Film Review: New Irish star shines in action flick with a heart
As a former stuntperson, he has the bruises to show his deep understanding of what makes each stunt work.
Anyone familiar with these pages knows I love a good action flick, from the intensity of John Wick to the spectacle of Fast & Furious. Waugh stands out by giving classic action stars real drama and emotional stakes to sink their teeth into.
His approach lets actors explore the human side of their characters, even as the action rages on.
It is something he has done with Gerald Butler several times, with films like , which still have plenty of fights but have emotionally high stakes. This time, he is bringing Jason Statham into this restrained type of action film.
Statham, who has over 30 action films under his belt, is renowned for his fighting skills, but even he would have to admit that some of his films are a little cheesy.
keeps him in his comfort zone with plenty of fight scenes but gives him more emotional depth to contend with. The film was shot in Wicklow, but is set in Scotland.
Statham plays Mason, but we do not know that yet. His identity is a closely guarded secret. He is living on a remote island in the Outer Hebrides with no communication and no company except for his loyal dog. Every few weeks, he receives a delivery of supplies, but he doesn’t talk to the boatman or his young niece, Jesse (Bodhi Rae Breathnach), who is under strict orders to drop the goods and leave straight away.
When a storm breaks out during a delivery, Mason has to rescue Jesse from the sea when her rowing boat capsizes. Her uncle drowns, leaving Jesse alone on the island with Mason.
When her wound becomes infected, Mason is forced to risk exposure by leaving the island and heading to the mainland, a potentially fatal move given his mysterious past and the reasons for his isolation.
On the mainland, a high-ranking intelligence officer, played by Bill Nighy, finds himself under fire. The government’s secret new AI surveillance system, designed to track people by facial recognition, has generated considerable controversy. As the head of the programme, he is forced to take the fall for its missteps, but there is a certain relief in returning to the shadowy operations he prefers.
Meanwhile, Naomi Ackie plays an intelligence operative tasked with managing the AI surveillance system. While monitoring the feeds, she spots a suspected terrorist believed to be hiding in Scotland. The figure identified by the AI bears a striking resemblance to Mason, who at that moment is back on the island, tending to Jesse’s injuries.
This case of mistaken identity sets off a chain reaction, drawing unwanted attention directly to Mason’s secluded refuge.
Before long, the island is besieged by a squad of elite special forces operatives. Despite their training and advanced weaponry, they are no match for Mason, whose skills as a former special operator quickly become evident.
Forced to go on the run with Jesse, Mason’s back-story comes into focus: he is a former special operative who faked his own death after refusing to carry out a morally ambiguous order. Since then, he has lived in isolation, haunted by the knowledge that, if discovered by the AI’s all-seeing gaze, he would be marked for elimination.
As Mason and Jesse are swept up in a relentless series of car chases, gunfights, and fist-fights, under the watchful gaze of the omnipresent AI, the stakes grow ever higher.
Can they stay alive long enough to escape?
The opening act of Shelter builds slowly, but once the action begins, the car chases and shoot-outs pull audiences directly into the fray.
While it’s refreshing to see Statham in a more subdued role, it’s young Breathnach who steals the show. Half-Irish and already earning acclaim for her role in , she delivers a stand-out performance that marks her as a rising star to watch.
may not land every blow as powerfully as hoped, but it remains an entertaining action film.
