Jason Statham punched and kicked his way to saving the day once again in the action movie The Beekeeper, which received some solid notices from critics (69% "Fresh" on Rotten Tomatoes) and fans (93% positive on the same site). Though critic consensus surmises the movie as "cheerfully undemanding," if there are a couple of things about The Beekeeper ending you need cleared up, let us help.
We're breaking down some of the biggest questions about The Beekeeper ending below (SPOILER alert if you have not watched The Beekeeper), but first, let's go over the basics of the movie.
Starring Jason Statham and directed by David Ayer, The Beekeeper follows Adam Clay (Staham), who seems like an ordinary — albeit jacked — beekeeper, renting a space from a lovely elderly woman named Eloise Parker (Phylicia Rashad). However, when Eloise becomes the victim of a phishing scam that drains all of her money and that of a charity she worked with, she takes her own life. As a result, Clay takes it upon himself to get revenge for Eloise and, as he puts it, "protect the hive" from those who would threaten it.
As he racks up body counts, he learns this is a conspiracy much bigger than a phishing scam, with a young business executive, Derek Danforth (Josh Hutcherson), at the center of it all. But with powerful connections, and Eloise's own daughter Verona (Emmy Raver-Lampman) working the case, plenty of people are trying to stop Clay and his one-man mission.
So, what happens in The Beekeeper ending? Let's dig into the details.
Who are the Beekeepers?
The Beekeepers is a secret organization that operates outside the normal structure of government. We don't get a complete picture of how they operate, but what we do know is that Clay was a former Beekeeper, now retired, though he still has connections to a team of intelligence workers who can assist him.
While The Beekeepers do not work under the government, they do on occasion work with them. This is shown as Wallace Westwyld, a former CIA director and now head of Derek's security, uses his past connections to have the current active Beekeeper (Sophia Feliciano) go after Clay. However, Clay makes quick enough work of her. After that, the Beekeeper organization says they will remain neutral in the situation, emphasizing their independence.
The overall thing about The Beekeepers, as Clay explains a few times in the movie, is that they "protect the hive." That can mean a few things, but basically, it's to keep things in check so that bad apples don't get out of control and threaten the larger stability of society, the rule of law and those who can't defend themselves.
Was the president involved in the phishing scam in The Beekeeper?
The major revelation in The Beekeeper that raises the stakes in the third act is Derek Danforth isn't just an ordinary, greedy business executive flouting the law, but in fact, he is the son of newly elected President Danforth (Jemma Redgrave). But how involved is she in her son's operations?
In the climactic sequence where Clay is fighting his way to the office where Derek and President Danforth are being held, we learn that Derek basically funded his mom's entire campaign for president with the money he was using from his illegal operations, on top of using data gathered to help her focus on areas where she was struggling. However, President Danforth was not aware of this and when she learns of these deeds, she decides to tell the truth, despite Derek's objections.
When Clay busts in and kills Derek, despite — in another low move — using his own mother as a human shield, President Danforth is escorted to safety, with Clay seemingly having no interest in killing her. Whether Danforth follows through with her promise to tell the truth we don't see, but based on how the character is depicted in this sequence, we would assume that she does.
What happens to Adam Clay in The Beekeeper?
Just before he kills Derek, Clay appears cornered with Verona and her partner Wiley (Bobby Naderi) in the room, their guns aimed at him. But Clay looks out the window, seeing the ocean and a possible escape. So he shoots Derek and jumps through the window. Thankfully, it's a short drop onto a terrace, so he's not hurt from the fall.
However, Verona goes to the window and points her gun at him again. She hesitates to pull the trigger and she and Clay have a moment to decide if she really feels it's worth it to shoot him or better to let him go. Ultimately, she lets him go.
Clay gets down to the beach where he had buried a duffle bag ahead of time that contained scuba equipment, allowing him to make a clean exit and await the possibility of The Beekeeper 2.
The Beekeeper is currently playing exclusively in movie theaters worldwide.
