Shelter

Wuchak 6/29/2026 7:19:30PM 8.4

**_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 setting isn’t one-dimensional and effectively shifts as the story progresses. There are constant thrills with ocean rescues, booby traps, gunfights, car chases and mano-a-mano fights. It helps that human interest is added with the developing spiritual father/daughter relationship of the protagonists. Another plus is the lens into modern-day surveillance technology and how easy it is for those on the other side of the cameras to track you in any urbanized area. It runs 1h 47m and was shot Feb-May 2025 south of Dublin in County Wicklow, Ireland (including the Scottish island) accompanied by drone shots of Lamb Island in the Firth of Forth, Scotland; as well as London and northwest of there in Buckinghamshire, England; and Ronda in southern Spain. GRADE: B+/A-

Sierbahnn 5/10/2026 7:42:12PM 8.4

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.

shauny33 8/12/2026 2:14:31PM 8.4

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 performance in, though. I have never seen him so hammy.)