THE BEEKEEPER (2024) ****

The Beekeeper is Jason Statham at his best.  He’s an unassuming beekeeper.  A man of few words, and when he does speak, it’s mostly about bees.  When some annoying online scammers fleece his elderly friend (Phylicia Rashad), she becomes so distraught that she commits suicide.  Then, the beekeeper goes out for revenge, working his way up to the top of the Crypto Bros. ladder, and disposing of the scum of the universe. 

That is to say, it’s glorious.

The Beekeeper is in the tradition of the best revenge thrillers.  The main tweak here is that he’s avenging the elderly.  Oh, and beekeeping isn’t just his profession.  He used to be a “Beekeeper”; a top-secret soldier who restored order to the “ecosystem” when it got out of balance by working outside the law.  (“I protect the hive!”)  Yes, the more ridiculous it gets (you won’t believe where the conspiracy leads), the straighter Statham’s face becomes, which makes it even more enjoyable. 

I love it when revenge movie heroes find new scum to exterminate.  In the ‘80s, Charles Bronson took out muggers.  In the early ‘00s, Liam Neeson executed white slavers.  Now, Statham is sticking it to cyber criminals.  It’s a subtle, yet clever twist on an established trope.  Most of these kinds of films have a scene where one of the bad guys begs for his life.  In The Beekeeper, a dude offers our hero crypto and NFTs if he will spare him.  Naturally, it leads to a crowd-pleasing death. 

Director David Ayer’s filmography has been spotty.  However, this is far and away his best.  He dials down his knack for obnoxious excess and peppers the film with just enough ludicrousness (like the assassin who looks like one of the Misfits from Jem) without upsetting the balance of the film.  Just like the Beekeeper. 

It was also written by Kurt Wimmer, who likewise is hit and miss, but this is one of his best scripts.  He too deserves praise for not going overboard with the beekeeping metaphors and one-liners.  (Although I did crack up when the villain’s henchman said, “To bee… or not to bee…”)  Hopefully he’s saving up more bee puns for the sequel.