‘Shelter’ Review
Stars: Jason Statham, Bodhi Rae Breathnach, Bill Nighy, Naomi Ackie, Daniel Mays, Harriet Walter, Celine Buckens | Written by Ward Parry | Directed by Ric Roman Waugh
Jason Statham teams with action director Ric Roman Waugh (Greenland, Angel Has Fallen) for Shelter, a generic but entertaining action thriller set in the UK. As such, the script leaves something to be desired, but Statham’s natural charisma makes it work, and the fight scenes are enjoyably energetic, if not necessarily distinctive.
Shelter opens on a remote island in the Outer Hebrides, where a man we eventually learn is named Mason (Statham) lives in a disused lighthouse with his unnamed dog. After a violent storm kills the fisherman who usually delivers Mason’s supplies, he’s forced to look after the man’s teenage niece, Jessie (Hamnet’s Bodhi Rae Breathnach), but the pair soon find themselves on the run, after the island is suddenly attacked by gun-toting goons.
It transpires that Mason is ex-special forces (plus ca change, etc), and he’s a fugitive, having refused some unpalatable orders from MI6 head Manafort (Bill Nighy) back in the day. And when Manafort realises Mason is at large again, he orders covert forces to take Mason and Jessie down, while concealing the truth from the new head of MI6, Roberta (Naomi Ackie), who has her own set of gunmen in pursuit of the fugitive.
So far, so Bourne knock-off, and that analogy also extends to the fight scenes, which frequently make amusing use of household objects. To that end, the fight scenes are muscular, impactful and expertly staged, reflecting Waugh’s own background as a stunt performer.
That said, while Shelter doesn’t lack for quantity in the fight scene department (there’s an action sequence every few minutes), it’s fair to say that there’s a disappointing lack of invention, to the point where there’s no real stand-out moment or anything that would be considered memorable.
On a similar note, the script is bizarrely reticent in places, as if unsure exactly how much emotion it is really comfortable with. It’s clear, for example, that Jessie was originally intended to be revealed as Mason’s daughter (he knew her mother, and since Jessie’s the one who actually delivers his food, it seems like he chose that hideout to be near her), but the script just lets that go, and the actual ending feels frustratingly weak as a result.
On the plus side, Statham can do this sort of thing in his sleep, and he’s on his usual fine form here, effectively just sticking to his usual screen persona, rather than attempting anything resembling character work. Breathnach is hampered slightly by the script making her so whiny, but she creates a strong rapport with Statham that is ultimately touching, despite the script shying away from giving them a closer relationship.
As for the rest of the supporting cast, Ackie is good value, as is her tech-savvy assistant (Celine Buckens as Maddison), while Bill Nigh gives exactly the performance you’re expecting, which works well enough. It’s a shame that the great Harriet Walter is so criminally underused as the Prime Minister, though – they missed a trick there.
In short, Shelter is a perfectly passable Jason Statham movie that delivers nicely in terms of action and ultimately succeeds thanks to the lead actor’s palpable movie star charisma. The script could definitely have used another pass though.
*** 3/5
Shelter is in cinemas now.
