‘The Beekeeper’ Takes an Inch-Perfect Swing At Elevated Stupidity, and That’s a Compliment

There’s a sure subgenre of motion movie — most notably popularized by the Quick & Livid franchise — that, if judged by the identical metrics that one would maintain most motion pictures to, would fall flat on its face on account of fairly direly fumbling essentially the most fundamental storytelling fundamentals and grasp of an emotional core.

However in the event you consider these motion pictures within the conventional sense, you danger lacking out on observing an extremely curious feat; how they blow proper previous the “silly popcorn fodder” label, and land with each ft in a state so aware of and so dedicated to the nonsense at play, that they really handle to provide one thing not solely value watching, however sincerely satisfying.

The Beekeeper is certainly one of these motion pictures, and it wears that badge completely, which is exactly why it’s rated as excessive as it’s — and, concurrently, why it isn’t rated any greater.

Proper from the outset, The Beekeeper makes it very clear that it has no time for such inconsequential drivel as “plot” or “character improvement,” because it ushers out the inciting incident as shortly because it establishes it, and introduces our most important forged on the most recklessly incoherent tempo attainable; certainly, The Beekeeper leads by instance in telling us all to verify our standard movie expectations on the door. However what lens does it encourage we exchange them with, precisely?

As hinted at above, The Beekeeper thrives by committing to its personal nonsense; taking itself simply severely sufficient to keep away from any cheesy meta stylings, however not so severely as to counsel that they aren’t in on the joke that’s the movie’s script.

The story follows, insofar because it follows something, the exploits of protagonist Adam Clay — performed by Jason Statham, who, rightly or wrongly, slots into this model of filmmaking seamlessly — a former operative who as soon as belonged to a black ops group generally known as “Beekeepers,” as he rampages throughout the japanese United States in a violent bid to carry down a community of cyber criminals.

Stated cyber criminals don’t get a lot comeuppance from the arms of Statham’s Beekeeper, which, given how cathartic it most likely would have been to see, will possible disappoint some, however the motion sequences we do get are greater than satisfying, full with punchy choreography and sound design topped up with sufficient artistic set items to keep away from getting too monotonous. Refreshingly sufficient, the movie isn’t afraid to play with shade, both; the place different motion movies could go for a extra dreary backdrop, The Beekeeper is blissful to bask in a brighter palette on a number of events, which helps make its busier scenes pop whereas additionally additional signaling that it’s not treating itself as a extra severe motion movie would.

There’s not a lot in any respect in the way in which of notable performances, and that’s completely a results of this sort of film counting on its actors to, once more, take all of this nonsense severely, thereby forgoing any shot at really standing out, and as a substitute opening themselves as much as being evaluated primarily based on how effectively they dedicated to the film’s objective.

In that regard, everybody largely appeared to get the memo, with the extraordinarily particular exception of 1 Josh Hutcherson, whose character Derek Danforth — the ringleader of the expansive phishing operation that Adam Clay is focusing on — is undiluted, 12-dimensional douchebaggery.

Characterization-wise, Hutcherson does his job effectively, nevertheless it’s the way in which this specific character is written that serves as the most effective “in” to understanding simply what The Beekeeper has achieved, right here.

After Adam Clay’s first hit on certainly one of Derek’s name facilities, many characters of the movie are gripped by dread after they be taught of his standing as a former Beekeeper, and it’s by mentioned characters — mainly Jeremy Irons’ former CIA director, Wallace Westwyld — that we get a little bit of worldbuilding; worldbuilding that may successfully be summarized as “if the Beekeeper needs you useless, there’s nothing you are able to do about it.”

Derek presses for data, getting more and more fed up with imprecise solutions about “defending the hive” and “smoking out the hornets” and different bee-related euphemisms for going sicko mode on the world’s deplorables, his irritation relentlessly rising and rising proper up till he will get fatally shot within the head by the Beekeeper.

It’s in that second that The Beekeeper‘s particular area of interest states its case for being a brand new paradigm for artistic genius, insofar as such a factor can exist throughout the confines of a blatantly silly film. This can be a movie that calls for its actors take it severely precisely in order that we, the viewers, are free to do the alternative; that give-and-take may be very deliberately baked-in. So, Derek — the one character who didn’t take the Beekeeper severely — being the movie’s main climactic kill (once more, insofar as a kill will be thought of main or climactic in a film like this) connects the movie’s literal textual content with its artistic intentions; by not taking the Beekeeper state of affairs severely, Derek defied what the film demanded, and that karma got here again to him on an in-universe degree within the type of the Beekeeper coating the President’s workplace (sure, the “plot” takes us all the way in which to White Home) along with his mind matter. That’s what you get for not serving the hive, Derek.

However, regardless of understanding precisely what it needs to do, The Beekeeper doesn’t fairly have the stamina to stretch its bizarro motion film system even over it’s comparatively brief runtime of 1 hour and 46 minutes; by the third act, all of the honey jars have been thrown, all of the SWAT staff members have been disemboweled, and also you’re simply form of prepared for the joke to be over. If not for that aforementioned good excessive word it finally ends on, The Beekeeper would fizzle out in an virtually objectively unremarkable method.

In abstract, the plot is not sensible, there’s nothing resembling a significant character arc to be discovered, and, typically talking, there’s no instantly obvious motive you must stroll away from The Beekeeper feeling any type of satisfaction. And but, in the event you’re prepared to and able to taking a look at it for precisely what it’s, you’ll uncover a largely untapped breed of self-aware motion fare that, whereas toothless when in comparison with really nice movies, proves to be an enchanting instance of simply what number of other ways we are able to sincerely quantify leisure worth and creativity as an entire. If that’s not value one thing, I don’t know what’s.