Review by Eric Hillis
Directed by: David Mackenzie
Starring: Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Theo James, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Sam Worthington, Saffron Hocking
Ever since 1955's Rififi, it's become customary for a heist thriller to focus chiefly on the planning of its central robbery. With Fuze, director David Mackenzie and writer Ben Hopkins ignore convention. Their heist thriller opens at the point when the plans have already been put in place. We witness the robbery from the off, and rather than detailing how it was pulled off via flashbacks the narrative moves in a straight line. We're essentially placed in the same position as the investigating authorities of trying to figure out how and by whom this crime was executed.
The film boasts a tasty high concept setup. An unexploded WWII bomb is discovered on a London construction site, leading to the surrounding area being evacuated and all power cut off. An army bomb disposal team led by Major Will Tranter (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) begins work on what at first seems like a routine assignment. It's not unusual for such dangerous relics of the Blitz to make an unwanted appearance in London, but there is something a little odd about this particular bomb...
While Tranter and his crew set about neutralising the bomb, a gang of thieves led by Karalis (Theo James with a terrible "Soot Afrikan" accent) uses the power cut to break into a nearby bank and make off with a small fortune, including some very valuable uncut diamonds.
Trying to piece everything together from her control room is Zuzana (Gugu Mbatha-Raw), the local police chief. Another subplot singles out an immigrant family who have been evacuated from their apartment and are anxious about missing a flight they have booked that day - or is their anxiety somehow related to the crime in progress?
Needless to say, the heist doesn't go entirely as planned, resulting in the expected double-crossing and paranoia. There are twists that I certainly didn't see coming, and a couple of moments of shocking violence. We remain invested in the story throughout as we attempt to second guess the narrative and piece all the clues together. But we struggle to engage with the drama on any human level as the film is more concerned with its deceptive plot than its characters. It's never entirely apparent who we should be rooting for here, and there is no clearly defined protagonist. Are we supposed to cheer on Karalis and his crew of criminals, as is often the case in heist movies, or are we meant to root for Zuzana and the authorities to catch them? The movie does little to nudge us in either direction.
Rather than the actual heist and its investigation, it's easier to invest in the bomb disposal subplot. That's down to the very convincing and likeable performances of Taylor-Johnson and Saffron Hocking as his second-in command, Sergeant Dootsie. We fully believe that Tranter and Dootsie have been through some rough experiences together, and they share an endearing paternal/maternal bond. They're not on screen together for very long, but in their brief shared screen time Taylor-Johnson and Hocking paint a very relatable portrait of platonic work colleagues. Alexander Arnold is also very good as a rookie member of Tranter's crew who raises doubt concerning his boss's mental stability.
Other cast members are less well served. Mbatha-Raw is given little to do other than stare at a bank of CCTV screens and look puzzled, and her character never plays the pivotal role in the drama you expect from such recognisable name casting. Similarly, Sam Worthington is cast as little more than a glorified extra. Mackenzie recently mined a career best performance from the Aussie actor as the villain of his thriller Relay, so it's disappointing that he couldn't use the often derided star more effectively here.
One thing Fuze does have in common with Relay is that both movies keep us involved with their clever plotting and various twists, only to fall apart in the home stretch. Once Fuze has laid all its cards on the table it has nowhere else to go. After numerous twists that catch us off guard, it's ultimately lacking that one big final twist that would have made it a more satisfying experience. Rather than the expected detonation, the plot merely fizzles out.
Fuze is in UK/ROI cinemas from April 3rd.
