Adam Clay is a peaceful beekeeper who rents a piece of land from a retiree and takes care of his hives in a remote corner of the United States. The day his owner is scammed by cybercriminals, loses everything and commits suicide, he embarks on a revenge that is as rapid as it is violent. Because Adam is not what he seems: he was part of an ultra-secret organization, the Beekeepers, killing machines that nothing can stop…
Mixing action film and beekeeping is not obvious. However, this is what screenwriter Kurt Wimmer managed to do, known for some successful science fiction productions (“Equilibrium” in 2002, “Ultraviolet” in 2006), but also for inglorious scripts like this one. from the last “Expendables” (2023), the 4th and worst film in the saga. But here, more inspired, he builds his entire story as an allegory around the hive (our society), the bees (all of us), and the hornets (the bad guys who threaten it), from which we are protected by the famous Beekeepers ( beekeepers).
It is Jason Statham who plays the title role, as monolithic in his expressions as flexible in his attacks, whether with his bare hand, with a dagger or with a firearm. The spectator can only enjoy his successive encounters with the poor villains who come across him. As a protagonist sums up towards the end of the film, “it looks like a tornado passed through there”.
Josh Hutcherson as an unscrupulous boss
Fans of the “Hunger Games” saga will be surprised to find actor Josh Hutcherson, who played Peeta to Jennifer Lawrence/Katniss Everdeen, here as the unscrupulous boss of Internet scammers. Another unusual presence, that of Jeremy Irons, formerly devoted to auteur works, who now no longer hesitates to venture into action films, where he always brings his natural class.
Director David Ayer, formerly author of excellent noir thrillers (“At the End of the Night” in 2008, on a screenplay by James Ellroy) before revising his ambitions downwards (the “Suicide Squad” of 2016), finds here a bit of its former glory, served by the scenario which does not shy away from any one-upmanship, presenting its cybercriminals as degenerate cousins of the traders already well struck by Scorsese’s “The Wolf of Wall Street”.
“The Beekeeper”, released in theaters in the United States and in several countries around the world and having done very well (more than $150 million in revenue for a budget four times smaller) before arriving here on Prime Video where it is currently number 1 in views, a sequel is not excluded. Why not a variation with other agricultural professions? We could easily see an angry horticulturist or a furious market gardener attacking the pests who constantly send us emails and SMS to suck up our data and empty our accounts!
American action film by David Ayer, with Jason Statham, Jeremy Irons, Emmy Raver-Lampman, Josh Hutcherson… 1h45. On Prime Video.
