PHOTO COURTESY AMAZON MGM STUDIOS

The bombastic action flick “The Beekeeper” takes more care than many of its ilk in setting up its villains. Where most beat-em-ups are more than happy to supply their heroes with an army of indistinct European goons, “The Beekeeper” instead spins a careful yarn about a domestic network of fraudsters; the bad guys here are not nebulous toughs but people scamming the vulnerable out of their life savings.

It’s a thoughtful approach. And that marks the one and only time “The Beekeeper” is thoughtful.

Everything else about the movie, from inconsistent mayhem-slinger David Ayer, is as elegant as a concrete block. Jason Statham stars as the titular apiarist, a retired mercenary now maintaining several hives on the property of an impossibly pleasant elderly woman (Phylicia Rashad).

When she is scammed by a slick tech-bro, our hero goes on a honey-chucking rampage of revenge. Not content to merely obliterate the thieves in question, he follows the money up the ladder — quickly finding that there’s much more power behind this scam than he thought. No matter; he’s happy to throat-punch any number of elite kill squads in the name of “protecting the hive,” one of an exhaustive array of bee metaphors screenwriter Kurt Wimmer deploys.

Statham remains a steely and watchable presence when dispensing beatdowns, though his occasional moments of variety — about two emotional monologues and four jokes — fall flat. That’s more on the script than him; the only person who can make this dialogue sound halfway decent is Jeremy Irons, present as the bodyguard and fixer for the bad guys and given most of the expository text. While I have no idea how he ended up in this project, his presence helped considerably.

Is it good? No. Is it satisfying? Yes — and in a very January way, when moviegoers (other than those exploring the Oscar bait) are looking for an uncomplicated experience to get through the winter months. While “The Beekeeper” is far from a success, it’ll give you exactly what you’re looking for.

My Rating: 5/10

“The Beekeeper” is now playing in theaters.