Shelter

Even as it starts out hinting at a change of pace, you figure that Shelter will eventually find its way back to Jason Statham’s genre wheelhouse.

Such is the case with the star’s latest revenge thriller, directed by Ric Roman Waugh (London Has Fallen), which winds up only a slight variation on his tried-and-true vigilante template.

Statham plays Mason, who lives off the grid in an old lighthouse on a remote Scottish island and treasures his privacy. His only visitor is Jessie (Bodhi Rae Breathnach), a teenage girl who occasionally delivers supplies.

When she starts asking questions, Mason recoils. “Don’t ever come up here again,” he warns before slamming the door in her face.

Their paths cross again, of course, during a harrowing storm that nearly capsizes Jessie’s small boat and causes tragic circumstances for her family. Mason rescues her and feels obligated to nurse her back to health. They even bond over chess.

Mason embraces the separation from the outside world, although eventually the outside world comes to him, prompting painful memories and forcing him to confront his secret past.

A stealth attack forces him to flee with Jessie as they both become entangled in a conspiracy involving technological overreach and bureaucratic malfeasance. Among those tracking Mason’s whereabouts are his former superior (Bill Nighy) on direct orders from the prime minister (Harriet Walter). Finding him is one thing, but capturing him is another.

The film captures the harsh beauty of its setting and the isolation that stems from it while opening as a more contemplative, character-driven saga about a recluse finding his purpose in protecting the wayward youngster.

Then Statham transitions into his usual action-hero mode in the second half, when the screenplay is considerably more formulaic and predictable, not to mention egregiously implausible.

Along the way, the surrogate father-daughter relationship feels more functional than empathetic, even if Breathnach (Hamnet) balances toughness and wide-eyed vulnerability as the resilient Jessie. Otherwise, it mostly squanders a capable supporting cast including Nighy and Naomi Ackie (Blink Twice) as a rogue government official.

The lack of depth inhibits the film’s ability to maintain suspense beyond its stylish chases and confrontations — including a chaotic shootout in a crowded London nightclub — leaving Shelter without a sturdy narrative foundation.

Rated R, 107 minutes.