Shelter sees Jason Statham (A Working Man) breaking NEW ground in a movie… because he has a BEARD!
For the past 300 years, he’s lived his life like a hermit, in a lighthouse in the Outer Hebrides… Scotland, as the captions thankfully confirm(!)
He also plays chess against himself, even ending one game in a checkmate… How did he not see that coming?!
But as soon as young Jessie’s (Bodhi Rae Breathnach – Hamnet) uncle’s trailer hits problems in the sea and goes underwater, Statham’s character, Mason, is left looking after a young, homeless/orphaned child for the umpteenth time.
I won’t say what his former career is, which made him a crack-shot, but I can say he’s trained in the ways of Jason Statham, and can down an entire SOCOM team without a second thought, although when confronted with some cops – a la Channel 5’s Police interceptors, he punches them in the face, which made me laugh.
Beyond that, we have the most predictable storyline ever, because Bill Nighy (Living) plays retiring government bod Bill Nighy, who wants to settle a score with Mason, and Daniel Mays (BBC’s new Lord Of The Flies series) just turns up to collect his cheque, while in the same office, nerdy Maddison (Celine Buckens – The Castaways) is trying to impress boss Roberta (Naomi Ackie – The Thursday Murder Club) by uncovering a mole. And not one who lives in a hole.
Oddly, Jessie doesn’t appear to relate to anything in the movie. She just gets caught up in it all, and her recovery takes up the first 30 minutes of the film which really makes the first act drag. Still, the one thing that WAS a surprise is the pleasing Michael Mann-type score.
Shelter is in cinemas now, and is available to pre-order on 4K Blu-ray, Blu-ray and DVD.
NOTE: There are no mid- nor post-credits scenes.
Detailed specs:
Cert: 
Running time: 107 minutes
Release date: January 30th 2026
Studio: Black Bear
Aspect Ratio: 2.39:1
Cinema: Odeon Trafford Centre
Rating: 7/10
Director: Ric Roman Waugh
Producers: Jon Berg, Brendon Boyea, John Friedberg, Greg Silverman, Jason Statham
Screenplay: Ward Parry
Music: David Buckley
Cast:
Mason: Jason Statham
Jessie: Bodhi Rae Breathnach
Maddison: Celine Buckens
Roberta: Naomi Ackie
Manafort: Bill Nighy
Haneron: Anna Crilly
Prime Minister Fordham: Harriet Walter
Uncle: Michael Shaeffer
Aziz: Bally Gill
Deakins: Bronson Webb
Callum: Rodaidh Findlay
Booth: Daniel Mays
Reviewer of movies, videogames and music since 1994. Aortic valve operation survivor from the same year. Running DVDfever.co.uk since 2000. Nobel Peace Prize winner 2021.