Opening in theaters on January 30 is ‘Shelter,’ directed by Ric Roman Waugh and starring Jason Statham, Bodhi Rae Breathnach, Naomi Ackie, Daniel Mays, Bryan Vigier, and Bill Nighy.
dEUgG7PoKWvAMgn06X3oF5Related Article: Jason Statham and Director Guy Ritchie to Reunite for ‘Viva La Madness’
Initial Thoughts
Jason Statham is the AC/DC of action movies: just as the legendary Australian band has made the same album 17 times, Statham makes more or less the same movie every year and portrays pretty much the same character each time out. Some, like ‘The Beekeeper,’ operate at a slightly higher level than the others – but we can’t quite say that about ‘Shelter.’
Statham’s latest action thriller, directed by Ric Roman Waugh, doesn’t break the mold in any way but it also doesn’t quite deliver like some of the star’s better vehicles, spinning its tale in humdrum fashion with little surprises and almost none of the self-aware humor that has marked Statham’s best work.
Story and Direction
Opening in the Outer Hebrides off the coast of Scotland, ‘Shelter’ finds Statham playing – surprise, surprise – Michael Mason, a man looking to escape his past. An ex-Royal Marine, he hides out alone on a small island next to a defunct lighthouse, drinking his days away and accompanied only by his dog. A former colleague of his delivers supplies every week via trawler, delivered to Mason’s doorstep by Jessie (Bodhi Rae Breathnach), the man’s plucky niece who attempts to befriend Mason but is rudely rebuffed.
All that changes when a storm capsizes the trawler and Mason springs into action to rescue Jessie. Forced to take care of her, he ventures across the channel on his own for supplies – and once at the local village, those omnipresent surveillance cameras pick up his face and send his image to MI6 (British intelligence) – only under a different name. But there are forces within the government itself – not always working together — that have a keen interest in locating Mason, sending strike teams after him and forcing him to not just take them all out like a toddler brushing his toy soldiers off the table, but to protect Jessie as well and try to get her out of the U.K.
All the usual Statham pieces are in place: he’s a gruff man of few words and deadly moves who’s tormented by his past, he has to protect and/or rescue an innocent person, and his enemies have endless resources and supplies of redshirts to hurl at him. Yet what ‘Shelter’ is missing is a few good laughs here and there as well as a certain amount of energy. Director Ric Roman Waugh – who generated suspense and heart with ‘Greenland 2: Migration’ earlier this month – can’t seem to get this film out of first gear. The snarky Statham humor is almost completely absent, and the film’s drab visual esthetic – this is a movie submerged almost entirely in muted grays, browns, and greens – makes it unpleasant and enervating to look at.
There are a few good fights (even if Waugh has some trouble tracking them) and Statham and Breathnach share a few moments of warmth and humanity. But the script offers little in the way of reveals or sudden twists (the film curiously feels like there should be a few more), we see the bad guys coming from a mile away (literally in some scenes) and while we end up rooting for our man as usual, it’s all half-hearted at best.
Cast and Performances
There’s little to say about Jason Statham’s performance here that we haven’t said before. Even his most middling films benefit from his sturdy presence, and he handles the action scenes with his usual aplomb. There’s even a character arc of sorts this time out. But he’s better when he gently pokes fun at himself or the material, and ‘Shelter’ is too self-serious to let him really light up the screen.
As for the rest of the cast, Bodhi Rae Breathnach shows some grit and confidence as Jessie, but the rest of the cast is merely functional. Naomi Ackie is wasted in a mostly expository role, while Bill Nighy and Arthur Booth go through their pre-ordained motions the best they can. Sadly, French stunt performer Bryan Vigier gets a raw deal as the appropriately named Workman, a killing machine clandestinely sent after Mason who turns out to be the blandest assassin we’ve seen onscreen in a while.
Final Thoughts
No one expects great art out of Jason Statham; he’s a brand unto himself whose fans know what they’re getting and, for the most part, get it in satisfying fashion. He’s always watchable and is one of our few remaining action heroes who looks like he knows what he’s doing.
But ‘Shelter’ never fully comes alive narratively or visually – even David Buckley’s synth-heavy score sounds lethargic – and is not as entertaining as the star’s best efforts. But hey, even AC/DC made a few mediocre albums, right?
‘Shelter’ receives a score of 55 out of 100.
What is the plot of ‘Shelter’?
On a remote coastal island, a reclusive man (Jason Statham) rescues a young girl (Bodhi Rae Breathnach) from a deadly storm, drawing them both into danger. Forced out of isolation, he must confront his turbulent past while protecting her, sending them on a tense journey of survival and redemption.
Who is in the cast of ‘Shelter’?
- Jason Statham as Michael Mason
- Bodhi Rae Breathnach as Jessie
- Bill Nighy as Steven Manafort
- Naomi Ackie as Roberta Frost
- Daniel Mays as Arthur Booth
- Bryan Vigier as James Workman
List of Jason Statham Movies
- ‘Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels’ (1998)
- ‘Snatch’ (2000)
- ‘The Transporter’ (2002)
- ‘The Italian Job’ (2003)
- ‘Cellular’ (2004)
- ‘Transporter 2’ (2005)
- ‘Revolver’ (2005)
- ‘The Pink Panther’ (2006)
- ‘Crank’ (2006)
- ‘The Bank Job’ (2008)
- ‘Death Race’ (2008)
- ‘Transporter 3’ (2008)
- ‘Crank: High Voltage’ (2009)
- ‘The Expendables’ (2010)
- ‘The Mechanic’ (2011)
- ‘The Expendables 2’ (2012)
- ‘Fast & Furious 6’ (2013)
- ‘The Expendables 3’ (2014)
- ‘Furious 7’ (2015)
- ‘Spy’ (2015)
- ‘Mechanic: Resurrection’ (2016)
- ‘The Fate of the Furious’ (2017)
- ‘The Meg’ (2018)
- ‘Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw’ (2019)
- ‘Wrath of Man’ (2021)
- ‘F9’ (2021)
- ‘Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre’ (2023)
- ‘Fast X’ (2023)
- ‘Meg 2: The Trench’ (2023)
- ‘Expend4bles’ (2023)
- ‘The Beekeeper’ (2024)
- ‘A Working Man’ (2025)
- ‘Shelter’ (2026)
