Time: 107 Minutes
Age Rating: M – Violence & offensive language
Cast:
Jason Statham as Michael Mason
Bodhi Rae Breathnach as Jessie
Bill Nighy as Manafort
Naomi Ackie as Roberta
Daniel Mays as Arthur Booth
Harriet Walter as Prime Minister
Director: Ric Roman Waugh

Shelter looked to be another Jason Statham action flick, I generally like his movies so I was already on board with it. Ric Roman Waugh was also directing, and he has made some above average to decent action movies like Greenland, Angel Has Fallen, Kandahar and Snitch. The result was pretty much what I expected: not great but a fun time.

Shelter is a typical Jason Statham action thriller. Plotwise, it is formulaic, and has a familiar and predictable story with very little surprises, but it is entertaining enough. It takes a little bit to get going and only picks up after the first action set piece, however, the slower and dramatic first act does effectively establish the connection and dynamic between the two main characters before they have to go into action mode and go on the run.

Jason Statham does his usual stuff, playing another brooding, mysterious and deadly person who can fight and kill. It’s familiar territory for him, but he’s reliable and gets to do more dramatic stuff here compared to most of his other roles. Bodhi Rae Breathnach is good as the girl that Statham has to protect, and the two have a good and natural dynamic together. Bill Nighy made for an entertaining villain in his few scenes.

Ric Roman Waugh directs this decently. There are some fun action set pieces, well choreographed and captured, with a sequence in a club being the standout. I also quite liked the score from David Buckley.

Shelter is a formulaic, but entertaining and decent Jason Statham action thriller. You already know what sort of movie you’re getting into, and it delivers on being that.