Jason Statham’s new movie, The Beekeeper, is the latest action flick to lean into some plot elements that have become increasingly popular in the genre over the last ten years. The Beekeeper has broken a Rotten Tomatoes record for Jason Statham, as audiences have been far more receptive than critics thus far. The movie follows a (literal) beekeeper with a mysterious past and an assassin’s skills on his quest for revenge against a group of scam artists and the influential criminals behind them.
While The Beekeeper has plenty of typical high-intensity hand-to-hand combat and gun play, its more intricate story elevates it above most modern action movies. The origins of Statham’s Adam Clay are briefly explained in the movie, but there is plenty of in-universe lore left unexplored when The Beekeeper reaches its violent ending. That expansive background is a plot device that multiple action movies have leaned into in recent years, to varying degrees of success.
The Beekeeper Is Another Action Movie Trying To Copy John Wick
Statham’s latest movie shares plenty of plot elements with the John Wick series.
Since the surprise success of Keanu Reeves’s 2014 smash hit John Wick, many action movies have attempted to recapture what worked in that movie and its subsequent sequels. In addition to the well-choreographed fight scenes, many movies have attempted to replicate specific plot points from John Wick, including The Beekeeper. Common elements include the central character being a highly-skilled current or former assassin with a mysterious backstory, a quest for revenge that is usually of a personal nature, and a distinct neon aesthetic in many of the fight scenes.
The Beekeeper checks all of these boxes, right down to the neon lighting for fight scenes. It is far from the only movie to attempt to walk that path, however. Many of the most successful action movies of the last ten years could act as perfect John Wick spinoffs based on how similar they are to the Keanu Reeves-led franchise. Charlize Theron’s Atomic Blonde, Bob Odenkirk’s Nobody, and to some degree David Fincher’s The Killer have all attempted to recapture the magic that made John Wick so successful.
The Beekeeper Is A Poor John Wick Copy (But Could Still Work For Statham)
The movie doesn’t measure up to the John Wick movies, but that doesn’t make it a failure.
Based on critical reception, The Beekeeper doesn’t quite reach the highs of John Wick from a story-telling or fight choreography perspective. However, the 93% Rotten Tomatoes audience score and box office projections indicate that there is definitely more appetite for another chapter to the story of Adam Clay’s Beekeeper. It may never be John Wick, but that doesn’t mean it can’t be a successful franchise for Jason Statham to headline over the next few years.
The movie also did a good job setting up a much larger world to explore, providing the opportunity for future stories in that universe. The clandestine Beekeeper organization that Clay used to work for operates outside the U.S. government, and seems to have nearly-unlimited jurisdiction with no other oversight. That is a rich concept to explore, and it’s ideal for introducing an array of colorful side characters, just as the John Wick franchise did. The Beekeeper has all the elements in place to be the next great action franchise.