CNN
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Whereas the prospect of a Jason Statham motion car seemingly designed for many who discover “John Wick” too intellectually demanding has prospects, “The Beekeeper’s” revenge plot will get caught in convoluted detours. The star’s newest movie ought to entice flies, all proper, not with honey, however quite the stale aroma of its inane premise.
What might have been a easy setup begins a bit stiffly, however nicely sufficient: Statham’s Adam Clay is a quiet honey farmer renting some area from an aged lady (Phylicia Rashad) who experiences tragedy after being fleeced out of her cash by an elaborate on-line rip-off operation.
At first suspected by the girl’s daughter (“The Umbrella Academy’s” Emmy Raver-Lampman) – who’s an FBI agent, within the first of many silly coincidences – it seems Clay is a retired member of a super-secret group generally known as Beekeepers, devoted to defending the societal hive by rooting out evil, wherever it could be discovered.
OK, that’s sufficient cause to show Statham free, following a path that leads towards the rich and related inheritor to a household fortune, Derek Danforth (Josh Hutcherson, going via a wierd part between this and “Five Nights at Freddy’s”). Plenty of useless our bodies inevitably observe, in struggle scenes that really feel crisply environment friendly and brutal.
If solely director David Ayer (“Suicide Squad”) and author Kurt Wimmer (of the Statham-centric “Expend4bles”) had simply rolled with the cathartic attraction of vigilante justice. However no, the odd wrinkles hold piling up, from the previous CIA boss (Jeremy Irons, slumming) who heads safety for Danforth, dragging the wheels of presidency into the shenanigans, and even laboring (badly) to say one thing about corruption that proves weirdly pretentious and on the very least belongs in a a lot better film.
Though clearly recognized for his tough-guy credentials, Statham (who additionally produced the movie) can be recognized to dabble in droll wit in venues like his “Fast & Furious” appearances and even “The Meg” as he dances with big sharks. None of that’s on show right here, in a film the place, due to the dialogue, the occasional chuckles are often unintentional, apart from the road wherein Statham’s character encapsulates the entire movie: “You’ve legal guidelines for this stuff till they fail. Then you’ve got me.”
Granted, January film releases are typically of the counter-programming selection, providing alternate options (typically in motion or horror) as an escape from the status movies enjoying out their runs into awards season.
Nobody would confuse “The Beekeeper” with the latter, however even tapping into probably the most primary impulses of the motion style’s hive thoughts, it fails for example of the previous, too.
“The Beekeeper” premieres January 12 in US theaters. It’s rated R.