Hollywood is all about franchises, ie. discovering the precise materials to show into an enormous, worthwhile property irrespective of how ill-advised they’re. ( you, Darkish Universe.) Each every so often, nonetheless, a film comes alongside that feels tailor made for an expansive cinematic universe — a film that, had it been made 20 or 30 years in the past, would have spawned a well-liked five-film franchise of, on the very least, straight to DVD sequels. I am speaking concerning the likes of 2023’s “The Pope’s Exorcist” and “The Beekeeper.”
Launched in 2024, the latter movie follows Jason Statham as Adam Clay, an strange beekeeper who simply occurs to be a former murderer working for a secret authorities group generally known as (you guessed it!) The Beekeepers. After his aged neighbor and good friend will get scammed out of all her cash in a phishing scheme, Clay decides to un-retire and begin punishing your entire phishing rip-off operation. Solely, it’s not only a random man on his laptop, however an operation that goes all the best way to the highest in additional ludicrous methods than you may think about. This delightfully ridiculous film might additionally make for a unbelievable double characteristic with “Thelma,” a movie that handles its personal aged phishing rip-off in a really totally different but no much less entertaining approach.
Evaluations have been largely favorable for “The Beekeeper,” notably with respect to Statham’s efficiency. /Movie’s Ben Pearson was much less enthused in his personal evaluate, admittedly, negatively evaluating the film to “John Wick” whereas nonetheless recognizing “there are many pleasing moments right here, and audiences who need nothing greater than a Jason Statham beat-’em-up will certainly be glad.”
All the identical, “The Beekeeper” went on to change into the primary field workplace hit of 2024, and is now gaining a second wind on streaming. In keeping with FlixPatrol, the movie is at present one of many prime 10 most-watched motion pictures on Prime Video, and it is best to completely test it out as quickly as potential.
Statham’s The Beekeeper is pure, ludicrous enjoyable
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
“The Beekeeper” does not simply have good motion scenes, it additionally has ridiculously enjoyable sequences like Statham throwing a pot of honey at a baddie wielding a machine gun, then tossing a lighter on the spilled honey, inflicting the baddie to be engulfed in flames as a result of — as one other character explains — honey is “Flammable as f***.” It is a scene so good that it impressed not one, however two /Movie workers members to check out whether or not honey was really flammable. Sadly, until Statham combined his honey with kerosene, honey isn’t, in reality, flammable.
What makes the movie shine isn’t just its motion, but in addition the distinctive mythology at play, which makes the world of “The Beekeeper” really feel larger and primed for extra tales. It is the a lot sillier, DTV model of “John Wick,” and if that might change into an enormous franchise, so ought to this one. Plus, in contrast to “John Wick,” this film is determinedly single-minded in its anti-establishment parable, ending with a very outlandish and awe-inspiring conclusion that begs to be adopted up in a sequel.
