For over 20 years, Jason Statham has been making out-of-the-box action movies with iconic fight scenes, eventually becoming an action movie icon. In his latest film, The Beekeeper, Statham is Mr. Kelly, a former operative of a secret organization called the Beekeepers. When Kelly’s friend (Phylicia Rashad) commits suicide after falling victim to a phishing scam, she decides to seek revenge against the company behind the massive scams.
Statham created the action movie genre by making more irreverent films like Crank and The Mechanic, and The Beekeeper seems to help him maintain that reputation by having a fight scene in an office space. Even without weapons, Kelly takes down bad guys with office chairs and phones. See the scene below.
“I’m a beekeeper,” explains Statham. “I guard the hive. Sometimes I use fire to smoke out the hornets.”
Statham also serves as a producer on the film, which stars Amy Raver-Lampman, Josh Hutcherson, Bobby Naderi, Minnie Driver and Jeremy Irons. Veteran action writer Kurt Wimmer (Equilibrium, Expendables 4, Ultraviolet) wrote the screenplay. While Ayers may be done with DC, he looks set to return to full form in the action movie genre.
The Beekeeper opens on January 12.
