The Beekeeper
The brief
David Ayer delivers a deliriously bonkers Jason Statham vehicle that takes its bee metaphors so literally you'll either roll your eyes or surrender to the madness. Statham punches his way through increasingly ridiculous set pieces with his usual stone-faced intensity, while Jeremy Irons camps it up as a scenery-chewing villain who seems to know exactly what movie he's in. The whole thing moves at a breakneck pace that doesn't give you time to think about how absolutely insane the premise is, which is probably for the best. Perfect if you loved John Wick but wished it had more agricultural allegories and fewer pretensions to coolness.
The verdict
If you love absurdly over-the-top action movies and can embrace Jason Statham punching people while spouting bee-related one-liners, this is pure popcorn entertainment gold. If you need your action films to make logical sense or can't tolerate ridiculous premises played completely straight, you'll find this more annoying than amusing.
Watch with
- 👥 Action junkies who love ridiculous premises
- ⚠️ Anyone seeking deep plot coherence
Heads up
- Frequent gunfights and brutal hand-to-hand combat (frequent)
- Characters tortured and executed (moderate)
- Strong language throughout (frequent)
Credits
- Director
- David Ayer
- Cast
- Jason Statham, Emmy Raver-Lampman, Josh Hutcherson, Jeremy Irons, Bobby Naderi, David Witts, Michael Epp
Official synopsis
One man's campaign for vengeance takes on national stakes after he is revealed to be a former operative of
The Double
Make a night of it
Pair this with You Were Never Really Here (2017)
Both feature lone operatives seeking violent justice through methodical revenge campaigns.
Total runtime: 1h 46m + 1h 29m = 3h 15m
