Shelter (dir. Ric Roman Waugh)
By: Adam Freed
As sure as the sun rises in the east and sets in the west, January marks the predictable intersection of action fans and the release of a new Jason Statham (The Meg, Snatch) film. The Shirebrook, England native has come to corner the box office market when it comes to standalone action adventures and workmanlike performances that balance the actor’s rugged charisma and his physical capabilities. Although recently Statham has been cast in a slew of distinctly American productions like the David Ayer directed cult classic The Beekeeper (2024), his newest release is a welcome variation of both expectation and execution. At its outset, Shelter places the action star in isolation on the Outer Hebrides, a rugged stretch of the Scottish Isles in which the only thing more challenging that socialization is the inhospitable landscape. After witnessing a deadly storm that leaves a young lady in peril, Michael Mason (Statham) risks his safety, and his anonymity in order to save her, a decision that puts both characters immediately into harm’s way.
Like so many of Jason Statham’s characters, Michael Mason is far more than he initially appears. In the case of Shelter, the newest offering from director Ric Roman Waugh (Shot Caller, Angel Has Fallen), Mason is a former MI6 operative whose skill set and security clearance can both be described as elite. Mason’s instincts push him to save the young storm victim Jessie, the film’s counterpunch to Statham’s protagonist, played by Bodhi Rae Breathnach (Hamnet), an actor who has shown a great deal of promise early in her career. What separates Shelter from campy genre competitors is Waugh’s keen eye for utilizing an evolving and diverse set of filming environments. Its visual diversity provides Shelter a leg up cinematically, especially in its opening act as the unforgiving Scottish archipelago does battle with the unrelenting near-frozen churn of the North Atlantic. In fact, the early man vs. nature positioning of Shelter is enough to shake audiences of any preconceived notions they may bring into Ric Roman Waugh’s latest film. Sure, there is plenty of hand to hand combat and high octane gunplay to satiate Statham’s staunchest of supporters, but the attention to cinematic detail in Shelter elevates what could’ve been a genre facsimile into something more resonant and engaging.
By the time Shelter expands its scope from the Scottish isles, to MI6 headquarters in London, it also expands its supporting cast, to mixed results. Disappointingly, the film underuses Naomi Ackie (Blink Twice, Mickey 17), by limiting the dynamic performer to an observational role that consists mostly of staring at screens on behalf of MI6. In contrast, Bill Nighy (Love Actually, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest) proves a memorable adversary as former MI6 spymaster Steven Manafort. Manafort uses an advanced invasive surveillance network, T.H.E.A. to attempt to track and eliminate Mason on the basis of the former spy’s knowledge of Manafort’s malfeasance. There is an unquestioned magnetism to Bill Nighy’s performance that makes absorbing the villainy of his antagonist a joyfully dark experience. While Manafort’s use of advanced surveillance to spy on British civilians is clearly wrong, Shelter never completely establishes the implications of T.H.E.A. to make its existence unconscionable. What does resonate loud and clear within Shelter is that Jason Statham’s loyal contingent of action-thirsty fans are likely to enjoy Waugh’s unexpected cinematic touches in addition to the more predictable fisticuffs and firefights synonymous with the actor's filmography.
Target Score 6/10 - Genre enthusiasts have come to know what to expect from a Jason Statham starring vehicle. Sure there is plenty of gunplay and bone-crunching hand to hand action in Shelter, but director Ric Roman Waugh layers an array of aesthetically pleasing and diverse landscapes atop a magnetic cast of characters, rendering Shelter a genre film worthy of exploration.