n a small, secluded isle in the Outer Hebrides, former Royal Marine Michael Mason (Jason Statham) lives a solitary, lonely life gazing out at the ocean, playing chess matches against himself, and looking after his loyal dog. Even Jessica Kelly (Bodhi Rae Breathnach), the young girl who delivers food and supplies by boat each week, can rarely catch a glimpse of the mysterious recluse. But when a storm capsizes her uncle’s trawler, killing the fisherman and leaving Jessie stranded and injured on Mason’s island, the enigmatic hermit decides to risk his own life to save hers. Now, with MI6 and a rogue assassin closing in on his location, Mason must wage a violent war against his enemies in order to keep Jessie safe.

Following an exceedingly precise formula, “Shelter” sets the stage for a no-nonsense thriller with desolate scenery, somber music (including pounding bass sounds), concerned visages (often in rapid-cut close-ups), an isolated locale, no dialogue, and a one-word title flashed onto the screen. The ominousness is evident – as is the generic feel of it all. It’s not ineffective, but it’s outrageously basic; and with all of the manipulative designs, it gets away with a rather uneventful setup, steadily building to something more action-packed as the stone-faced ultra-loner goes out of his way to avoid human contact (or even acknowledge other people), yet involves himself with a sinking ship and a drowning child.

Statham is once again a man of few words – but one who can spring into action at a moment’s notice, even when subsisting solely on porridge, vodka, and passing out on a chair, rather than keeping his mind sharp and his body fit (like his many special-forces opponents). He’s practically a Liam Neeson equivalent now, a “precision instrument” well past his prime yet capable of besting soldiers half his age. Amusingly, his tight-lipped aura works well for a film that will certainly appeal to audiences mostly uninterested in complexities; backstories, relationships, and motives are absent, on purpose. These are all details that won’t be missed anyway when viewers choose to distract themselves with smartphones instead of gluing themselves to the screen.

“Can’t we just go to a hospital?” This isn’t the first time Statham has taken on the role of a ward to an innocent youth – one who never acts scared enough or inquisitive enough about her strange captivity. It would have been a far more unique plot if Mason was a true villain, as opposed to a good guy with a secretive yet noble existence, but “Shelter” isn’t trying to do anything brave. Perhaps its edgiest element is its choice to base Mason’s dilemmas around unlawful government surveillance, an overreach fueled by political corruption that plagues Britain as much as the States. Fascinatingly, this is the first action film in quite some time that has the protagonist pick up and use weapons dropped by the villains, though this welcome inclusion is thwarted by the overuse of common tropes – ranging from minimal answers, animal violence, and a helpless dependent, to an easily-dispatched team of gun-toting killers, close-quarters skirmishes in a thumping nightclub, and significant injuries that are brushed off or ignored almost immediately after they’re inflicted.

In the end, though simple and utterly devoid of surprises, it’s competently designed for its target audience. Collateral damage abounds, tension ramps up during sequences of deceptive quietude, action is plentiful (boasting hand-to-hand combat, shootouts, knife fights, and car chases), and the hero is always cool and collected in the face of danger. It’s fantasy of the most straightforward, unsophisticated kind, with a decent sense of adventure, which is almost enough to counteract the mediocre dialogue and the imitation of other recent pictures (like “Man on Fire” and “The Equalizer”). And it thankfully takes itself seriously, never poking fun at the ridiculousness of overly convenient antagonists and allies and conclusions.

– The Massie Twins