Kurt Wimmer

‘The Beekeeper’ Movie and 4K Review

Posted on by The Ultimate Rabbit

The following review was written by Ultimate Rabbit correspondent, Tony Farinella.

Jason Statham is one of the most successful action stars of the 21st century, even though he’s not exactly reinventing the wheel with his performances. In most cases, if you have seen one Jason Statham performance, you have seen them all. He’s a calm, cool and calculated killer with a sense of humor. There is an element of over-the-top fun that permeates his films. Even though the action is fast-paced, bloody and violent in “The Beekeeper,” the tone of the film is perfectly balanced in terms of action and self-awareness.  The people making these films are fully aware of what the audience expects out of them, and they are more than happy to give it to them. They aren’t overly serious to where it’s dreary and dull, and they also aren’t so goofy you check out because it’s so silly.

The film opens up by introducing us to a retired schoolteacher named Eloise Parker (Phylicia Rashad), who rents out her barn to Adam Clay (Jason Statham), a beekeeper with a heart of gold. One day, she falls victim to an online scam and ends up losing not only her entire life savings but also two million dollars from a charity she was managing as well. After this life-changing mistake, she ends up committing suicide. This springs the beekeeper into action, as he believes in right and wrong. He also held a special place in his heart for Eloise, as she was the only one who looked after him and took care of him.

Along the way, Eloise’s daughter, Verona (Emmy Raver-Lampman), an FBI agent, starts to look into Adam Clay and his background. She doesn’t quite understand how a beekeeper can be so violent and hard to catch. It turns out he belongs to a group called The Beekeepers, and they all work together to make sure “the hive” is protected and safe from anyone who tries to disrupt the natural order of things in the world. Once he tracks down the scammers with help from the Beekeepers, he begins to make life a living hell for them. He wants to take everything from them in the same way they have taken everything from the elderly with their online scams.

I’m a huge fan of silly, over-the-top and fun action movies which are done with style, intensity and a sense of humor. “The Beekeeper” is one of the best action movies I’ve seen in a while. The pacing is perfect as the action comes fast and furious throughout the film’s 105-minute running time. It’s directed by veteran action director David Ayer, and he knows how to make these movies sizzle and pop on screen. The fight scenes are incredibly violent, in-your-face, and gory. They left me with my jaw on the floor. That is exactly what I’m looking for out of a Statham action film.

It also helps that the bad guys are so shady and underhanded, and the actors hit all of the right notes with their performances. Josh Hutcherson is smarmy, indifferent and filled with charisma and cockiness. He plays a spoiled and ruthless adult in his late twenties who has had everything handed to him, so he thinks he is above the law and can do whatever he wants. Jeremy Irons is the classic fixer.  He’s brought in to fix things and be the voice of reason when things get too hot and heavy for Hutcherson’s character. The way he reads his lines in this movie is just perfect. He’s an elegant, dignified and smooth-talking problem solver. He looks forward to these challenges, but he also knows the risks which come with them.

When it was all said and done, I had a blast with this movie. It’s a trashy action film that wears its bloody heart on its sleeve. It knows exactly what it wants to accomplish and pulls no punches. Statham is perfectly cast here as the complicated hero who will stop at nothing to get revenge on the bad guys. Even when it seems impossible and the odds are stacked against him, he finds a way to overcome all of the obstacles thrown his way.  It’s highly entertaining to see him have to wiggle his way out of tricky situations where he’s outnumbered and outmanned. The film also has some very violent and creative kills that go for the jugular and linger on the violence. I wasn’t quite sure what to expect from “The Beekeeper,” but it’s a highly entertaining action film with blood, guts and humor.

* * * out of * * * *

4K Info: “The Beekeeper” is released on a single disc in 4K from Warner Brothers Home Entertainment. It has a running time of 105 minutes and is rated R for strong violence throughout, pervasive language, some sexual references and drug use.  It comes with a digital copy of the film as well.

Video Info: They did a fantastic job with this 4K release. I thought the HDR was very vivid, bright, and colorful. Even though “The Beekeeper” is a trashy action film, they still did a great job with this transfer.  It pops with its color palette.

Audio Info: The Dolby Atmos soundtrack was the perfect choice for this action/thriller, as it allowed me to keep it on the same volume for the entire duration of the film. Action films need to have a strong soundtrack, but they can’t be so strong that they force you to turn down the volume throughout when the bullets and bodies start to fall. The soundtrack here is consistent from beginning to end, and it enhances the viewing experience.

Special Features:

None

Should you buy it?

At times, it is best to walk into a film completely blind without knowing what it is about or having read any reviews. This is exactly what I did with “The Beekeeper,” and I’m happy about that because it allowed me to enjoy the film without having any preconceived notions about it. I enjoyed the ride it took me on, and I thoroughly enjoyed Statham’s performance and the unique and grotesque kills he unleashed on the bad guys. When it comes to the 4K disc, the picture and audio quality are top-notch here. The film itself doesn’t have any special features, which is OK, as I can’t imagine they would have added a ton to the film overall. Sometimes it is better to have an air of mystery surrounding your film. Overall, I’d say buy this movie when it drops in price, as you will get a great action/thriller at a great price. I don’t think it’s the kind of movie you need to run out and buy right away, though.

