2024’s action thriller, The Beekeeper, is a riveting watch, and there are a number of stellar movies that feel comparable to it. The Beekeeper stars Jason Statham and follows a man named Mr. Clay, who is a former member of a secret organization called the “Beekeepers”. He decides to come back to the organization after learning that one of his friends was caught up in a phishing scam. Clay wages a violent war in his quest for justice and quickly learns that the real story behind what’s going on is even more sinister than he imagined.
The Beekeeper dominated at the box office, leading to speculation about a potential The Beekeeper 2. Though there is no confirmation as to whether or not a sequel will come to fruition, there is plenty for viewers to enjoy in the meantime. The action thriller genre is filled with memorable films that are worth checking out and many of them even star Jason Statham, who was a huge asset to The Beekeeper.
10 The Expendables
2010
Jason Statham’s acting is one of the defining parts of The Beekeeper, and viewers can witness his skill in full force through The Expendables series. The first movie, The Expendables, follows a group of elite mercenaries who are deployed to a South American island in order to overthrow a Latin American dictator. The leader of the group is quickly able to realize, though, that the real enemy is a powerful CIA officer, which changes the whole mission altogether. Like The Beekeeper, the entire The Expendables series is action-packed and entertaining from beginning to end.
9 The Transporter
2002
The Transporter is a 2002 film that also stars Jason Statham and is about an ex-Special Forces officer who now spends his days working as a mercenary transporter. His selling point is that he moves all goods, even humans, from one place to another with no questions asked. Things get complicated when he is hired to kidnap the daughter of a Chinese crime lord. The movie really helped to set up Statham’s career and prove that he knows how to balance both comedy and action.
8 John Wick
2014
For those who enjoyed the high-octane action and suspense that The Beekeeper delivered, the John Wick franchise is great to check out. There are currently four movies in the series, with a John Wick 5 film potentially on the way. All of the films follow the legendary titular hitman who is determined to get revenge after a group of gangsters kill his dog and steal his car. Both The Beekeeper and John Wick allow viewers to witness the hidden underworld of assassins and dark and gritty cinematic styles that contribute to the suspenseful tone of the stories.
7 Crank
2006
2006’s Crankstars Jason Statham as a hitman who one day wakes up to a phone call informing him that he has been poisoned and only has an hour to live. The only way to survive is to keep adrenaline coursing through his body as he searches for an antidote. Similar to The Beekeeper, the movie is incredibly high stakes with unbelievable action scenes. Both movies are very fast-paced and utilize quick cuts and shaky camera work to convey urgency, and both find ways to weave dark humor throughout the plot.
6 Kingsman
2014
One of the most captivating elements of The Beekeeper was the way it pulled viewers into the world of secret societies. Kingsman delivers the same and is about a young man who seems to be headed for a life in prison before getting recruited into a secret spy organization. The movie has two follow-ups, which serve the franchise well and allow audiences to dive deeper into the mysterious world the first film creates. Both Kingsman and The Beekeeper manage to strike just the right balance of high-octane action scenes and comedic elements, which keeps viewers consistently entertained and engaged.
5 Ambulance
2022
Ambulance is another action-thriller that follows a man driven by the idea of revenge. It stars Jake Gyllenhaal as a veteran desperate for money for his wife’s medical bills and decides to team up with his brother to steal $32 million from a bank in Los Angeles. The brothers’ getaway goes as wrong as it can go, and the two hijack an ambulance that is carrying a wounded cop and an EMT worker and embark on a high-speed chase. For those who enjoyed how fast-paced and high-stakes The Beekeeper is, Ambulance is a great film to add to the watchlist.
4 Kill Bill
2010
Kill Bill is an action thriller following a former assassin known as The Bride. She wakes up from a coma four years after her ex attempted murdering her on her wedding day. Given how much was taken from her, The Bride devises a hit list and is determined to get complete revenge. Few assassin thrillers have a female protagonist, so Kill Bill is unique in this way. Uma Thurman, who plays The Bride, does a fantastic job of bringing the vengeful and no-nonsense assassin to life, and the movie delivers the same fast-paced energy and thrill that The Beekeeper does.
3 Wrath Of Man
2021
Jason Statham has essentially become synonymous with the action-thriller genre, and his skills are on full display in Wrath of Man. The film follows a new security guard for a cash track who impresses his team when he unleashes his insane precision skills during a heist. Like The Beekeeper, it is quickly revealed that Statham’s character is driven by motivation to settle a score and get the revenge he’s thirsty for. Also in a similar form to The Beekeeper, Wrath of Man has moral complexities that challenge the audience to think beyond just what seems black and white.
2 Atomic Blonde
2021
The main character of The Beekeeper is marked by skill and savage behavior, and so is the main character of Atomic Blonde. It follows an elite spy who is willing to utilize all of the tools in her arsenal to stay alive during what seems like an impossible mission. As the Berlin Wall is about to fall, she travels to the main part of the city in order to take down a cutthroat espionage ring. She manages to team up with a station chief and so begins her journey of trying to survive some of the deadliest spies to exist.
1 V For Vendetta
2005
V for Vendetta and The Beekeeper have an interesting set of similarities, with both boasting messages of resisting oppression, concealing identities, and questioning authority. Both have characters who are motivated by the quest for justice and find ways to blend social commentary and action together. The two movies also utilize non-linear storytelling to reveal information at key moments. V For Vendetta follows a vigilante who uses controversial tactics to fight the world’s oppressors. When he saves a woman named Evey (Natalie Portman), he finds that she is willing to become an ally and partner in his cause.
The Beekeeper
The Beekeeper is a 2024 action-thriller film by director David Ayer. Jason Statham stars as “Mr. Clay,” a former member of a secret organization known as the “Beekeepers,” who steps back into the field after a close friend is wronged in a phishing scam. To set things right, Mr. Clay will wage a violent war as he discovers that the truth behind the scammers may be more sinister than he realized.
- Release Date
- January 12, 2024
- Director
- David Ayer
- Cast
- Jason Statham , Emmy Raver-Lampman , Josh Hutcherson , Bobby Naderi , Minnie Driver , Phylicia Rashad , Jeremy Irons
