The Beekeeper review: Jason Statham beats scammers to a pulp... what's not to like?
The Beekeeper (M18)
Starring Jason Statham, Josh Hutchinson, Jeremy Irons
Directed by David Ayer
The Beekeeper: Jason Statham is about to redecorate this room with extreme prejudice.
January is usually reserved for awards-buzzy releases, and The Beekeeper, regrettably, isn’t one of them. But if you want to see The Stath unleash Hell on Earth, then you’re in for a treat. He plays Adam Clay, a seemingly ordinary beekeeper…. yeah, right. In a previous life, he was a busy defending democracy as a member of a secret (natürlich) squad known as — wait for it — The Beekeepers. When a friend falls victim to scammers, Clay responds the only way he knows how — by going all fire and brimstone on the syndicate, led by Hutchinson’s coke-snorting a-hole and scion of a powerful family. “I’m a beekeeper,” he intones. “I protect the hive. Sometimes I use fire to smoke out the hornets.” Trust me, Clay man really, really loves his job. The film may not have the elegance of John Wick but who cares? Amid endless bombardment of news of folks getting swindled, it’s impossible not to relish Clay’s acts of retribution. Shiok, damn shiok. (3/5 stars) in cinemas now
Photos: Daniel Smith/MGM
The Mission (NC16)
Starring John Chau, Pam Arlunnd, Dan Davis
Directed by Amanda McBaine & Jesse Moss
The Mission: American missionary/adventure blogger John Chau was killed in 2018 while trying to convert an isolated tribe in the Indian Ocean.
When news broke in 2018 that American missionary John Chau was killed while trying to proselytise an indigenous tribe on remote North Sentinel Island, it drew shock and derision. But as this doc shows, there’s more to the tragedy than just a throwaway punchline — Chau’s love for the great outdoors, the origins of his religious zeal, and his family’s disapproval of his evangelical radicalism. Lots to process. Elsewhere, access to Chau’s 13-page diary of his last days and a secret 26-page master plan reveals his Messiah complex and his obsession with entering “Satan’s last stronghold”. That’s both terrifying and infuriating. (3.5/5 stars) exclusively at The Projector
Photo: National Geographic Films
Echo (NC16)
Starring Alaqua Cox, Vincent D’Onofrio, Chaske Spencer, Graham Greene, Tantoo Cardinal, Devery Jacobs
Showrunner: Sydney Freeland
Echo: Alaqua Cox realises she hasn’t paid her road tax. Oh well, Kevin Feige will foot the bill.
Marvel Studios’ latest Disney+ show isn’t exactly the palette cleanser we’d hoped for to rid the stank of The Marvels fiasco. The five-part Hawkeye spin-off centres on Cox’s Maya Lopez, the badass deaf-mute Native American who once worked as an enforcer for Wilson ‘Kingpin Fisk (D’Onofrio), who returns to her hometown to connect with her roots — and discovers she has superpowers! I don’t get it: This is supposed to be about Maya coming to terms with her place in the vast MCU but in reality, her story ends up being a glorified trailer for the upcoming series Daredevil: Born Again. (2.5/5 stars) on Disney+
Photo: Disney+
Man on the Run (PG13)
Starring Jho Low, Najib Razak
Directed by Cassius Michael Kim
Man on the Run: Jho Low schmoozing with Leonardo DiCaprio at the premiere of The Wolf of Wall Street.
Bitconned (NC16)
Starring Ray Trapani
Directed by Bryan Storkel
Bitconned: Centra Tech founders (from left) Sam ‘Sorbee’ Sharm, Ray Trapani and Robert Farkas introducing a new line of suits called Emperor’s New Clothes.
According to this doc, 78% of all of the cryptocurrency start-ups out there are fraud — and Centra Tech was one of them. Its meteoric rise is fascinating: how did three rental car agents duped the world in plain sight (they nicked the business plan from now-defunct Singapore-based TenX, faked their credentials on Linkedin, and randomly conjured up a ghost backer using Google)? No one suspected anything until one New York Times reporter started poking around that the house of cards started to crumble. Yes, the law did catch up with the scamsters, but whether justice is served is another matter. (3.5/5 stars) on Netflix
Photo: Netflix