**Disclaimer** I received a copy of this film from Warner Brothers to review for free.  The opinions and statements in the review are mine and mine alone.

The ‘Total Recall’ Remake is as Unnecessary as Many Remakes Are

Posted on by The Ultimate Rabbit

After watching Len Wiseman’s remake of “Total Recall,” I wanted to ask my fellow audience members what they thought of it in hopes of finding a few who hadn’t seen the original directed by Paul Verhoeven. I actually found myself getting bored while watching this particular cinematic interpretation of Philip K. Dick’s short story “We Can Remember it for You Wholesale,” and I figured it was because I had seen the original dozens of times. But in retrospect, I don’t think it would have made a difference because my attitude towards this new version would have been the same in that it does not work in the slightest.

This is really a shame because Wiseman, best known for his “Underworld” movies and “Live Free or Die Hard,” had me coming into this remake with high hopes. I figured he would make this material his own and create an endlessly entertaining action flick. Instead, he drains all the fun out of the story, and what we get is a depressingly bland and uninspired motion picture which will be easily forgotten regardless of its excellent visual effects.

The story remains the same as before. Construction worker Douglas Quaid (Colin Farrell) is living an ordinary existence with his loving wife, Lori (Kate Beckinsale), and wonders why his life isn’t further along than it already is. He attempts to remedy this by going to Rekall, a company which specializes in artificial memory implants, but it all goes haywire when he is met by a SWAT team whom he quickly eliminates. From there, he is on the run as he comes to discover is life was never what he thought it was to begin with.

The only real difference between this “Total Recall” and the original is that Wiseman keeps the action earthbound. No one gets their ass to Mars this time around as the future presented here shows Earth having been decimated by a global chemical war which has divided it into two superpowers: the United Federation of Britain and The Colony. They are both battling one another for supremacy, and transportation to and from each nation is done via “The Fall,” an enormous gravity elevator which functions like the Lex Luthor’s Escape ride at Six Flags Magic Mountain.  If there is a difference, it is that the characters here have long since gotten used to the speed of the drop.

With this “Total Recall” not taking its story to Mars, I was convinced Wiseman would be giving us something other than the same old thing with this remake. Having said that, events here are not much different from what Verhoeven gave us years ago. Even if this particular version did get its ass to Mars, I’m not sure it would have made things all that more interesting. Even with actresses like Kate Beckinsale and Jessica Biel, I’m surprised this remake didn’t go all the way to Uranus (sorry, I couldn’t resist).

Speaking of Beckinsale, she is one of “Total Recall’s” best assets. Some will say her Lori is not much different from her character of Selene from the “Underworld” movies, and that the only difference is that Lori is not wearing any tight-fitting leather clothing here. Whatever the case, I don’t really care because it’s a lot of fun watching Beckinsale kick butt at any chance she gets. That fierce look in her eyes is hard to pass up as she aims to eliminate her antagonists, particular Douglas Quaid, with extreme prejudice.

Biel is also fun to watch as Melina, and that’s even though her character feels like the same one she played in “The A-Team.” Other actors like Bryan Cranston who plays President Vilos Cohaagen and Bill Nighy who portrays rebel leader Matthias are wasted in roles which are ridiculously underwritten. This is a shame in the case of Cranston who looks to be having some fun playing such a corrupt leader.

Now Colin Farrell is a far more accomplished actor than Arnold Schwarzenegger, but even the former Governor of California proves to be the better Douglas Quaid. Farrell isn’t bad, but Schwarzenegger had such a strong screen presence in the 1990 film which is hard for anyone to compete with.

I’m guessing that ever since Christopher Nolan’s “Batman” trilogy, filmmakers have done their best to avoid campiness in action films. The original “Total Recall” did have a level of campiness about it, but that made ir all the more entertaining to watch.

For Wiseman, his “Total Recall” represents a total immersion into the realm of CGI effects. With “Live Free or Die Hard,” he didn’t rely on as he was determined to use the real thing as much as possible. That made the action in that sequl all the more invigorating, and I wish he got more of an opportunity to go in that direction with “Total Recall.” True, the special effects are amazing especially in the design of the cities which the characters inhabit, but the action scenes lack friction as you cannot past the fact that you are watching something which is nothing more than a visual effect.-

With Verhoeven’s “Total Recall,” you could never figure out if what you were watching was real or a dream, and he teased you with the possibilities throughout. but Wiseman instead makes the story more straightforward which frustratingly robs the story of its more suspenseful moments. The tension ends up disappearing at key moments which makes what we see utterly frustrating as a result.

In a sea of endless Hollywood remakes, “Total Recall” proves to be one of the most unnecessary. Someone like me is at a disadvantage here because I’m huge fan of the 1990 version, but this one is nowhere as much fun.

As for Wiseman making more movies which are dominated by CGI effects, he should consider this a divorce. Come on Wiseman, you are so much better than this!

* * out of * * * *