makes it work is the interesting aspects of the character
and his organization and I do wonder if we could see a franchise in
the making as the audience seemed to really enjoy the ride as did I.
3 stars out of 5
