Honey, Honey (CREDIT: Daniel Smith/© 2024 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures Inc. All Rights Reserved)

Starring: Jason Statham, Emmy Raver-Lampman, Josh Hutcherson, Bobby Naderi, Jeremy Irons, Minnie Driver, Phylicia Rashad

Director: David Ayer

Running Time: 105 Minutes

Rating: R for Excessively Excessive Violence

Release Date: January 12, 2024 (Theaters)

What’s It About?: After his neighbor Eloise Parker (Phylicia Rashad) is scammed out of millions of dollars in a phishing scheme, a mysterious man known as Adam Clay (Jason Statham) takes it upon himself to wipe out the entire organization preying upon these vulnerable seniors.  Meanwhile, Eloise’s FBI agent daughter Verona (Emmy Raver-Lampman) starts investigating both Clay and the people who swindled her mother. It soon becomes clear that everyone is in for a lot more than they bargained for. The scamming operation is run by a tech bro master of the universe jerkoff (Josh Hutcherson) who is connected to some very powerful people, while Mr. Clay is the product of an organization known as “Beekeepers,” who were engineered to root out problems just like this one. But he’s gone rogue, and that does not bode well for anyone standing in his way.

What Made an Impression?: Hooking Our Sympathies: Who among us in 21st Century Planet Earth hasn’t been victimized by intrusive pop-up viruses or pushy call centers? Even if you’ve managed to escape without losing any cash or computer data, you know how much of a nuisance they are. So it’s not hard to understand Clay’s instinct to incinerate where it’s all happening. That has to be one of the most popular revenge fantasies nowadays. So it’s a bit of a shock that that destruction is merely the first blow in the War of Clay vs. The Scammers, instead of the final battle. Where does The Beekeeper go from there to keep the melee coming?
A Study in Extremes: As it turns out, the answer to that question is: turn Jason Statham into a one-man wrecking crew. That’s not exactly a new innovation, but director David Ayer takes the concept to grotesque extremes that I don’t think we’ve ever quite seen before. Where one punch to the head is enough to dispatch a foe, at least three more punches are added. And where the amputation of fingers is presumably enough to teach someone a lesson, he’s instead tied to a car and dragged into the bottom of a river. I suppose the idea being explored here is the consequence of creating super-soldiers, but the mysterious nature of the Beekeepers precludes the script from fully exploring that possibility. Either way, it’s not particularly pleasant to watch Mr. Clay execute his mayhem.
Ironing Out the Details: While I’m often put off by the sour worldview in David Ayer’s films, at least he’s able to attract top-notch talent in front of the camera. Statham can play this type of character in his sleep, and he’s not really being asked to elevate it higher than its B-movie trappings. But in the supporting roles, there is often room to deliver some gravitas, and who better to deliver than Jeremy Irons? With his pristinely pressed suits, he serves as a corporate executive tasked with making sure the operation runs smoothly. That description could also accurately describe the entirety of Irons’ acting career. If we must descend into a grotesque bloodbath, at least let the professionals chaperone us.

The Beekeeper is Recommended If You Like: January pulp, Classically trained actors in lowbrow flicks, Slamming appliances out of frustration

Grade: 2 out of 5 Hives