Shelter (2026)

I'm sure you won't be too shocked when you hear that this latest Jason Statham movie has our lead portraying someone who was an extremely valuable, and deadly, asset, in a life lived before he then decided to get off the grid. You also shouldn't be surprised to find out that he has a good moral compass, despite the murky waters he used to swim in, and he ends up having to put his particular skills to good use again when he ends up caring for a young girl (Jessie, played by Bodhi Rae Breathnach) who suffers a great loss while trying to deliver supplies to his remote home.

That's how this all starts. You then get numerous armed men trying to trap The Stath, there's one main enemy (Bryan Vigier) more skilled and persistent than all of the others, and a couple of politically-motivated individuals (Naomi Ackie and Bill Nighy) start to approach the situation from two very different directions. Will Statham be able to keep Jessie safe while he punches, kicks, and shoots his way through the swarms of bad guys? What do you think?

Written by Ward Parry, who doesn't have too many other credits so far, this is a very basic action vehickle for Statham. Some may be disappointed by the relative lack of variety throughout the main action set-pieces, and there's a steadfast refusal to commit to a tone with more lightness or more grit and gore, but there's certainly enough here to appeal to the core demographic (aka Statham fans).

Director Ric Roman Waugh has spent a lot of his time recently helming Gerard Butler vehicles, which might make you think that his familiarity with formulaic action fare should stand him in good stead for this job. That's not the case though. He does a perfectly fine job, but it never turns into anything more than that. Fine.

Statham does what he usually does, and he knows what he's capable of. Given the right story, Statham can easily be one of the best of our modern action heroes on film. He always looks as if he knows what he's doing, he has heaps of charisma, and he never feels the need to wink or undermine the material (although this is where I yet again mention how much I wish he would also be used in more comedic roles after doing such a great job in Spy). Vigier also looks like a very capable baddie, Ackie and Nighy are allowed to enjoy roles they could play with their eyes closed, and there's a decent little bit of screentime for Daniel Mays. The other main person I have to mention is Breathnach though, who does a great job of being both a bit tough and vulnerable as she tries to rush around while staying within close enough proximity to the safety zone that is Statham.

All of these words are just a long way of saying that people predisposed to this will enjoy it. They probably won't love it though, and I don't think it is up there with the better Statham action movies. Some people will view that as a complete condemnation, depending on their view of his filmography. I view it as one to hesitantly recommend to those after some violent entertainment best accompanied with yours snacks and beverage of choice. 

6/10

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Prime Time: Kandahar (2023)

Although I sometimes pick movies with absolutely no idea of what I am about to watch, it is nearly impossible to watch as many movies as I do without some awareness of the content of them (whether it is due to their genre categorization, the main star name, or even just the thumbnail/poster, not to mention the various ads and trailers). So I don’t go into a recent Gerard Butler movie expecting a masterpiece. I did hope that Kandahar would be better than this though.

Butler plays Tom Harris, a CIA operative working undercover in Afghanistan. He is due to head home after another successful mission, allowing him to spend some quality time with his daughter and move his stuff out of the home he used to share with his due-to-be-ex-wife, when he is asked to take part in one more mission, and it is one with a huge payday. Unfortunately, Harris has his cover blown, which leads to a number of people desperate to capture him as he tries to get to an extraction point in Kandahar with his translator, Mohammad (Navid Negahban).

Let’s get to the point here. The biggest problem with Kandahar isn’t the cast, although they’re not doing their best work. Director Ric Roman Waugh is also not dire, but not helping as much as he could. The biggest problem lies with the confused script by Mitchell LaFortune, and it’s no surprise to see that this is his first feature. Where Kandahar could have been so many things, depending on the focus on action or drama, it ends up trying to be a bit of something for everyone. That wouldn’t be so bad if LaFortune isn’t also distracted by the idea of showing how people aren’t always easily placed into the category of hero or villain, with everyone given a chance to show how the circumstances dictate their thinking and actions. What that means is that we get a film with a runtime padded out by many scenes that feel completely unnecessary, and sometimes laughably bemusing. 

