Have you seen the new Jason Statham movie The Beekeeper?
It’s doing quite well at the Box Office, and I very much enjoyed it – even though everything in it is totally predictable.
Like the long list of cinema butt-kickers who came before him – Chuck Norris, Jean Claude Van Damme, Steven Seagal, Sylvester Stallone, etc. – Statham keeps ramping up the tradition of being the good guy exacting sweet revenge on the bad guys.
And there it is: That’s the basic plot of all these films and their protagonists.
And now there’s also Liam Neeson, Keanu Reeves, Chris Hemsworth and even Denzel Washington (how old is this guy anyway?) keeping that time-honored tradition going.
(Have you noticed that nearly all these butt-kickers are former special forces-types who just happen to have the finely-honed skills necessary to take care of business?)
Statham isn’t that new as an action hero – he’s been at it more than 20 years – but like the Energizer Bunny he just keeps on going and now has a new blockbuster movie -- The Beekeeper -- that’s been filling theater seats.
I guess I like Statham best among the current action hero genre. He’s not that handsome or huge, but he gets the job done efficiently and his fighting skills are totally amazing.
(I sometimes wonder how many takes were needed for his fight scenes and how many stunt guys were seriously injured…)
So OK. I admit these are pretty simple formula films. Some child or family member or friend is kidnapped or killed – or in the John Wick films, his dog – and all hell is unleashed as the hero goes after the villain and his slimy gang.
And eventually wipes them all out – no matter how big an army he’s up against.
So what is it about these low-intellect movies that I and many others apparently love to watch?
I think it has something to do with seeing someone exact revenge on the evil forces that make us all feel powerless to do anything about it ourselves.
We go through life observing endless examples of cheating and unfairness, of senseless cruelty to the poor and innocent, and of the rich and powerful who seem to get away with anything they want with little or no consequence.
And we can do nothing to make things right.
But up on that screen, we see a lone warrior making things right, and it makes us feel better as we walk out of the cinema and back to our car.
If you’re a religious person, you might think: God will make it right someday, either in this world or when that sick scumbag passes out of it.
But it’s kinda sweet to see that scumbag get his just desserts right here and now on the giant screen with super Dolby sound.
Oh yeah, now pass the popcorn!!
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