When someone says a movie is “so bad it’s good”, they usually mean it’s entertaining because of how bad it is, not because it’s actually good. The Beekeeper blurs that line. This movie is so ludicrously stupid that it begins to actually resemble something half decent. Is it a good movie? No, but you’re gonna have a good time watching it.
Let’s face it - David Ayer has delivered far more misses than hits. His last three films were major critical bombs, and it doesn’t seem like he’s learned much from his failures. The Beekeeper has so many of the same lousy elements - bad dialogue, stiff performances, rough editing - yet somehow, miraculously, it comes together. It’s like this is almost a good movie by accident. There’s no logical reason for it to work, but it kind of does.
This movie feels tailor-made for Jason Statham. He’s not doing anything we haven’t seen before, but he plays the role of bad-ass antihero well. He embodies the mysterious brooding persona of the beekeeper, wreaking havoc and dropping bodies effortlessly. Typecast? Yeah, but if it ain’t broke don’t fix it. The supporting cast… well, they’re in the movie too. Nobody turns in a memorable performance. Not even Jeremy Irons. It’s okay though, because you’re here to watch Statham kill folks and make honey. Everything else is just background noise.
Oh, I should also mention the movie most definitely lives up to its title. The number of bee related facts, puns, references and even major plot points is off the charts. Yes, that’s right - major story components and HUMAN character behaviours are shaped around bees. It’s so dumb, but also a big part of what separates this from a sea of similar generic action flicks. You wont bee-lieve how much of the dialogue is about bees (sorry, I had to throw one in).
The Beekeeper is everything you’d expect from an awful January action movie. However, through its sheer narrative stupidity and by embracing its nonsensical premise, it works far better than anyone could’ve ever expected.
2.5/5