Director: Ric Roman Waugh
Cast: Jason Statham, Bodhi Rae Breathnach, Bill Nighy, Naomi Ackie, Daniel Mays
Screenplay: Ward Perry
107 mins. Rated R for violence and some language.

Close your eyes. Imagine a recent action movie. One starring Jason Statham (Snatch). Imagine his character has a specific secret background as a government weapon. Okay, open them back up again. You’re watching Shelter. Wait, what movie did you think I was talking about? No, this one doesn’t have “bee” puns.

Michael Mason (Statham) is a recluse, living off the grid on a remote island in self-exile. When he saves the life of a young girl in the water during a storm, he begrudgingly takes her in. As they grow closer, he makes the mistake of heading to the city to buy clothes and is seen by security cameras and ID’d as a once-believed-dead government agent. Now, Michael has to protect the young girl, Jesse (Bodhi Rae Breathnach, Hamnet) while exposing his former allies who want him to stay dead.

Director Ric Roman Waugh (Shot Caller) is behind the camera for his second film of 2026 following Greenland 2: Migration, and this time, Waugh’s Shelter is very paint-by-numbers, or rather Statham-by-numbers, with a few flairs of clever storytelling. The movie is at its best when dealing with the off-the-grid Michael and his relationship with Jesse. In those moments, it’s an excellent mystery and character study. Even seeing the slip-up as he grows fonder and opens up more, to be spotted without thinking, works so well. The problem is that when the actual action elements kick into gear with a shadowy government agency and the various set pieces, Shelter grows very dull. It’s as though Waugh didn’t care about these elements, having gone through the motions before, and Statham seems asleep at the wheel in his most comfortable moments. It feels like a waste to even include Bill Nighy, (Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1) and Naomi Ackie, (Mickey 17) in the cast as neither are given much to do except the menacing motions.

Therein lies the central problem with Shelter. It wins with the drama and loses with the action, and the action is the reason moviegoers will buy tickets. After more than a few hours, the action scenes began to disappear from my mind, and what I was left with was not enough to justify this viewing experience. Perhaps those looking for a lesser version of The Beekeeper with less puns and equally-less style will find something memorable at play in Shelter, but this is further proof that just being Jason Statham punching people is not enough for me. Give me more of this character in a better film.

2/5
-Kyle A. Goethe

• For my review of Ric Roman Waugh’s Angel Has Fallen, click here.