‘Beekeeper’: When Jason Statham plays ‘John Wick’

Posted 2024/03/26 109 0

David Ayer is the American director behind many hit crime films such as Training Day, S.W.A.T., Suicide Squad… Meanwhile, Jason Statham is a British actor who made a name for himself through action film franchises such as The Transporter, Expendables, The Fast & the Furious. The two’s collaboration in The Beekeeper movies is the main reason why fans are looking forward to the movie.

Jason Statham plays Adam Clay – a super agent of the top secret program “Beekeeper” – now retired. He works as a beekeeper for honey at the warehouse of a kind old teacher. One day, Adam discovered that she had committed suicide, after being robbed of her entire pension and $2 million in charity funds by online scammers. He is determined to hunt down the scammers, chase and destroy the ringleader – the sinister tycoon Derek Danforth (Josh Hutcherson).

Online or telephone fraud is a serious problem in the United States. In 2021, according to Forbes estimates, thieves will appropriate $40 billion from unsuspecting victims – 60% of whom are people over 60 years old.

Sharing with Forbes, David Ayer said he agreed to make The Beekeeper after receiving the script from screenwriter Kurt Wimmer because he was quite sympathetic. “The scams are horrible. This giant industry is worth billions of dollars. Everyone involved in the project, from the film crew to the actors, all had relatives who were victims. I hope the work will ring a wake-up call,” Ayer said.

In order for the segments to accurately portray the group of con artists, David Ayer hired a retired agent with 30 years of experience as a consultant for the film. He portrayed the scammers’ lair as a bustling stock exchange, with a “spokesman” on stage constantly encouraging and praising each time the fish took the bait. They flexibly use tricks from evoking love to impersonating experts, state officials… with intense responses that push their prey into a “mesmerizing battle”. Contrasting with the victim’s pained and humiliated face when they saw their bank balance returned to zero was their gloating and joy as if they had just won a hundred-billion-dollar deal. Even more terrifying, the inhumane group also hides in the name of financial companies, aided by the “big guys” in the industry.

David Ayer intentionally pushed the audience’s anger to a climax in the first act, then made viewers gloat when Adam Clay destroyed them one by one. The conceited look of the scammers gradually disappeared, leaving only confusion and regret when they faced death. Jason Statham’s anti-hero image represents the American dream because in real life, very few fraud cases are solved. Many victims can only sadly consider losing money as a “life lesson”.

Jason Statham: A gruff, dusty ‘John Wick’

Many audiences often jokingly say, “Don’t be foolish to kidnap Liam Neeson’s daughter (Taken movie), and don’t risk killing John Wick’s dog (John Wick movie).” For Jason Statham’s Adam Clay, it’s the kind aunt next door. The source of his actions is succinctly expressed in the line: “She is the only person who treats me well in this life.”

Action movie fans can easily recognize many similarities between The Beekeeper and John Wick: The main character is a retired expert assassin, feared by gangsters and people in the bureaucracy. They are also lone wolves, single-handedly “killing” hundreds of enemies. On the screenwriter’s side, this is a simple but effective script that does not require much creativity but still causes strong emotions for the viewer.

Coming to The Beekeeper, Jason Statham has the opportunity to show off his Cockney, East London accent. Statham’s deep voice, combined with his taciturn face, makes the character he plays more dangerous. Adam Clay doesn’t have jokes like many other Hollywood male leads, but each character’s curt dialogue is sharp, like the final verdict on criminals.