Shelter

Shelter (2026)

64% on Rotten Tomatoes (out of 77 reviews)

Runtime: 107 minutes

Directed by: Ric Roman Waugh

Starring: Jason Statham, Bodhi Rae Breathnach, Bill Nighy, Naomi Ackie, Daniel Mays

From: Black Bear/Punch Palace Productions

This sure was a January Jason Statham movie release.

I am not saying this as a negative. I haven’t even seen his last few films-the last one was (unfortunately) Expend4bles. Shelter is a masterpiece compared to that catastrophe. Rather, once you hear the premise-Statham lives alone on a remote Scottish island, but is required to take care of a 12-year-old girl who is the niece of the dude that delivers supplies to him each week after a bad storm… this doesn’t subvert expectations, yet that’s not a demerit. Being formulaic is not always a shortcoming either.

Of course, Statham is in exile because he’s a badass who is hiding due to necessity. Of course the dog that was his only companion doesn’t make it off the island-that’s a warning to those like me that love canines-and of course you can’t trust everyone in the federal government, this case the UK government. What’s important to those interested in such a film… the action beats. Well, all of it is fine; nothing Earth-shattering, but still fun. It’s filmed in a modern style yet it never becomes migraine-inducing. Statham and the other two names I knew (Naomi Ackie, Bill Nighy) all delivered decent performances.

Importantly for me: was the little girl an irritating, precocious, preposterous wise-cracking character? Thankfully, no. Jesse (Bodhi Rae Breathnach; what a name) was a likable kid who was a believable kid & core relationship of Shelter was charming. In terms of acting craft, I thought she was actually the highlight. There’s also a memorable scene in a nightclub and the score from David Buckley was better than expected.

As an aside, judging from my Letterboxd mutuals, my skipping out on last year’s A Working Man was the right decision. As it’s a David Ayer joint, the presumption is that a certain word would be used constantly and that alone is a turn-off. In Shelter, that word’s only used a few times so that was a non-issue.

For those that like the most Dad Cinema of Statham’s filmography (or the Dad Cinema of Liam Neeson, such as Honest Thief or The Marksman) then Shelter and its unflashy yet solid style should entertain you. As one last aside, when the expected raid on Statham’s island occurs, he has some Home Alone-style traps set up that are used. RIP Catherine O’Hara; sometime in February I’ll properly pay tribute.