Action movie superstar Jason Statham continues to do what he does best in The Beekeeper, and it sounds like the movie will be a treat for action fans. The reviews for The Beekeeper are now in, with the movie, which stars The Stath as former secret agent-turned-beekeeper, currently standing strong at a solid 71% on the review aggregator site Rotten Tomatoes. Championed for his no-nonsense approach to the kind of B-movie action thrills that audiences enjoyed in the 80s, The Beekeeper has been praised for its retrograde charm.
We begin with The Wrap’s William Bibbiani, who callsThe Beekeeper one of Statham’s best movies in years, following the somewhat disappointing Meg 2: The Trench and the awkwardly titled Expend4bles.
“100% pure Statham, and after many years where audiences had to settle for the diluted variety it’s a welcome return to form.”
The praise continues courtesy of THR’s David Rooney, who loved watching the “bullet-headed action star” once again ply his trade.
“Watching the bullet-headed action star take down squads of government agents and thuggish mercenaries alike, mostly while unarmed, is fun enough. Probably even more so in IMAX.”
According to Ed Power of the UK’s Daily Telegraph, The Beekeeper is the perfect action throwback, with the movie earning a promising rating of 4/5.
“Thirty years ago, The Beekeeper would have starred Jean-Claude Van Damme or Dolph Lundgren while the villain’s boots would have been filled by Rutger Hauer or Dennis Hopper if he had to pay for another divorce.”
MovieWeb’s own Will Sayre, meanwhile, found much to enjoy in the violence and the villains, but also took issue with The Beekeeper’s inherent silliness.
“There’s R-rated violence and deliciously unlikable villains galore, but it’s perhaps not enough to make The Beekeeper a standout in comparison to the countless other Statham action flicks out there. It also doesn’t help that this honeybee business all feels a bit silly, and that the film embraces every obvious pun in the book. Ultimately it’s an unbalanced combination of awkward humor and surprisingly nasty violence.”
Peter Debruge of Variety equally took aim at The Beekeeper, describing it as “witless,” but commending director David Ayer and the action.
“Ayer does a more-than-decent job directing the action scenes, which is what matters most with such a witless genre entry.”
The Beekeeper Is Due to Land in Theaters From Tomorrow
The praise for Statham though is palpable, with Screen Rant’s Mae Abdulbaki applauding his action movie prowess…even amid such a thin story.
“The Beekeeper may have a thin story, but Jason Statham is up to the task when it comes to the brutal, engaging & even ridiculous action sequences.”
Finally, Collider’s Nate Richard continued to heap praise on The Stath’s one-of-a-kind screen presence as he continues to fly the flag for cinematic fist fights.
“In The Beekeeper, Statham once again gives his utmost commitment to the role, with his one-of-a-kind screen presence where he can make beating people up feel so cinematic. He can play these kinds of parts in his sleep, but he never phones it in.”
In The Beekeeper, one man’s brutal campaign for vengeance takes on national stakes after he is revealed to be a former operative of a powerful and clandestine organization known as “Beekeepers”. The Beekeeper is directed by David Ayer from a script written by Kurt Wimmer and stars Emmy Raver-Lampman, Josh Hutcherson, Bobby Naderi, Minnie Driver, with Phylicia Rashad, and Jeremy Irons alongside Jason Statham.
The Beekeeper is scheduled to be released in the United States by Amazon MGM Studios on January 12, 2024. You can check out the action-packed trailer for The Beekeeper below: