Jason Statham is one of those actors who could exist and thrive in just about any era. One of the reasons he fit so well in The Expendables franchise, alongside action stars of the ’70s ’80s, and ’90s, is that he belonged there with them. He’s a legit tough guy with an everyman spirit. By the same token, filmmaker Ric Roman Waugh would be right at home whether directing the paranoida thrillers of decades past or high-octane action movies of today. On paper, Waugh and Statham are a match made in Heaven, and Shelter finds them both at the top of their games.
Shelter is a different kind of movie than the typical Statham actioner. Sure, there are familiar aspects; the government agent with a secret violent past, for instance. Statham has done that a lot. But this is also a movie that is more character focused, which is Waugh’s strength. Waugh has found tremendous success over the years working with Gerard Butler, who in many ways is a similar actor. If we could get Waugh directing Statham and Butler someday, that would be killer. Waugh’s storytelling is more grounded, which allows Statham to play a man who is less a brawling blunt instrument, but a tortured soul fighting for a chance to find some peace.
Statham plays Michael Mason, a loner living in isolation on the Scottish isles with his dog. He receives supplies regularly from a father and his tough young niece, Jessie (Hamnet actress Bodhi Rae Breathnach), but refuses to engage with the in any way. Jessie gets pretty sick of this and confronts Mason about it, showing the kind of fire that burns inside of her. Of course, Mason blows her off, wanting to be left alone. However, when the girl and her uncle are endangered by a powerful storm, Mason leaps to the rescue. In turn, Jessie, who needs time to recuperate in Mason’s home, wants to rescue him from the loneliness that is eating away at him. The two forge a bond in which they become one another’s safe haven from the outside world.
The plot really kicks off with the discovery that MI6 has developed technology that can hack into literally any device with a camera to use as surveillance, shattering any notion of personal privacy. This new tech quickly identifies Mason when he dares to leave the solitude of the island, and suddenly there are armed agents looking to take him in, as he’s been on the run from MI6 for years.
Bill Nighy plays Manaford, a top official within MI6 and the man leading an operation from the shadows against Mason for his own sinister purposes. Naomi Ackie is Roberta, the agent put in charge of capturing Mason, but soon finds that she’s uncertain where her loyalties should truly lay. Nighy and Ackie are tremendous actors, but their roles here are pretty generic, government official types.
Those coming in expecting Shelter to be The Beekeeper might want to take a step back. This is not that movie. The action is smaller in scale, and the plot streamlined to give Statham something else to do other than punch people. There’s a nice mentor/student dynamic between Statham and Breathnach, a little like Jean Reno and Natalie Portman in The Professional. As that’s one of my all-time favorite movies, it really stuck with me and will to others who dig that film.
One problem with Shelter is that Statham doesn’t have a true foil who can match him physically. That’s not to say Statham doesn’t have any good battles, but Mason’s real fight is against himself and his demons. It makes for a solid throwback thriller, elevated by Waugh’s skillful direction and a Statham who is willing to deliver more than just mindless violence.
Shelter is in theaters now from Black Bear.
