"The Beekeper" Review: An Old-Fashioned Revenge Thriller

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The Beekeeper, which arrived in theaters earlier this year, provides everything one would want from an old-school revenge thriller. There’s a compelling set-up, a memorable villain and a few solid characters. There’s also a few great action scenes where the main character faces off against a motley crew of detestable rivals.

In this case, the great Phylicia Rashad leads the way in the story’s early moments. Rashad co-stars as Eloise Parker, a kind-hearted older woman who rents part of her garage to the reclusive Adam Clay (Statham), a quiet beekeeper. When Clay isn’t around, Parker falls for an online scam and mistakenly grants a group of cyber-thieves access to her online accounts. She loses everything.

After tragedy unfolds, Clay seeks revenge against the creeps and criminals who preyed on Parker.

Emmy Raver-Lampman co-stars here as FBI agent Verona Parker, Parker’s daughter. Early on, Verona meets Adam but as the story unfolds, they find themselves on opposite sides of the law as both pursue the case. Adam pursues it as a vigilante bent on revenge while Verona tries to uncover the truth as a law-enforcement agent.

The proceedings are relatively straightforward with the stakes being raised as Adam digs deeper and deeper into a corrupt scheme that left people like Eloise vulnerable to the whims of cyberpunks. There’s a lot of fun to be had here in watching the tight-lipped title character take on overconfident hucksters including their ringleader: the cocky and corrupt Derek Danforth, played as an entitled narcissist by Josh Hutcherson who seems to be enjoying his role here.   

The script by Kurt Wimmer also has a unique spin as it establishes the existence of a “beekeeper,” a top-secret agent who seeks to maintain order for the hive (in this case, the country). The government calls in the “beekeeper” when it’s necessary and this person operates outside of the law and pursues justice when the system becomes unbalanced. In the film, only top level officials and former officials including former CIA director Wallace Westwyld (Jeremy Irons) and director Janet Harward (Minnie Driver) know about this program but both realize how impotent they are when faced with a justice-seeking beekeeper.

Director David Ayer (End of Watch, Fury) knows how to frame the surroundings in a stylish way that ensures that the characters (especially the villains) and the situations pop off the screen. While the early scenes featuring Statham and Rashad suggest restraint, the latter scenes reflect a larger-than-life reality. From the over-the-top outfits that Danforth wears to the purplish-looking office space that the outlandish Mickey Garnett (David Witts) occupies while showing his minions how to steal from innocent elders, the film offers some exciting visuals for audiences to look at while Adam pursues justice.   

Although The Beekeeper follows a familiar path, it hits all the right notes and provides an old-fashioned revenge story packed with a lot of fun and some great stylistic touches. During the action-packed climax, Ayer throws a lot at the beekeeper, showing him taking on dozens of bodyguards and a group of eclectic criminals. It's an exciting climax to a film that more than delivers on its premise.

The Beekeeper is now available on Blu-Ray. It can be purchased by clicking here.

John Hanlon is a film and television critic. This article was published here with his permission. All rights reserved.