Continuing the fine tradition of movies in which a grumpy Jason Statham plays a man with a past that they really, really should have left alone, The Beekeeper did exactly what it promised.
It let you follow a seemingly normal everyman man with an indeterminable accent and a long-suppressed particular set of skills as he kicked, punched, shot and blew up his way towards the people that wronged him.
A simple formula, a staple, so why mess with it?
The David Ayer-directed original played to the strengths of all involved. Statham was a retired intelligence operative, one of an elite group known as Beekeepers. Their job was to defend the hive of society against insidious attacks.
He suffers a tragedy due to his friend and former caretaker ending her life after falling for a phishing scam. This turns out to be very, very unfortunate for all of those involved.
Emmy Raver-Lampman, Minnie Driver, Josh Hutcherson, Jemma Redgrave and Jeremy Irons all co-starred. The Beekeeper overcome a somewhat confused release strategy and the final stages of a COVID hangover to take $153 million vs a comparatively small budget of $40 million.
It was generally positively reviewed by connoisseurs of such simple pleasures.
According to a report in Deadline, Amazon MGM Studios has won the worldwide distribution rights to the sequel.
The Stath is back, and the Miramax production will shoot this fall.
The deal was said to be worth over $50 million.
Timo Tjahjanto (Nobody 2) directs, with Kurt Wimmer writing. Ayer returns as a producer.
Statham will also produce through his Punch Palace Productions and Long Shot Productions.