I almost hate myself for making such an obvious pun, but Fuze is an absolute blast. A ticking clock heist movie and an exploding bomb thriller, it’s a unique combination that also involves a wild mystery, a lot of double-crosses, and a borderline ridiculous twist that nearly ruins the whole thing. But directed by David Mackenzie, of Hell or High Water fame, the film is so propulsive and funny that you’re okay that it blows up a little bit in the end.
Set in modern-day London, Fuze begins with the discovery of a WWII-era bomb at a construction site. These are fairly common occurrences around London, apparently, so it doesn’t feel that weird when procedures are immediately put in place. Aaron Taylor-Johnson plays the bomb disposal leader, Major Will Tranter, brought in to safely disarm the device. Gugu Mbatha-Raw and others play the various personnel clearing the area, investigating the scene, and generally just trying to keep the populace safe in case it detonates. However, a nosey subordinate of Will’s begins to suspect that something more is going on here. He’s right.
The film eventually shifts gears into following the exploits of a criminal gang using the evacuation to pull off an insane bank heist. Theo James plays Karalis, sort of the group’s wild card and diamonds expert, with Sam Worthington as the guy who doesn’t trust him one bit. Of course, criminals will be criminals, right?
Screenwriter Ben Hopkins conjures up every absurd swerve he can muster to keep Fuze‘s… well, its fuse lit. To say too much would spoil the best bits, but there are so many double-crosses that you can barely keep track of who is on whose side. It begins to resemble a Guy Ritchie movie in some respects. With so many bad guys running around there’s always another backstabber right around the corner. Someone you least expect is in on the shenanigans, and somebody is going to get screwed out of their cut. It always happens, and it’s always great to just sit back and luxuriate in the criminality.
Mackenzie’s having as much of a ball with Fuze as we are. This is hardly a serious movie. It’s a nifty, no-bullshit throwback that asks the audience to go with the flow. Only the ending, which indulges in an absurd flashback that tries to make it all make sense, pushes our investment to the edge. But at just over 90 minutes, Fuze doesn’t stick around long enough to be a dud.
Fuze opens in theaters on April 24th.
*NOTE: This review was originally part of my TIFF50 coverage.*
