Director David Mackenzie’s latest action extravaganza, Fuze, resembles a solid one-night stand: vigorous, efficient, intermittently thrilling, and unlikely to haunt the subconscious the morning after. In a way, it’s refreshing to see a workhorse after so many lobotomized show ponies. Sweating foreheads, ticking devices, men making terrible decisions under impossible deadlines — it’s not deep, exactly, but it is oh-so-satisfyingly physical.
Major Will Tranter (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) is called to the scene of an unearthed WWII bomb at a London construction site. As evacuations take place, he discovers a second ticking mechanism within the bomb that “could detonate any minute for the next 48 hours.” Among those helping him is Chief Superintendent Zuzana Greenfield (Gugu Mbatha-Raw), who soon realizes there’s more than meets the eye.
Indeed, there is. With all the attention on the evacuation and the bomb, a crew, including X (Sam Worthington) and Karalis (Theo James), is performing an extremely elaborate bank robbery. The plot lines collide, betrayals and double-crosses ensue, and what starts off as a slow-burn thriller about a ticking time bomb evolves into a ticking-time-bomb action flick that (spoiler alert!) no longer has anything to do with a bomb. Some may argue the first, more reserved, half of the film fares better, while others might prefer the kicked-into-high-gear belligerence of the second. I enjoyed both.
“… Major Will Tranter is called to the scene of an unearthed WWII bomb …”
The tense developments are expertly depicted in almost real time: Will literally drilling into the bomb, the detonation, the breathless chase sequences, the discovery of fake diamonds, the crazed twists and turns leading up to the unexpected finale that involves… a minefield. Mackenzie, the man behind the now-classic Hell or High Water, manages to keep this slew of disparate elements afloat, confidently handling multiple plot trajectories, his no-bullsh*t approach apparent in each frame. He understands that action only works when the audience knows where everyone is, what they want, and how quickly everything can go wrong.
Aaron Taylor-Johnson, who — Kraven the Hunter aside — tends to pick fascinating projects, doesn’t disappoint, both tough and vulnerable; his expressive eyes and utter character immersion suggest he’s due for a major awards-caliber showcase sooner rather than later. (He’s got some intriguing things brewing, including Robert Eggers’s much-anticipated Werwulf.) That being said, he shares top credit with Theo James, who effortlessly steals scenes as Karalis — you’ll find yourself rooting for him, then hating him, then questioning the morality of his motivations. Sam Worthington and Gugu Mbatha-Raw provide solid support.
The film’s London setting is not especially romanticized, but it has a grimy, functional immediacy that suits the material. Set to a pulsing soundtrack, Fuze may not offer much novelty, despite all its rug pulls. But even when the plotting veers into preposterous territory, the pace is so breathless, the actors so committed, that one almost welcomes the familiarity. Okay, so the utter complexity of the central heist is borderline laughable (how long did it take these guys to plot all that?). Still, when done well, high-octane, muscular action thrillers like this are always welcome in this critic’s eyes.
"…manages to keep this slew of disparate elements afloat"
