Jason Statham’sbuzzworthy action flickThe Beekeeperis officially swarming streaming charts once again, this time landing at #6 onMGM+— and proving that when it comes to punching scammers and delivering bee puns with a straight face, no one does it better than Statham. After dominating theaters at the beginning of last year with an impressive $152.7 million global box office haul,The Beekeeperquietly became one of the most-watched films on Prime Video in 2024 and is now making major moves on MGM+ as well. Not bad for a movie that many dismissed as another mid-budget revenge thriller — and one that now sits at a strong 71% onRotten Tomatoes.
Directed byFury’s David Ayerand written byEquilibrium’s Kurt Wimmer,The Beekeeperstars Statham as Adam Clay, a former elite operative of a mysterious organization known only as the Beekeepers. What starts as a story about a mild-mannered man tending his hives quickly transforms into a vengeance-fueled rampage after his close friend Eloise Parker (Phylicia Rashad) dies by suicide following a devastating phishing scam. Clay unleashes his wrath on the ring of cybercriminals behind it, includingJosh Hutcherson’scoked-out tech bro Derek Danforth andJeremy Irons’ deliciously shady Wallace Westwyld.
Is ‘The Beekeeper’ Worth Seeing'?
Collider’sNate Richardsummed it up best in his 8/10 review:
“The Beekeeperis exactly what the doctor ordered and then some. Not only does it deliver all the B-movie goodness you’d want, but it’s one of the most wild mainstream action movies to hit the big screen in a while… Jason Statham is a modern action icon. Like Gerard Butler, he’s one of the few movie stars left who can headline a non-IP driven action flick that feels like it came straight out of the 90s, and completely sell it.”
Indeed,The Beekeeperleans all the way into itsabsurdity— stapler beatdowns, flaming tech offices, and even Clay casually muttering phrases like “protect the hive” — and never once blinks. Wimmer’s script does a surprisingly effective job balancing grit with camp, turning a real-world issue like elder-targeting scams into an explosive revenge fantasy. It’s no wonder why Ayer and Statham would work together againone year later withA Working Man. Statham himself is all in — as he always is — bringing Terminator-like intensity to a role that could’ve easily been played as parody. Whether storming into tech labs or dispensing blunt-force justice with household objects, he sells every beat with a grin (or a grimace) and keeps the movie grounded in its own ridiculous world.
The Beekeeperis streaming now on MGM+.
The Beekeeper
