Film Excess - Free Ukraine - Stop Putin - End the war NOW!!: The Beekeeper (2024)

1/22/2024

The Beekeeper (2024) - Ayer and Statham go for the jugular

♥♥♥♥

Star Jason Statham looks intense while apparently dissolving into a swarm of bees on this mostly yellow poster for David Ayer's The Beekeeper

An elderly lady on a remote farm is phone-scammed out of all her savings. But the morally bankrupt crooks behind the scheme did not expect that her barn was housing a mysterious retired beekeeper.

The Beekeeper is written by Kurt Wimmer (Street Kings (2008)) and directed by David Ayer (Harsh Times (2005)).

Part of the charm of this hard-hitting escapism is that it is made without any pretense as to its nature or ambitions. Pairing one of the top action stars of our time, the slick, effective Jason Statham (Furious 7 (2015)) with one of the best testosterone-fueled macho action directors, Ayer, is a strong match, and for action fans an enjoyable one.

The story here is a thin veneer that would be suited for a cheap 1970s exploitation b-picture. And that's more or less exactly what The Beekeeper is, only it's a (not that) cheap 2020s exploitation b-picture. The setup is simple yet effective: Phone wire fraud scams are as widespread today as they are hated, and Phylicia Rashad (The Cosby Show (1984-92)) is ideal as the sympathetic, innocent 'old' lady that the viper's nest of scammer douchebags wring dry. Her drastic reaction justifies the finger-cutting, neck-stabbing, auto-drowning, live-incinerating train of manic vengeance that Statham's cipher character unleashes in response. Expletives and brutal violence go hand in hand, as the super-simple plot soon implicates not only local spaghetti trash Mickey Garnett (David Witts (Manhunt (2021, TV-series))) and his immediate boss, young worthless tech guru Josh Hutcherson (The Disaster Artist (2017)), - linking crypto investments to drugs and robbing the elderly in a neat bit of writing, - but also retired CIA director and current rich bastard father Jeremy Irons (Lolita (1997)), - a scoop casting for the film, - and his ex-wife, now a modern two-faced President of the US (Jemma Redgrave (Demon (2021))). There's also a crazed female beekeeper and a gonzo, spit-shooting, one-legged goon performance from Taylor James (Christmas Eve (2015)). Plus Emmy Raver-Lampman (Jane the Virgin (2019, TV-series)) as the personally implicated FBI agent with a giant afro and attitude to spare, who connects the dots and sometimes has Statham's back.

If this sounds outlandish but enjoyable, that's because it is. No, there's no sense in the beekeeper identity that basically has Statham a retired secret government killer, whose life is about keeping bees, collecting honey and stashing it in massive amounts in a barn in the middle of nowhere for eternity (until this shit happens!) And there's no brilliance in the pulpy developments. But they are mostly practical, CG-free action, delivered with all the elegance and refinement that goes along with having a massive pork chop slammed to your forehead. In other words, I dug it!

David Ayer: 2014 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED IV]
2014 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED III]
2014 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED II]

Sabotage (2014) or, Hardcore Badasses!

Watch a trailer for the film here

Cost: Reportedly 34 mil. $

Box office: 75.3 mil. $ and counting

= Too early to say

[The Beekeeper was released January 8 (Philippines) and runs 105 minutes. Shooting took place from September - December 2022 in Massachusetts and in England, including in London. The film opened #2, behind Mean Girls, to a long 18.5 mil. $ MLK opening weekend in North America, where it has just spent its 2nd weekend still at #2. It has 6 markets still scheduled for it to open in during January and February. Likely ending up a profitable endeavor, a 150+ mil. $ gross should likely secure a sequel. Ayer is announced to direct two upcoming films, the Sylvester Stallone co-written Levon's Trade, starring Statham, and a Dirty Dozen remake, - but might Beekeeper 2 come first? Statham is announced to return in Levon's Trade, Martin Zandvliet-helmed Russian mob movie Small Dark Look and Fast X: Part 2 (2025), - but again, who knows if Beekeeper 2 could arrive first? 11+k IMDb users have given The Beekeeper a 6.7/10 average rating.]

What do you think of The Beekeeper?

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William Friedkin has died

Born in Chicago, Friedkin accrued TV credits prior to his advance to the big screen as the director of Good TImes (1967), The Birthday Party (1968), The Night They Raided Minsky's (1968) and The Boys in the Band (1970) before his major breakthrough, The French Connection (1971), for which he won his only Oscar. He followed it up with the even bigger smash, The Exorcist (1973), arguably the best horror film of all time, for which he was Oscar-nominated. Later credits include Sorcerer (1977), Cruising (1980), To Live and Die in L.A. (1985), Rampage (1987), Rules of Engagement (2000), Killer Joe (2011) and The Devil and Father Amorth (2017, documentary). Friedkin passed away at age 87. R.I.P.

Louise Fletcher has passed away

Born in Alabama to deaf parents, Fletcher got her first credits in late-1950s TV-series.She took a 10 year-long sabbatical to devote her time to motherhood after the release of A Gathering of Eagles, but then came back and soon saw her career's most important part, as Nurse Ratched in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975), for which she won her sole Oscar. Later credits include Exorcist II: The Heretic (1977), The Lucky Star (1980), Brainstorm (1983), Two Moon Junction (1988), Cruel Intentions (1999), A Perfect Man (2013) and many more. Fletcher passed away at age 88. R.I.P.

