The Beekeeper (2024)

The Beekeeper is a revenge thriller that will not stop talking about bees, and somewhere around the umpteenth hive comparison you either surrender or check out. Jason Statham plays Adam Clay, a soft-spoken tenant who tends hives in the barn of Eloise Parker, a retired Massachusetts teacher. When a phishing ring empties her savings and the charity she runs, Adam turns out to be retired from a secret outfit called the Beekeepers, and he goes after the whole scam empire, one call center at a time. Statham is gruffly convincing, and the villains keep getting sillier and more powerful. Phylicia Rashad and Minnie Driver are wasted, the quiet scenes feel rushed, and the fights are uneven. It never quite becomes the glorious trash it keeps promising. Critics gave it 71% on Rotten Tomatoes, and it made $162.6 million worldwide on a reported $40M. A 5.9 because watching Statham take down phone scammers is cathartic even when it’s dumb. $438 says you hang up on the next spam call a little faster and feel like a Beekeeper.

What works: Statham is gruffly convincing, and watching a quiet beekeeper dismantle a phone scam empire is pure catharsis.

What doesn’t: The bee talk wears thin fast, the quieter scenes feel rushed, and Phylicia Rashad and Minnie Driver barely get anything to do.

Who it’s for: Anyone whose grandparent ever got a sketchy phone call and who wants a whole movie’s worth of payback.