Shelter

I’ve always loved the idea of living in a remote Scottish lighthouse where the weather could close in and cut me off from everything and everyone - with, of course, wifi and all the conveniences of home. “Mason” (Jason Statham) has had the same idea - only minus the mod cons, and survives frugally thanks to a weekly delivery from a trawler man (Michael Schaefer) and his young neice “Jessie” (Bodhi Rae Breathnach). She takes pity on this lonely stranger, tries to engage with him and then on one very stormy day gets more than she bargained for ending up stuck with him. She’s injured,...

"Shelter" is, with one notable exception, a rather uninspiring action thriller.

I'll start by saying I like Jason Statham, but really, for my money, the shining light in this otherwise rather dull film is Bodhi Rae Breathnach. She shines as the young girl Stratham sets out to save when she gets embroiled in his past life in the world of assassination and espionage.

Looking beyond her performance, most other aspects of this film feel leaden, forced and predictable. Pacing is off too, with a lead-in that's far too drawn out for what is at its core an action film.

In summary, "Shelter"...

Thoroughly enjoyable
Jason keeps making this movie over and over, and they are getting more and more refined. This is the Beekeper, sort of. A Working Man, sort of. The Mechanic, Transporter, and so on. And he does it well. His costar Bodhi is amazing, and with Bill as the anchor for plot the composition is solid. The action is great, the direction solid, the shots on point. I liked this a lot. It is not high cinema, and noone expects it to be. But it is good....

**_A one-man-army off the coast of Scotland takes a girl under his wing_**

This is basically Rambo or Die Hard in the UK, starring Jason Statham, albeit with him sort of teaming up with a young adolescent girl, played by Bodhi Rae Breathnach (she was three months shy of 14 years-old when shooting ended). It’s like the drama/adventure “Wildlike” (2014) if it were an action flick taking place on the British Isles.

The opening at the remote lighthouse on a rocky coast is reminiscent of Kirk Douglas’ “The Light at the Edge of the World” from 55 years earlier. Thankfully, the s...

I enjoy most Jason Statham films because I know what to expect. And when I'm in that mood, his films do a better job than most at this level. But as a Jason Bourne fan, it was hard not to notice that 'Shelter' unashamedly used incredibly similar plot and philosophical devices, characters and even dialogue. These distractions made me chuckle, not frown. Had this been made by Paul Greengrass himself, and with better actors and sharper dialogue, it may have been a smashing film worth a point or two more. As it is, a solid seven for being delightfully entertaining. (Bill Nighy dialled his perform...