Jean-Luc Godard has passed away

Born in Paris, France, Godard lived much of his life in Switzerland. He wrote for French film criticism magazine Cahiers du Cinema and became foundational for the New French Wave that inspired new waves in scores of other countries across the world with his Breathless (1960). Later credits include A Woman Is A Woman (1961), Vivre Sa Vie (1962), Le Petit Soldat (1962), Contempt (1963), Alphaville (1965), Pierrot le Fou (1965), 2 or 3 Things I Know About Her (1967), Weekend (1967), Every Man for Himself (1980), King Lear (1987), Century of Cinema (1995, documentary), Goodbye to Language (2014) and many more. Godard died of assisted suicide at age 91. R.I.P.

Wolfgang Petersen has died

James Caan has died

Caan was born the son of Jewish immigrants from Germany in New York. He got his start on TV in the early 1960s. His credits include El Dorado (1966), The Rain People (1969), Brian's Song (1971, TV movie), The Godfather (1972), - for which he earned his only Oscar nomination, - Slither (1973), The Gambler (1974), Funny Lady (1975), Rollerball (1975), Silent Movie (1976), Hide in Plain Sight (1980), - the only film he also directed, - Thief (1981), Misery (1990), Honeymoon in Vegas (1992), Bottle Rocket (1996), Eraser (1996), Dogville (2003), Elf (2003), Las Vegas (2003-07), Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs (2009) and many more. Caan passed away at age 82. R.I.P.

Jean-Louis Trintignant has died

Born in Vaucluse, France, Trintignant's theatrical debut as an actor was in If All the Guys in the World... (1955). Later credits include ...And God Created Woman (1956), The Seven Deadly Sins (1961), Inferno (1964), A Man and A Woman (1966), My Love, My Love (1967), A Man to Kill (1967), The Great Silence (1968), Z (1969), The Assassination (1972), Three Colors: Red (1994), Amour (2012), Happy End (2017) and many more. He also wrote and directed two films in the 1970s. Trintignant passed away at age 91. R.I.P.

Ray Liotta has died

Adopted from an orphenage at a young age, Liotta got hooked on acting in high school. He had various TV credits in the late 1970s and early 80s, with his film debut in The Lonely Lady (1983). Later credits include Something Wild (1986), Field of Dreams (1989), Goodfellas (1990), Cop Land (1997), Hannibal (2001), Blow (2001), Narc (2002), John Q (2002), Identity (2003), Observe and Report (2009), Youth in Revolt (2009), The Details (2011), Killing THem Softly (2012), The Place Beyond the Pines (2012), Shades of Blue (2016-18), The Simpsons (2018, TV-series), Marriage Story (2019), The Many Saints of Newark (2021), Black Bird (2022, TV-series) and many more. Liotta passed away at age 67 in his sleep while on production in the Dominican Republic. R.I.P.

Philip Baker Hall has died

Born in Ohio, Hall didn't start acting until he was 30. His long list of credits include Zabriskie Point (1970), Miami Vice (1987, TV-series), Midnight Run (1988), Ghostbusters II (1989), Cheers (1993, TV-series), Hard Eight (1996), The Rock (1996), Air Force One (1997), Boogie Nights (1997), Seinfeld (1991-98), Rush Hour (1998), The Insider (1999), Magnolia (1999), The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999), Bruce Almighty (2003), Dogville (2003), The Zodiac (2005), Zodiac (2007), Curb Your Enthusiasm (2004-09), Mr. Popper's Penguins (2011), Modern Family (2011-12) and many more. Hall passed away at age 90. R.I.P.

William Hurt has passed away

Born in Washington D.C., Hurt's first film role was the lead in Altered States (1980). Later credits include Body Heat (1981), The Big Chill (1983), Gorky Park (1983), Kiss of the Spider Woman (1985), for which he earned his only Oscar as Best Actor; Chilrdren of a Lesser God (1986), for which he was also Oscar-nominated; Broadcast News (1987), for which he was again Oscar-nominated; Smoke (1995), A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001), A History of Violence (2005), for which he was again Oscar-nominated; The Good Shepherd (2006), Into the Wild (2007), Robin Hood (2010) and many more. Hurt passed away at age 71. R.I.P.

Ivan Reitman has passed away

Born in Chechoslovakia, now Slovakia, Reitman's family fled the Soviet regime to Austria, then Toronto, when he was 4 years old. Reitman broke into movies as a director with Foxy Lady (1971). Later credits include Cannibal Girls (1973), Meatballs (1979), Stripes (1981), Ghostbusters (1984), Twins (1988), Ghostbusters II (1989), Kindergarten Cop (1990), Junior (1994), Father's Day (1997), Evolution (1998), No Strings Attached (2011), Draft Day (2014) and more. Reitman's son Jason Reitman is also a great filmmaker. Reitman passed away at age 75. R.I.P.

Film Excess - Free Ukraine - Stop Putin - End the war NOW!!

Eagerly anticipating this week ... (5-24)

1/22/2024

The Beekeeper (2024) - Ayer and Statham go for the jugular

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