Audiences who have seen The Beekeeper have probably wondered if honey is as flammable as the movie claims it is. Jason Statham’s The Beekeeper premiered in January 2024 and introduced a new action hero to the canon: retired “Beekeeper” Adam Clay, a specially trained member of a secret clandestine order who protects America’s interests without any government oversight. It’s as action-packed and heart-pounding as one would expect, and Jason Statham pulls off some awesome action scenes in The Beekeeper.
The Beekeeper received a 71% on Rotten Tomatoes and earned over $152 million at the box office (via Box Office Mojo), a hefty sum for the current filmgoing era. It’s a quintessential Jason Statham movie with all the high-stakes drama, secret organizations, and unbelievable physics and stunts viewers have come to expect. As an actual insect-tending beekeeper in The Beekeeper, Statham even puts honey to explosive use in the movie, a moment that made some wonder if honey is actually flammable.
The Beekeeper “Honey Is Flammable” Theory Explained
The Honey Purity Test May Be A Myth
Made famous by virtue of being the final line in the first trailer for The Beekeeper, Detective Lewis’ (Baba Oyejide) quote, “It’s flammable as f**k, who knew”, is in response to a colleague’s question about a crime scene covered in honey. What they are referring to is the aftermath of a scene in the movie where Clay kills another Beekeeper by dousing her in honey and setting her alight with a match, as if she were covered in gasoline. That line and the scene itself got some people questioning if honey is indeed as flammable as the movie claims.
Hannah Shaw-Williams and Ryan Scott at SlashFilm put the claim to the test and tried their hand at burning a few varieties of honey. British Co-op brand clear honey, homemade American honey, and Good & Gather organic “raw & unfiltered honey” bought from Target all failed to be set alight, even when a flame was right on top of them. Some organizations, like The Scottish Bee Company, claim that pure honey is flammable, and that if a match dipped in honey lights up easily, it’s probably pure honey.
Perhaps SlashFilm was not using pure honey and Clay has access to much purer honey that is capable of catching fire. However, according to the National Honey Board, the flame test is a myth, and purity doesn’t factor into whether honey catches fire or not. All that honey catching fire says about the honey is that it has a low moisture content, which has nothing to do with its purity in the way aficionados mean. Pure honey means honey that has no other ingredients added to it, like corn syrup (via Big Island Bees).
Other Jason Statham Movies That Defy Science
Leaps Of Logic Are Why Viewers Love Statham Movies
Many other Jason Statham movies defy logic, so honey catching fire is on brand. In both Crank films, Statham’s Chev Chelios is given a drug that forces him to keep his adrenaline up or die. In the climax, he jumps out of a helicopter and smashes into the asphalt, only to survive. In Transporter 2, Frank (Statham) drives a jet ski on a highway to chase down a bus. In Furious 7, Dom (Vin Diesel) and Shaw (Statham) crash their cars into each other head-first, and both drivers are unharmed. Statham’s characters should be dead in all instances.
These aren’t critiques. These are the reasons people love Jason Statham movies like The Beekeeper. Watching what ridiculous stunt Statham will do next is half the fun. If Beekeeper 2 happens, and it’s possible, considering director David Ayer said he would be interested in exploring more of the world, there’s sure to be more honey-related hijinks soon.