An unexploded WWII bomb is discovered on a busy construction site in the centre of London. Chaos ensues as the military and police begin a mass evacuation against a ticking clock.
Chuck says:
Director David Mackenzie and writer Ban Hopkins are banking on the audience for their new thriller “Fuze” to have a short memory. This slow-burn thriller has a lot going for it – a strong cast, a smart script, a deceptively effective pace and a big payoff. Yet, there’s a glaring first-act pothole I was waiting to entire film for them to address, a problem that’s referred to in a cursory, off-hand way but never fully explained. It’s either a narrative oversight or I suffered a mini stroke early on that wiped out my memory of the explanation. I think the former is probably more likely.
A massive construction project in London is abruptly put on hold when an unexploded WW II bomb is unearthed. City blocks around the site are evacuated and the bomb squad is called in, led by Major Captain Will Tranter (Aaron Taylor-Johnson). As he and his squad go through the delicate steps to defuse the explosive, a group of thieves has sprung into action. Having taken a flat in a building next to a bank, X (Sam Worthington), Karalis (Theo James) and their nefarious cohorts, pull out a massive drill they’ve stored in the building’s basement and begin to drill a hole into the wall it shares with the bank. Thankfully, it happens to open up into the vault.
Meanwhile – and there are quite a few “meanwhiles” in the film – police chief Zuzana Greenfield (Gugu Mbatha-Raw) is coordinating the evacuation, when she notices something odd. With all of the electricity turned off in the cordoned off area as a precaution, the heat signature from the thieves’ generator is noticed and a patrol car is sent to investigate. Their arrival on the site causes the robbery to go sideways, setting off a chain reaction of events that results in wide scale destruction, multiple chases and one double cross after another.
Mackenzie takes an interesting approach, allowing the first act action to play out at a very deliberate pace. The sense of quiet the pervades the movie is unique, while the threat of the ticking, then dormant, then ticking bomb creates a sense of realistic tension. Shifting back and forth between four plot strands – as an Iraqi family who’ve immigrated to England, emerge as key players – keeps the story intriguing and constantly in flux.
Hopkins’ script is very smart, containing one twist after another, all of them logical and in keeping with the ever-devolving situation the characters find themselves in. The story zigs when you expect it to zag, but never in a way that seems convenient or unrealistic. None of the characters, even those portrayed by the name actors, are guaranteed to survive until the end, yet another element that keeps the viewer on their toes.
All of these positives, as well as the strong performances from everyone in the cast, make for an effective thriller…except for that one nagging plot point. In the end, the script for “Fuze” comes to resemble the elaborate con game at its story’s center, one that relies on misdirection in order to succeed. Thankfully for the thieves in question, the authorities prove a bit more gullible than eagle eyed viewers will likely be.
2 1/2 Stars
