Sartaj Singh
‘The Beekeeper’ by director David Ayer is an action thriller that follows an ex-operative from a clandestine organization rooting out a massive web of corruption tied to a phishing operation. Adam Clay is a beekeeper living out a quiet life on a farm alongside his neighbor and friend, Eloise Parker. When a phishing scam empties Mrs. Parker’s bank account, she ends up taking her own life. Upon discovering the ones responsible, Clay burns down their office. He turns out to be a former member of the Beekeepers, a secretive organization that serves as a watchdog for the country, operating independently outside any chain of command as a last line of defense against corruption.
Coming out of retirement, Clay uncovers a vast network of private and governmental conspirators channeling funds from the illicit trade on a global scale. The hive is in danger, and the Bee Keeper mobilizes to burn out the corruption festering within it. We follow Clay’s righteous crusade from his rural home to the streets of Boston, punching his way up the corporate and governmental ladders. The adrenaline-fueled action sequences take us across industrial workshops, modern offices, Boston’s cityscape, and private estates, invoking curiosity about the shooting sites.
The Beekeeper Filming Locations
‘The Beekeeper’ was filmed almost entirely in the UK, with locations around London and Kent standing in for Boston, Massachusetts. A few cinematic landscape shots showcase Washington, DC, to portray centers of power, with the Washington Monument and Whitehouse seen in them. Principal photography began in September 2022 and was wrapped up by November of the same year. Let’s take a closer look at the locations seen in the film, and identify their real-life counterparts.
London, the UK
The film crew began shooting in the capital on September 15, 2022, and recreated Boston’s cityscape using Jermyn Street in central London. Jason Statham and a group of actors dressed up in camouflaged FBI gear were spotted outside the large complex on 130 Jermyn Street, which has an American Flag hoisted above its archway. This location is seen in the film when Clay walks up to a group of FBI officers guarding the rear entrance of the building and proceeds to take them all out.
The street was closed off for the filming of the action scene, and a police car with “Boston Police” written on the side was spotted on set. Further sequences filmed on the street included a van pulling up to the building, and heavily armed FBI agents in tactical gear jumping out of it.
Kent, the UK
A few locations in the non-metropolitan county of Kent, just southeast of London, were used to film high-octane action sequences seen in the film. Many of the prominent locations in the narrative, including Clay’s farm and the antagonist’s estate, were created using properties in Kent. The stunt sequence involving the scammer, Mickey, being hauled off a bridge tied to a car, was carried out on the Kingsferry Bridge in Sittingbourne. The structure is a combined road and railway link between the Isle of Sheppey and mainland Kent. However, since the larger Sheppey Crossing was built next to it, the Kingsferry Bridge could be closed off and used for their stunt sequences by the film crew.
The bridge is also featured in ‘Too Close,’ ‘Kiss Me First,’ and season 26 of ‘Silent Witness.’ Further filming of stunts involving chase sequences was carried out in Kent. The farms of Clay and Mrs. Parker seen at the beginning of the movie are actually the Castle Farm and Lower Austin Lodge on Upper Austin Lodge Road, Eynsford. The 1,200-acre farm is a popular filming location, that is usually the site of photoshoots and music videos. The varied landscapes of the farm present a picturesque backdrop with vibrant lavender fields, apple orchards, bluebell woodlands, hop gardens, and meadows.
Filming for the antagonists’ vast estate was carried out in and around Tyringham Hall in Tyringham near Newport Pagnell. The 18th Century stately home is a grand venue surrounded by gardens with sphinxes on either side of its entrance porch. The property has seen £10 million worth of renovations since 2004 and became an elegant filming location for ‘The Beekeeper’ in its full glory.
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