Shelter (2026) – Review

Quick Thoughts:

• Director Ric Roman Waugh (Shot Caller, Snitch, Greenland 1 & 2) has crafted a mature action film that features excellent performances, solid set pieces, and neat visuals.
• Message for movie villains – don’t mess with Jason Statham. It’s not worth it. Leave him alone. 
• Between Shelter, The Meg, Homefront, Safe, and The Fate of the Furious, Jason Statham is good with kids.
• Cardigan Statham (Blitz, The Mechanic, Wrath of Man) means trouble.
• Bodhi Rae Breathnach (Hamnet) is really good. 
• I know the action scenes were necessary for funding, but I’d watch Statham walk around an island for 90 minutes. 
• Bill Nighy should yell “Damn it, Roberta!” in all of his films. 

Between Shot Caller, Snitch, Kandahar, and the Greenland films, director Ric Roman Waugh has specialized in placing “ordinary people under extraordinary stress.” Which is why it’s interesting watching him helm a movie in which an extraordinary man beats up trained professionals. What’s nice about Shelter is that the rough edges of the Jason Statham-led A Working Man and Wrath of Man have been replaced with a more grounded feel and some genuine emotion that are staples of films directed by Waugh (think Greenland, a movie that focuses on a family trying to survive an apocalypse). Shelter isn’t a nasty piece of revenge fantasy filled with tough-talking blokes; it’s a well-crafted and mature action film made by a director and actor who know they are making an action vehicle for an action star, but wanted to add a little emotion into the mix. 

The plot revolves around an elite operative named Mason (Jason Statham), leaving his solitary (and peaceful) life on an isolated Scottish lighthouse island so he can kill dozens of overmatched villains. Mason moved to the island 10 years prior after a botched mission, and he spends his days drinking vodka, wearing comfy cardigans, playing chess, and talking to his well-trained dog. He receives his supplies from a former military buddy, who has his niece Jesse (Bodhi Rae Breathnach – very good) deliver packages to the island’s dockhouse. His boring life is interrupted when Jesse’s rowboat capsizes during a storm, which forces Mason to save her from the roaring sea (the uncle drowns). Since Jesse has no family (and Mason can’t go to the mainland), he keeps her on the island where he takes care of her injuries and feeds her bland porridge. When her injuries become infected, Mason goes to the mainland, where his face is filmed when he walks behind a group of livestreaming tourists. That night, a group of mercenaries foolishly travel to the island and are picked off by rock traps, rope traps, and a deadly oar. The battle forces Mason and Jesse to leave the safety of the island and brave the dangers of the mainland while being hunted by characters played by Bill Nighy, Naomi Ackie, and Bryan Vigier (whose stuntman background brings welcome physicality to his fights with Statham). 

There’s a standout car chase scene that takes place on a bumpy country road that feels exhilaratingly real in that it showcases actual cars bouncing around dirt roads. Before he became a director, Waugh worked in the industry as a stuntman and stunt coordinator (check out his IMDb page), so it’s no surprise that the action scenes are grounded and believable. The editing by Matthew Newman (Drive, Only God Forgives) is solid, and Waugh’s regular contributors, David Buckley (Composer), Martin Ahlgren (Cinematographer), Tim Blake (production designer), and Brandon Boyea (producer), all made sure the action film hits on all cylinders. 

The only thing working against the box office prospects of Shelter is that it’s a maturely crafted film that never leans into spectacle or bombast. Shelter isn’t as violent as The Beekeeper, A Working Man, and Wrath of Man, or as propulsive as Crank, The Transporter, and Hobbs and Shaw, which means it most likely won’t become a cult classic or huge hit. However, I think it will play well on streaming channels because there’s something comforting about the violent proceedings. 

Final Thoughts – It makes me very happy that the film currently has a 74% Tomatometer score (as of 01/29) because it’s a well-crafted action flick that features solid performances, likable characters and an emotional core.