Butler is showing his years nowadays, age catches up to us all in the end, but he still Carrie’s himself with the confidence of someone happy to face overwhelming odds with his strength, intelligence, and skillset. Negahban is perfectly fine, and at least benefits from one of the many coincidences folded into the script, and our two leads are easier to root for throughout simply due to them being played by Butler and Negahban. Elsewhere, Travis Fimmel is the employer/ally, and both Bahador Foladi and Ali Fazal play two main characters aggressively pursuing our heroes (although the latter is given a motorbike that is superfast for some scenes and then seems to be capped at a top speed of 5mph when trying to follow the desert-traversing truck commandeered by our leads). 

Some may prefer the fact that this is an action film trying to explore ideas beyond the boundaries of most standard action films, but I would have much preferred this to get the basics right. None of the geography, timing, or choreography feels good enough, and there isn’t enough breathing space for the half-assed ideas lumped in alongside the poor action moments.

Ultimately pleasing nobody, apart from maybe the biggest Gerard Butler fans. Even they might find this one much easier to ignore than some of his other vehicles.

3/10

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Prime Time: Greenland (2020)

Having done his time protecting the President Of The United States, saving the world from terrorists, and even catching a dangerous submarine, Gerard Butler now gets to focus on trying to keep his onscreen family safe. I'm sure he has had a previous family-in-peril needing his strength and courage, but I can't think of any specific title just now, Because so many Gerard Butler movies just blur into one another. Which isn't that big a deal for me, mainly because I happen to like Butler anyway.

Butler plays John Garrity, a structural engineer. He's currently going through a difficult patch with his wife, Allison (Morena Baccarin), but the two of them try to put a brave face on things for the sake of their young son, Nathan (Roger Dale Floyd). They need to work even harder to keep brave faces when John receives an automated call as people group together to watch a passing comet. It turns out that the comet isn't just going to provide a pretty lightshow in the sky. It has bits falling into the Earth's atmosphere that will destroy entire cities. And one major chunk will bring about an Extinction Level Event. Heading to safety, the Garrity family finds numerous obstacles in their path, and the clock is ticking.

Written by Chris Sparling, a writer with a filmography that varies wildly in quality from the greatness of Buried to the sheer awfulness of ATM, Greenland is an entertaining disaster movie that wants to pretend it's a bit more grounded than most. It's really not, especially when you consider the coincidences required during almost every major plot beat, but it somehow manages to find a nice sweet spot between the more bombastic disaster movies and the likes of the more thoughtful, and disappointing, Deep Impact (note, don't hold me to that, as I am long overdue a revisit of Deep Impact, having not seen it since it first came out on VHS).

Director Ric Roman Waugh has an action thriller background (his previous film before this one being the Butler-starring Angel Has Fallen) and he capably delivers the goods here. You get some chases, you get a fight or two, and you also get some decent CGI causing big problems. The fact that this is a disaster film is almost secondary to the fact that it's a Gerard Butler film, for better or worse.

Butler is good in the lead role, one that doesn't really stretch him or take him out of his comfort zone, but it at least places him in a developing situation that feels a bit different from many of his other interchangeable movies. Baccarin is also good, even if she has to spend a lot of the movie hoping that she can stay alongside Butler while he offers protection and the possibility of escape. And then you have Floyd, a young actor who somehow manages to avoid being too annoying, even as his character makes things a lot harder than they otherwise could have been. Hope David, David Denman, Scott Glenn, and Holt McCallany are the other main names appearing here and there, all in small supporting roles as Butler, Baccarin, and Floyd attempt the seemingly impossible.

If you like disaster movies then there should be enough here to keep you entertained. If you like dramas with a bit of action dotted throughout then likewise. And if you like Gerard Butler movies then, well, you've probably seen this before spotting this review.

7/10

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Prime Time: Angel Has Fallen (2019)

Gerard Butler returns to the role of Secret Service agent Mike Banning in this third in the "Fallen" action series, and you could do a lot worse if you're after a decent action thriller with some fun set-pieces throughout.

Banning seems to be, to put it bluntly, getting a bit too old for this shit. Which isn't a problem, because the President (Morgan Freeman) wants to promote him. A nice job with less chance of people trying to shoot him and blow him up. That's not an automatic yes for Mike though, having spent his life in the middle of the action. He's right back in it when an attempt is made on the President's life, framing him as the main suspect.

Yes, Angel Has Fallen is basically The Fugitive with Gerard Butler in the main role, which means more brutal violence and swearing than you got from Harrison Ford. And more Scottishness. I wish there had been an equivalent to Butler in his band of pursuers, just for us to get the glorious "right, all a yous lot git tae work noo, I want you to check every coffee hoose, dug hoose, oot hoose, doss hoose, Muirhoose, Broomhoose until we catch this bam."

