The Beekeeper (2024 film)

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The Beekeeper
Release poster
Directed byDavid Ayer
Written byKurt Wimmer
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyGabriel Beristain
Edited byGeoffrey O'Brien
Music by
Production
companies
  • Miramax
  • Cedar Park
  • Punch Palace Productions
Distributed byMetro-Goldwyn-Mayer[1] (through Amazon MGM Studios)
Release date
  • January 12, 2024 (2024-01-12)
Running time
105 minutes[2]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$34 million
Box office$43.8 million[3][4]

The Beekeeper is a 2024 American action thriller film directed by David Ayer and written by Kurt Wimmer. The film stars Jason Statham, Emmy Raver-Lampman, Josh Hutcherson, Bobby Naderi, Minnie Driver, Phylicia Rashad and Jeremy Irons.

The Beekeeper was released in the United States by Amazon MGM Studios under the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures label on January 12, 2024. The film received generally positive reviews from critics and has grossed $43 million worldwide.

Plot

Eloise Parker is a retired schoolteacher who lives by herself on the Massachusetts countryside, but she has a tenant in her barn, a man named Adam Clay, who leads a quiet life as a beekeeper. One day, Eloise falls for a phishing scam and is robbed of over $2 million, the majority of which belongs to a charity organization she manages. Devastated, she takes her own life. Upon finding the body, Clay is immediately arrested by FBI agent Verona Parker, Eloise’s daughter. After Eloise's death is ruled a suicide, Clay is released. Verona tells Clay that the group that robbed Eloise has been on the FBI's radar for a while, but is difficult to track. She is pessimistic that they will ever be brought to justice even if they are found. Wanting justice for Eloise, Clay contacts the Beekeepers, a mysterious organization, to find the scammers responsible.

Clay receives an address for the scammers: a call center known as UDG, run by Mickey Garnett. Clay goes into UDG's building, and after scaring off the employees and taking down a handful of Garnett's men, blows up the building. Garnett informs his boss, technology executive Derek Danforth. Danforth sends Garnett to kill Clay; Garnett and his thugs find Clay and follow him to his barn. There, Clay quickly kills them all except for Garnett, whose fingers he cuts off before releasing him. Garnett calls Danforth while stopped at a bridge, informing him that Clay is a Beekeeper. Clay, having followed Garnett, kills him while Danforth listens over the phone, and then warns Danforth that he is coming after him.

Danforth goes to talk to Wallace Westwyld about Clay. Wallace, the former head of the CIA, is currently running security for Danforth Enterprises at the request of Derek's mother, Jessica. Concerned, Wallace contacts the current director of the CIA in hopes of stopping Clay. The director contacts the Beekeepers, and learns that Clay has retired from the organization. However, a Beekeeper is sent to kill Clay; Clay burns the agent to death and cuts off her finger, causing a gas station to explode in the process. The Beekeepers inform the CIA that they will remain neutral and not pursue Clay.

Meanwhile, Verona and her partner, Matt Wiley, have been following the crime scenes. They determine that Clay’s next target is the Nine Points Center in Boston, which manages Derek's call centers throughout the world, including UDG. After informing FBI Deputy Director Prigg that Clay is a Beekeeper, they receive full funding.

Wallace coordinates a group of ex-special forces personnel, revealing to them that the Beekeepers are a clandestine organization tasked with protecting the United States, operating above and beyond governmental jurisdiction. To have a chance at stopping Clay, Wallace orders the group to secure the inside of the Nine Points Building, while the FBI places their own SWAT team around the perimeter. Despite the special forces’ leader's insistence that the employees should be removed from the building first, Danforth lets them keep working. This allows Clay to quickly defeat the FBI SWAT team and infiltrate the building, taking down the manager, who reveals to Clay and the FBI that Derek Danforth is his boss.

Verona informs FBI Deputy Director Prigg that Derek Danforth actually runs both companies; both are owned by Danforth Enterprises, which is used by several US government agencies. Verona also brings up the point that not only will Clay attempt to kill Derek, but he may also kill Jessica, who is the president of the United States. Prigg gives them a blank check, and proceeds to inform the president.

Wallace, upset that Clay has escaped again, suggests that Derek Danforth stay with his mother for the time being, taking advantage of Secret Service protection. While at the president’s beachside mansion, Wallace hires a group of mercenaries.

Near the entrance to the president’s mansion, Clay climbs aboard the underside of a truck, switching places with a Secret Service agent to blend in at a party being held there. Verona notices Clay, but as he is about to be arrested, Clay activates bombs he placed on Secret Service trucks as a distraction in order to enter the mansion.

Meanwhile, inside the mansion, Prigg tells Jessica about her son's scam operation. Derek reveals that during her presidential campaign, Jessica was behind in the polls and needed funding. He used a CIA program to locate financial targets and scam them out of their money. Jessica decides that if and when Clay approaches, she will tell him and the world the truth about Derek’s use of the program. In this way, she hopes that he will grant mercy to her son. Enraged, Derek kills Prigg and takes his mother hostage. Clay fights his way to the president's office. He eventually reaches her office, being quickly joined by Verona and the rest of the FBI agents.

