Title – The Beekeeper (2024) 

Director – David Ayer (End of Watch) 

Cast – Jason Statham, Emmy Raver-Lampman, Josh Hutcherson, Jeremy Irons 

Plot – The mysterious and bee loving Adam Clay (Statham) sets out on a quest for vengeance when a devious tech corporation ran by Derek Danforth (Hutcherson) wrongs someone very close to his heart. 

“The question is, to bee or not to bee?”

Review by Eddie on 19/02/2024

Let’s be clear, if you don’t go along with The Beekeeper chances are you’re going to have a horrible time with a b-movie (or is that bee-movie?) that is both unashamed and unafraid of what it is from the moment it begins until the moment it ends but if you’re willing to go along for the ride in this John Wick-lite actioner there’s a very decent chance you’re going to have an absolute blast. 

Likely to remain one of 2024’s most surprising success stories, both with an unexpectedly decent critical reception and also a box office haul in excess of over $100 million worldwide (spawning what is likely to be a sequel in the near future), The Beekeeper is a return to form for both its director David Ayer and its main man Jason Statham who here both showcase their limited strengths to great effect, to gift us an old school action/vigilante experience that just so happens to love the odd bee quip or fact. 

Wasting little time getting to the crux of its tale centred around Statham’s man of little words Adam Clay going on a bloodthirsty quest for justice against a corporation of greedy scammers that are overseen by Josh Hutcherson’s detestable and scenery chewing Derek Danforth, The Beekeeper is as unbelievable and comical as the most over the top moments of any John Wick or Fast and the Furious offering but there’s a glee and carefree nature to this tale that can’t be denied, forcing one to pass over their sensibilities or better judgement and just go along for the carnage filled rides. 

From screenwriter and mastermind behind the Point Break and Total Recall remakes Kurt Wimmer’s ham-tastic screenplay (“When someone hurts an older person, they are often left to face the hornets alone.”), Statham’s po-faced delivery of death blows and direct dialogue and Ayer’s typically chaotic direction, every element of The Beekeeper is gloriously OTT and filled with fine line balancing of tipping the scales too far, ending up managing to maintain a nature that is hard to not get behind. 

Without a takeaway message or anything holding it all together other than it’s nice to sometimes see the irredeemably bad dispatched by a figure who decides justice is best served cold, Ayer’s newest action packed outing may have little to ponder or look back on but for the brisk and event filled 100 minutes it covers, The Beekeeper does exactly what it set out to do and gives us a baggage free genre entry that reminds us all sometimes fun is all we need to keep us entertained. 

Final Say – 

A brazenly simplistic action thriller that loves its honey makers and dispatched bad guys, The Beekeeper is a film that tries little if at all to hide what it is and embraces its identity with a joy that’s hard to not partake in. 

3 staples out of 5