Fuze: A Ticking Bomb Caper

This heavy, unexploded German bomb fulfills some of its original purposes, causing fear and panic in London—just 80-some years later than intended. Unearthed at a construct site, it requires the police to evacuate and cordon-off an entire neighborhood while the military defuses it. Yet, somehow, a crew of bank robbers seemed to be expecting it. Even with several tons of explosive distraction, the getaway still turns messy in David Mackenzie’s Fuze, which opens today in theaters.

It takes special expertise to handle newly discovered ordinance, because of internal instability. Major Will Tranter has that expertise, even though he is a bit of a loose cannon himself. Nevertheless, he is quickly dispatched to London, where he examines the suddenly ticking bomb.

Meanwhile, Karalis gets to work with his contracted crew, bashing through a connecting wall and drilling into a bank’s safety deposit vault. However, it seems pretty clear, “X,” “Y,” and “Z” do not completely trust Karalis, even though he is the one who knows where all the good stuff is.

Unfortunately, the biggest twist is a little too easy to figure out. You don’t even have pay especially close attention either. In fact, you might have already guessed it. Nevertheless, the second half features enough double-crosses to keep the getaway sufficiently chaotic. The good guys never look stupid either. They are just starting from way, way behind.

In some ways, Ben Hopkins’s screenplay can be a little too coy, but it ultimately somewhat upends viewers’ assumptions. Mackenzie stages some decent cat-and-mouse sequences, but the action needs more scope and spectacle. Frankly, the film just leaves the impression it is the simplified version of a more ambitious concept.

Fuze also lacks the big personalities that elevated Mackenzie’s Hell or High Water (which undeniably benefited from the energy and charisma of Jeff Bridges and Ben Foster). Only Theo James really follows their example, portraying Karalis’s deviousness with entertaining relish. Unfortunately, Sam Worthington is largely wasted as the one-note X. Likewise, Aaron Taylor-Johnson basically broods at the same speed for the entire film.

Perhaps the film’s biggest surprise might be the way that it builds to a considerably different message than we might expect, inviting unexpected sympathy in the process. However, the action and procedural investigative material is mostly rather standard issue. It is watchable, but Mackenzie and company really missed an opportunity for something more. Wait to stream for free. For now, Fuze opens today (4/24) in New York, including the AMC Empire.