Verona tries to dissuade Clay from killing Jessica and Derek. Derek attempts to kill his mother, but Clay kills him first. Clay then jumps out of a nearby window. Despite Verona having a clear shot, she decides not to shoot Clay. He flees with the aid of the scuba gear he had hidden on the beach.

Cast

Production

Development

In August 2021, it was announced that Jason Statham would star in the film for Miramax, and would also serve as a producer.[7] David Ayer signed on to direct in May 2022.[8]

Filming

Principal photography began in September 2022 in the United Kingdom.[1] In October, Statham shot scenes at Tyringham Hall in Tyringham.[9] Filming wrapped that December.[10]

Release

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) acquired the film's distribution rights in the United States in August 2022.[1] In February 2023, Sky Cinema acquired the rights in the United Kingdom.[6] It was released by Amazon MGM Studios on January 12, 2024, in conventional theaters and in Dolby Cinema and IMAX.[11][5]

Reception

Box office

As of January 18, 2024, The Beekeeper has grossed $22.7 million in the United States and Canada, and $21.1 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $43.8 million.[3][4]

In the United States and Canada, The Beekeeper was released alongside Mean Girls and The Book of Clarence, and was projected to gross $17–19 million from 3,303 theaters in its opening weekend.[12] It made $6.7 million on its first day, including $2.4 million from Thursday night previews. It went on to debut to $16.7 million, finishing second behind Mean Girls.[13]

Critical response

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 71% of 142 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 5.9/10. The website's consensus reads: "Cheerfully undemanding and enjoyably retrograde, The Beekeeper proves that when it comes to dispensing action-thriller justice, Statham hasn't lost his sting."[14] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 54 out of 100, based on 37 critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews.[15] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale, while those polled by PostTrak gave it an 84% overall positive score, with 63% saying they would definitely recommend the film.[13]

A review in The Guardian stated, "Jason Statham’s John Wick is serviceable schlock".[16] while rogerebert.com, praising various aspects of the film, including its range of villains, regretted: "It's a real shame that "The Beekeeper" isn't the righteous trash masterpiece that it keeps threatening to turn into."[17]

References

  1. ^ a b c Wiseman, Andreas (August 31, 2022). "Jason Statham-David Ayer Action Pic 'The Beekeeper' Pre-Bought By MGM For U.S. & Some Of International". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on September 9, 2022. Retrieved September 9, 2022.
  2. ^ "The Beekeeper (15)". BBFC. December 15, 2023. Archived from the original on December 15, 2023. Retrieved December 15, 2023.
  3. ^ a b "The Beekeeper (2024)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved January 19, 2024.
  4. ^ a b "The Beekeeper — Financial Information". The Numbers. Retrieved January 19, 2024.
  5. ^ a b c d White, James (April 10, 2023). "Jason Statham Proves Vengeance Stings In The Beekeeper Trailer". Empire. Archived from the original on October 10, 2023. Retrieved October 4, 2023.
  6. ^ a b c d Wiseman, Andreas (February 20, 2023). "Jason Statham-David Ayer Action Film 'The Beekeeper' Sells To UK". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on February 20, 2023. Retrieved February 27, 2023.
  7. ^ D'Alessandro, Alexander (August 27, 2021). "Jason Statham To Star In Miramax's 'The Bee Keeper'". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on May 21, 2023. Retrieved May 21, 2023.
  8. ^ Wiseman, Andreas (May 5, 2022). "'Suicide Squad' Filmmaker David Ayer To Direct Jason Statham In Miramax's Action Pic 'The Beekeeper' — Cannes Market Hot Package". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on November 18, 2022. Retrieved May 21, 2023.
  9. ^ Morton, Dennis (October 21, 2023). "Video shows Jason Statham filming blockbuster movie in small Milton Keynes village". Edinburgh News. Archived from the original on March 14, 2023. Retrieved March 13, 2023.
  10. ^ "2022 film and high-end TV productions shooting in the UK: latest updates". Screen Daily. December 6, 2022. Archived from the original on November 7, 2022. Retrieved March 14, 2023.
  11. ^ Hipes, Patrick (October 4, 2023). "The Beekeeper Trailer: Jason Statham And David Ayer Action Movie Flying Toward January Release". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on October 11, 2023. Retrieved October 4, 2023.
  12. ^ Rubin, Rebecca (January 10, 2024). "Box Office: Mean Girls Aims for Grool $30 Million Over Holiday Weekend". Variety. Retrieved January 10, 2024.
  13. ^ a b D'Alessandro, Anthony (January 14, 2024). "Winter Storm Gerri Doesn't Cramp 'Mean Girls' Style As Musical Heads For $32M Opening – Sunday Update". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved January 14, 2024.
  14. ^ "The Beekeeper". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved January 19, 2024. Edit this at Wikidata
  15. ^ "The Beekeeper". Metacritic. Fandom, Inc. Retrieved January 13, 2024.
  16. ^ Lee, Benjamin (January 11, 2024). "The Beekeeper review – Jason Statham's John Wick is serviceable schlock". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved January 18, 2024.
  17. ^ Seitz, Matt Zoller. "The Beekeeper movie review & film summary (2024) | Roger Ebert". https://www.rogerebert.com/. Retrieved January 18, 2024. {{cite web}}: External link in |website= (help)

External links

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