PLOT: An unexploded WWII bomb buried in central London is utilized by a bunch of thieves to cowl up a multimillion-dollar heist.
REVIEW: Director David Mackenzie, after a number of years away following his interval epic Outlaw/King, is again. Between this one and his final film, Relay, he appears bent on resurrecting nineties-style, high-concept thrillers. I, for one, welcome this notion, as Fuze is one other expertly crafted thriller that retains you guessing all through and by no means fairly performs out the way in which you assume it’s going to.
The premise is strong, as the specter of discovering actual, unexploded WWII German bombs buried in London is much from distant. When one is found, the world round it’s evacuated as the military strikes in to deactivate it, whereas the police cordon off the world. This proves to be fertile floor for a thriller, with Aaron Taylor-Johnson’s Main Will Tranter pressured to deal with the bomb, whereas two thieves, performed by Theo James and Sam Worthington, use the state of affairs as the right cowl to rob a financial institution.
Mackenzie does a superb job sustaining pressure, because the old-school bomb requires delicate dealing with, and he makes you’re feeling prefer it may go off at any second. We additionally crisscross backwards and forwards with the theft, which one way or the other appears timed completely to the invention of the supposedly buried ordnance. How is that this occurring? To say an excessive amount of would spoil the enjoyable, however the way in which it unfolds will hold you on the sting of your seat.
It’s at all times enjoyable to see thrillers like this in the midst of TIFF, as a lot of the fare right here leans heavier. Right here, Mackenzie simply needs you to have enjoyable, and it ought to go down like gangbusters with the viewers. The solid is terrific, with Aaron Taylor-Johnson completely solid because the square-jawed navy man pressured to deal with an unstable bomb that would kill him at any time. Likewise, Theo James is appropriately slimy because the wily thief, with Worthington as his extra old-school affiliate, the 2 after a mysterious envelope that one way or the other guarantees huge riches. My solely subject is that the good Gugu Mbatha-Uncooked is considerably wasted within the cop function, together with her not getting a lot else to do past react to what she’s seeing on CCTV at HQ.
Like Relay, Fuze depends on a handful of twists and reversals, and Mackenzie delights in subverting viewers expectations. The film is peppered with motion sequences, together with some strong gunfights and sniper moments, whereas additionally sustaining a lightweight contact with music cues that sometimes lean on the nostril however work throughout the movie’s pulpy tone.
TIFF is normally divided cleanly into two sections. One is the awards fare put out by main studios, whereas the opposite is dedicated to extra business films up for acquisition. Fuze is without doubt one of the latter, and whereas it wasn’t a part of the Midnight Insanity choice, it most likely would have match properly, because it gave me a much-needed blast of motion and pressure amid all of the heavier fare I’ve been watching. This could be a wise acquisition for a high-end streamer.
