This 2024 film repeats Jason Statham’s $152 million action hit with a brilliant twist

While The Beekeeper was a well-deserved big hit for Jason Statham in early 2024, the upcoming action comedy Thelma takes its premise and makes it even better. The Beekeeper saw Jason Statham in the lead role of the eponymous “beekeeper” agent, a particularly deadly enforcer of harsh justice. When his sweet landlady falls for a phishing scam and goes bankrupt, she takes her own life and it’s up to Statham’s tough antihero to avenge her. The BeekeeperAt the end of The Big Killer, Statham’s titular killer exacts bloody revenge, but before that, the film sets up possible sequels with a few final twists.

Due to the film’s enormous success at the box office and on streaming, sequels are likely. The Beekeeper grossed over $152 million upon release, which The Beekeeper 2 will likely be announced in the near future. Fortunately, viewers won’t have to wait that long for another action film dealing with the same subject matter. The upcoming action comedy Thelma has an almost identical premise, but with one big difference. This change means that Thelma may offer an even wilder twist on Statham’s action movie story, as the plot revolves not around an agent but a kindly grandmother.

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Thelma is an even wilder version of Jason Statham’s “The Beekeeper”

Thelma reinterprets Jason Statham’s action film with an older heroine

While The Beekeeper was a big box office hit, the upcoming Thelma promises to be another action hit. Both films are about someone taking revenge after an elderly person loses their savings in a phone scam. The difference is that The Beekeeper had Jason Statham’s eponymous antihero take revenge for his dead neighbor. Thelmathe elderly heroine herself is plotting revenge. June Squibb, known for her roles as The big Bang Theoryy’s Meemaw and NebraskaKate Grant plays 93-year-old grandmother Thelma. At the beginning of the film, Thelma falls victim to a phishing scam.

Against the advice of her grandson ThelmaThe older heroine arms herself with a gun and tries to track down the scammers who stole her savings. The film received excellent reviews at its premiere at Sundance. Many critics said that Squibb’s first action film Thelma should not be her last foray into the genre. Screen veteran Squibb is reliably great in the lead role, while stars like Parker Posey and Malcolm McDowell provide support. Unlike The Beekeeper, Thelma is admittedly more heartfelt and comedic than Statham’s action film. However, the plots of the two projects are eerily similar.

Thelma’s cast makes the premise even more impressive

“Thelma” with film veterans June Squibb and Richard Roundtree

While Posey and McDowell are solid additions for ThelmaIn the cast, Squibb’s co-star Richard Roundtree was singled out by numerous critics as a highlight. Roundtree is best known for his role in the title role of the legendary 1971 blaxploitation classic. Waveand the sequels. Roundtree repeated the role in two Wave Reboots, one in 2000 and one in 2019. Thelma proves that the veteran is still a great addition to any action film, with Roundtree and Squibb having great chemistry according to numerous critics. Thelma is a must for fans of The Beekeeper upon its publication.

Thelma (2024)

director

Josh Margolin

Release date

January 18, 2024

Studio(s)

Zurich Avenue, Invention Studios, Bandwagon

Authors

Josh Margolin

Pour

June Squibb, Fred Hechinger, Richard Roundtree, Parker Posey, Clark Gregg, Malcolm McDowell

Duration

97 minutes

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