Summary

• The Beekeeper is a riveting action thriller starring Jason Statham, reminiscent of other stellar movies in the genre.
• The Expendables and The Transporter showcase Statham’s action prowess, setting the stage for his role in The Beekeeper.
• If you enjoyed The Beekeeper, don’t miss out on other thrilling films like John Wick, Crank, or Atomic Blonde for high-octane action.

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. Statham’s Lee Christmas is a bit more comedic than his role as Clay in The Beekeeper, but he is no less effective as a vengeful hero. Though the films were big ensembles with fun casts of big-name action stars, including Arnold Schwarzenegger, Bruce Willis, and Jet Li, it was always Sylvester Stallone and Statham in the lead. That is until Statham eventually took over the main role in The Expendables 4.

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.

Though Statham had been in several Guy Ritchie movies by this point in his career, The Transporter took his career to another level. It announced him as a new action hero for the modern age with him elevating the low-budget production by doing most of the on-screen stunts himself. The film was a solid hit and ended up spawning a franchise with Statham appearing in two sequels followed by a reboot and TV series. Like Clay in The Beekeeper, Statham’s role as Frank Martin is a man with a strict moral code yet shows no mercy for those who cross him.

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. Like Clay himself, Wick begins to develop a mythic-like reputation for his deadly skills and ability to fight his way out of any situation. It is also a bloody and vicious rampage that is fueled by the dangerous protagonist seeking revenge for an innocent and harmless loved one the villains come to wish they never messed with.

7 Crank

2006

Statham’s skills as a comedic actor are underrated and don’t often get the chance to shine amid the intense action roles. However, there was one movie that brilliantly combined his abilities to beat people up and be funny. 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 films 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. As the premise suggests, Crank is a far more outrageous movie compared to The Beekeeper with the filmmakers seemingly trying to make a violent and vulgar R-rated cartoon. The result is a hilarious and relentless ride.

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. It is also interesting how both of these spy agencies in the respective movies use distinct professions to mask their true operations Kingsman uses the front of a high-class tailor shop while The Beekeeper is, of course, beekeeping. Kingsman is a funny and wild homage to old James Bond adventures that pokes fun at the genre while clearly having a lot of love for it as well.

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.

Michael Bay is the kind of director who excels at making the kind of wall-to-wall action movies like The Beekeeper and his latest film proves he can still deliver in that regard. While a lot of it might not seem plausible and is stretching reality, the result is still thrilling and hugely entertaining. Bay seems to be having a lot of fun with new styles of filmmaking with his use of drone cameras in the movie being particularly wild and giving a new feel to the action sequences.

4 Kill Bill

2003

Quentin Tarantino’s two-part martial arts revenge story is a great entry into the genre and his best movie as an action director. 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. While Tarantino elevates the revenge movie genre with his distinct dialogue and rich characters, Kill Bill and The Beekeeper deliver the same thrills in seeing an unstoppable hero track down the guilty villains one by one and make them pay.

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. Statham once again excels as the main hero who, once on his mission of revenge, does not seem to make a single false move. He is calculating, precise, and unforgiving in his pursuits which makes him a fun hero to watch while also being somewhat unsettling as a protagonist. An added bonus for Wrath of Man is that it marked the long-awaited reunion of Statham and Guy Ritchie, making it another solid collaboration.

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.]

Though director David Leitch is now more known for his comedic action movies, like The Fall Guy and Bullet Train, Atomic Blonde was a grittier thriller earlier in his career which more closely fits the tone of The Beekeeper. Oscar-winner Charlize Theron continues to prove herself to be a great action movie star with some visceral and brutal fight scenes that will thrill anyone looking for hard-hitting action seen in The Beekeeper.

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.

Based on the Alan Moore graphic novel, 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 movie takes its story of fascism more seriously than The Beekeeper, with some more interesting things to say. However, they are both exciting action movies as well with a relentless protagonist out for justice with no mercy in mind.