Ravers will know DJ mixmaster Fatboy Slim’s ‘Eat, Sleep, Rave, Repeat’ and it’s a phrase that can be reworked as, ‘Beat, Leap, Grave, Re-beat’ for fellow Brit and action maestro Jason Statham for his latest film, ‘Shelter’.
Again he is the loner with a shady past who keeps himself to himself and goes by the name of Mason who lives in a disused British lighthouse with only his dog for company. Mason’s only contact with the outside world is receiving food parcels delivered by teenager Jessie (Bodhi Rae Breathnach) who has her own tragic backstory and now lives with her uncle who make the deliveries to the island through stormy waters in their boat.
At the same time it’s Bill Nighy the former Head of British Secret Services now recently told by the Prime Minister (Harriet Walter) that he’s to step down for his replacement Naomi Ackie. It’s his departments surveillance system that he has instigated that appears to be able to access everything from CCTV to dashcams for facial configuration that has proved controversial. So when it fleetingly picks up Mason’s face who turns out to be a wanted man, Ackie throws her elite corp of hunters, ‘The Black Kites’ after him. Let the carnage commence! Whatever resources are thrown at Mason he bats away in the customary bone crunching style. Its made even more dangerous when Nighy directs his big guns into the fray. Or big gun because who he does send is a lethal adversary and worthy opponent on a par with Mason’s own skills and what follows is a cat mouse chase as he flees his lighthouse taking Jessie with him (having lost her uncle and only family member in a boat accident when they made a delivery to the lighthouse).
It’s a decent actioner though doesn’t make a lot of sense – Nighy’s character, though no longer in his senior role at the secret service, has covertly obtained access to the surveillance system on his home computer and the huge body count doesn’t attract any press attention. But Statham as ever is the ruthlessly efficient one man fighting machine and there are several highly effective sequences in this. Helmed by Ric Roman Waugh whose 2017 prison drama ‘Shot Caller’ and 2020 actioner ‘Greenland’ are excellent genre films and this is equally good although those set pieces are marred by being shot in a murky light which might be a comment on British weather but nonetheless it doesn’t make it easy to see what’s going on. On the plus side is an unexpected supporting cast of Nighy, Walter and Daniel Mays none of which are known for their action films (albeit Nighy and Walter are both in their mid 70’s) and for Nighy especially, rightly Oscar nominated for the excellent ‘ Living’ easily is able to brings customary gravitas or laughs whatever the role.
Breathnach is especially good having already made a mark with her big screen debut ‘Hamnet’ and is destined for greatness having already just completed filming ‘WereWolf’ for Robert Eggers. Statham remains probably one of the hardest working men in showbiz banging out brutal high profile actioners every year and ‘Shelter’ plays very much like John Wick meets Leon and that’s a pretty good bar to aim for.
related feature : We ask director Luc Besson – Will there be a Leon 2?
related feature : ‘Shot Caller’ reviewed here
Here’s the Shelter trailer……
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