If you have seen the previous two movies then there will be no doubt in your mind how this turns out. Banning is always the smartest and toughest guy in any scenario, so it's just a matter of time until he gets himself in the right place at the right time to take down the main villain. And speaking of main villain, if it isn't obvious to you as soon as they appear onscreen then you've never seen ANY movie before.

Ric Roman Waugh does a decent enough job with the direction, working from a screenplay he helped shape with Robert Mark Kamen and Matt Cook. You're not getting any particularly memorable dialogue, but the plotting and pacing both work quite well, and the assortment of characters help to make a fun mix.

Butler is once again having a lot of fun in the lead role, which is slightly infectious. You can happily start laughing as soon as someone threatens him with harm. Freeman is very Presidential, although he has a bit less to do when he ends up incapacitated for a lot of the runtime. Piper Perabo is at the stage of her career now where she plays "loving wife to the hero", she does fine with what she's given, and Lance Reddick is his usual dependable self as David Gentry, the director of the Secret Service. You also get Danny Huston as Wade Jennings, an old friend of our hero who immediately makes you suspicious of him by the fact that he's Danny Huston, and Nick Nolte steals a few scenes as Clay Banning, the absent father who has spent years living off the grid.

Not setting out to be subversive or clever, Angel Has Fallen is simply an entertaining action flick with moments of satisfyingly cathartic violence against nasty villains. Butler, and others carrying weapons, can carry off the look and feel of it all convincingly enough, making it easier to digest all of the nonsense without being overly critical of it all.

7/10

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Snitch (2013)

It's tough being a teenager, making mistakes that you don't always get away with. Sometimes, dumb stuff can get you in a LOT of trouble. Which is what happens to Jason Collins (Rafi Gavron), a young man who is set up by a friend. He receives a box full of drugs and is immediately apprehended by the DEA. He's going to jail for a very long time, unless he can provide information that can lead to more arrests. Unfortunately, Jason doesn't know of anyone else he can snitch on, which leaves him with the prospect of rotting in jail for many years. Jason's dad, however, is a man willing to do whatever it takes to help his son. And he happens to be Dwayne Johnson. He starts negotiating with someone (Susan Sarandon) who has the power to help quash his son's sentence, IF he gets the results they need.

Anyone after a standard action flick that makes the best use of Dwayne Johnson is going to end up disappointed here. This is more of a drama, with one or two fleeting moments of action used to help sell the film to a wider audience. More interestingly, it's all a bit of an indictment of America's continuing war on drugs. The increasingly drastic measures put in place to clamp down on what is viewed as the main menace to society ends up, arguably, causing more problems and creating more victims than the initial drugs themselves.

Johnson is, as always, solid in the lead role, playing down his toughness, but always looking ready for action. Let's face it, he can't NOT look ready for action, but he does a good job of portraying a "normal" man willing to risk his safety in an attempt to save his son from a terrible fate. Jon Bernthal does well enough as the man who helps him find his way into the world of drug dealers, a world populated by people such as Malik (Michael K. Williams) and 'El Topo' (Benjamin Bratt). Sarandon is very good as the woman who may be able to help out, if it benefits her politically, and Barry Pepper is on fine form (is he ever not?) as a DEA operative equally tempted by the prospect of a big bust, but also concerned about the safety of a man who may not realise quite how deep he is about to get himself.

The script, co-written by Justin Haythe and director Ric Roman Waugh, does enough to sketch out the characters and situations, but it falls down elsewhere. A lot of the dialogue is so dull, and repetitive, that it threatens to put viewers to sleep. Which isn't what anyone expects from any movie starring Dwayne Johnson.

Waugh directs competently enough, but the film lacks any real sense of energy or urgency, most notable during a finale that doesn't ever get the adrenaline pumping. It's almost as if everything that was set up with care during the preceding 60-70 minutes is just thrown aside in favour of a teeny tiny bit of action that will come as too little too late for anyone wanting such simple pleasure, and will prove dissatisfying to those who were enjoying the more straightforward drama that accounts for most of the movie.

It's not a complete waste of time, but Snitch isn't one I'd recommend to anyone. It's decidedly average.

5/10

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