Jason Statham is starting to become like a Street Fighter character brought to life, with Hollywood directors just smashing buttons to get the right combinations of punch, kick, shoot, repeat. Amazingly, he’s still regularly getting films into theaters, which is more than most actors can claim these days. Meanwhile, Mark Wahlberg, an Oscar nominee, seems trapped under the streaming curse, while Statham’s increasingly generic action movies almost always get theatrical releases.

Thinking about two of his recent films, The Beekeeper and A Working Man, Shelter lands somewhere in the middle. It’s not nearly as fun or creative as The Beekeeper, but it also doesn’t completely collapse under dumb plot points and dead-end storytelling like A Working Man.

Shelter feels incredibly basic, almost like it was made by AI after being fed Jason Statham’s filmography and told to generate “former spy hiding from his past.” Of course he can’t stay hidden forever, and naturally there’s an innocent young girl caught in the middle of the chaos.

Honestly, I’m pretty sure Statham already made this exact movie about a decade ago with Safe, just without the lighthouse keeper angle. To be fair, my brain erased most of Safe almost immediately after watching it, but Shelter constantly reminded me of it. That’s kind of the problem. The movie never finds a way to stand out from the endless pile of interchangeable action films floating around theaters and streaming services.

It also stumbles through basic character logic. Early on, a young girl brings supplies up to the lighthouse, and the movie suggests this is a regular occurrence. Yet Statham answers the door acting like a complete asshole, aggressively telling her not to come back. Why? You live in a lighthouse. How exactly are you planning to get supplies otherwise?

My assumption was that the village believes he’s an actual lighthouse keeper and provides him food and necessities so he can, you know, lighthouse. So the interaction feels bizarre and forced. It exists solely to establish him as gruff and damaged, but a better writer would’ve found a way to do that while also supporting his desire to blend in. Sometimes the best way to hide is to create as little resistance as possible. You take the supplies, thank the girl, close the door, and move on. It’s not complicated.

I’m sure some people will enjoy Shelter. There’s a traditional conspiracy plot involving who burned him, who can be trusted, and the usual parade of allies questioning whether they’re next. It also gives Statham another excuse to beat the hell out of people at an age where most action stars are slowing down, which honestly remains kind of impressive. I also thought the audio description did a decent job during the fight sequences, which has to be the only reason anyone would watch this. It’s a shame, because Statham has rarely been asked to do anything more, but when he does, you get something like his brilliant casting in Spy. I wish people would get more creative with his casting. It’s time for him to do a bit more acting, and a little less smashing.

And yes, Shelter is easily twice as smart as A Working Man. Unfortunately, that still doesn’t make it good.

Take Shelter, because Jason Statham is here to kick ass and chew bubble gum. And he doesn’t chew gum.He also apparently keeps making the same film, which is exhausting.

Rotten: 5.5/10