A Straightforward but Entertaining Actioner
Summary
Shelter is one of Jason Statham’s best movies in terms of dramatic performances and there are some decent fight scenes too; it doesn’t do anything new in terms of story, but it delivers the action goods with enough broken bones and dead bodies to keep action junkies happy.
Plot: On a remote coastal island, a former assassin living in self-imposed exile rescues a young girl from a deadly storm. As their lives start to intertwine, he must protect the orphan while battling enemies from his past.
Review: It’s the end of January which means it’s Statham Season (which has now taken over from Neeson Season) and Shelter has been on my most anticipated list for some time. This is mostly due to the film involving Jason Staham punching people in the face and also some of the action takes place on a Scottish Island (although I have since found out it was mostly Ireland… sigh).
The trailer ticked all of the boxes with Bill Nighy’s villain explaining how how Statham’s character, Mason “isn’t just an assassin, he was a precision instrument” or words to that effect. It had a classic Seagal feel to it where he’s the “best there is” and I am 100% here for it.
You can always rely on Statham to provide old-school action thrills and in Shelter he does exactly that even if there isn’t anything new about it. There are no surprises and nothing that will make you go “holy shit”, but in terms of dramatic performances this is one of Statham’s best.
Shelter has a moody atmosphere and is a bit slowburn to start off; it sets up how alone Mason is in the world until he is forced to protect a young girl called Jesse (a fantastic Bodhi Rae Breathnach) from his former employers.
Shot in that desaturated style that so many films have these days Shelter looks dreary, but it works to emphasize Mason’s loneliness and watch how the colour brightens as the film progresses.
The action is well shot and we get a few brutal beatdowns and one especially awesome kill as well as some shoot-outs too. Like every modern action movie it of course has a set-piece inside a nightclub, but it’s one of the best sequences.
It’s all by the numbers stuff, but is still satisfying in delivering exactly what we’ve come to expect from a Statham flick while also providing genuine drama and dare I say it, emotion.
The score really adds to the moodiness especially during the quieter moments giving the film a melancholy feel to it.
Overall, with Shelter and The Wrecking Crew this is a good week to be an action fan; this may not reinvent the wheel, but it’s a solid vehicle for Statham to beat up the bad guys while also showing dramatic chops too. I’m glad I saw it on the big screen as the sound was awesome as was the music score. There are some enjoyable set-pieces, but few that really stand out and adrenaline fans may not like the fact it takes a while for the action to really kick in.