Shelter Movie Review

“Shelter” is a movie that will break no new ground, even if the main character breaks a few bad guys bones. The ‘lone wolf’ good guy is not alone this time. He has a young girl to take care of; all the while he is taking care of the parade of henchmen that try to stop him. This time, ‘Special Ops’ includes babysitting.

In the icy waters off Scotland, there is an ‘Island with No Name’. The only one who lives there is a ‘Man with No Name’, at least — for a little while. He is all alone, except for his trusty ‘Dog with No Name’. He is a reclusive fellow named Michael Mason (played by Jason Statham), driven to isolation to get away from his past.

This small island has a lighthouse that does not work. Mason is keeping the ultimate low profile. Many years ago, he was in military Special Operations. That was followed by a long time working in a covert unit at MI6 — British Intelligence. Mason gets weekly deliveries of food and drink (mostly canned beans and vodka).

He gets supplies thanks to an old military buddy with a trawler. The friend has his niece, named Jamie (played by Bodhi Rae Breathnach), who rows up to the shore and drops off the goods. She is really curious about the crusty old hermit who lives alone.

Due to a horrible storm, Jessie winds up rescued by Mason. Her uncle is dead, and she has no place to go live. Her ankle is badly hurt and infected. Mason does his best to keep Jessie safe and get her better. She gives the dog a name — Jack.

The infected ankle is not getting any better. Jessie needs more medicine that can only be found on the mainland. Mason, who has not been off the island in years, must go back to get something for his new ward. There is a reason that he has stayed private for all these years.

His visit to the drugstore is captured by the all-encompassing electronic eyes. The entire country has just about all cameras wired into a secret MI6 project called THEA. The head of MI6, Manafort (played by Bill Nighy), is catching all the flak from the public outcry.

The Prime Minister moves Manafort out of that position. Instead, behind the scenes, she revives his old program — called ‘Black Kites’. This is a super-covert team of agents who do dirty deeds (and they’re done dirt cheap). The new head of MI6 is a woman named Roberta Frost (played by Naomi Ackie).

Mason used to be a top operative for ‘Black Kites’. But now he is on the bad side of Manafort. He has been hiding from the THEA system of surveillance for these many years. But he is now found, only because his new mission is to bring Jesse to a safe ‘Shelter’.

Roberta Frost knows nothing about the activities of Manafort, now that he has restarted ‘Black Kites’. The first thing he does is send out a ‘Kill Squad’. They are sent to the island where Mason and Jessie are hiding. Due to Mason’s background in combat and stealth, the Squad are successful. They all get Killed.

But now, the genie is out of the bottle, horse is out of the barn — and the covert hunt is on. The battle-tested Mason is ready to fend off any attacker. His job is to protect the freckled face of Jessie, and find someplace she will be safe.

The local police are on his trail, but he shakes them off. There is an elite assassin, put into play by Manafort. This man goes by the name of Workman (played by Bryan Figier), and he is unstoppable. Mason and Jessie are chased everywhere. At every point, there are fistfights, handgun shooting, knife threatening, all sorts of general mayhem.

They are able to stop, for a short while, at an old friend’s place. One of the other old ‘Black Kites’, this buddy (played by Daniel Mays) is able to hack into the MI6 system. They all find out that Manfort is no longer in charge, but now Roberta Frost is leading the group. But they can see that Manafort is leading an off-the-books operation.

So, it is a long, harrowing chase after Mason and his young friend, Jesse. If they are caught, that will be the end for both of them. There are wild car chases down muddy roads. There are attacks, at first only by the single assassin – Workman. Later, Manafor puts an entire hit team out to get the two of them. But with Mason’s wits and strength — he is always able to get Jesse out of harms way.

Roberta Frost can only watch from afar, seeing all the survailiance of the situation. Manafort is the one leading this covert kill team. Mason makes a contact with another criminal cartel leader. This guy might have the means to get Jesse out of the country to a safe place.

Can Mason get Jesse to a safe zone? Can Roberta Frost wrestle control back from Manafort. Will Mason see that the ultimate justice is done to the man who has him marked for death? Many people are collateral damage to the fight between Mason and Manafort.

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“Shelter” takes a similar concept as many other movies. But in this case, the ‘super-secret agent hunted by the organization that he helped to dismantle’ has a clever twist. Here, the main character has an unusual partner. Mason takes it upon himself to protect Jesse.

Jason Statham does his usual thing — being the toughest and smartest guy in any room. He plays the gruff ‘Mason’ as a private loner. Paired with a young girl, he must change and alter his tactics. He puts her safety first, and he might become expendable.

The supporting cast, starting with Bodhi Rae Breathnach, fits into the story really well. She plays the curious girl put into a terrible situation. Her portrayal as ‘Jesse’ works well with Statham. Also, Bill Nighy is a great villain as ‘Manafort’. He is slick and devious in all of his dastedly plans. Naomi Ackie is, unfortunately, stuck with a role where she does nothing more than walk around room with large screens.

This is an action movie, but with a lot of initial slow time at the beginning. But once the trap is set for Mason, the amount of crazy action amps up quite a bit. The scenes are put together very well, with frantic car chases and gun fight in night clubs.

“Shelter” is a movie that resembles as fast food meal. It is filled up with a ton of action and fights, but it will not press to hard to use your brain cells. Forget your worries and take ‘shelter’…