Billy Wilder said, "The third act must build, build, build in tempo and action until the last event, and then--that's it. Don't hang around."
In their new heist thriller Fuze, writer Ben Hopkins and Director David Mackenzie assiduously follow that advice, until they don't. For 80 straight minutes, Fuze is admirably engrossing, deliciously twisty, and unrelentingly pacy.
Audiences will be sufficiently entertained when the drama concludes, the characters disappear into the crowds, and the screen fades to black. Only, dispiritingly, the screen boots up again. What comes next is not the end credits but an entirely unnecessary coda--a tacked-on prolog flashback, tying up ends that were not loose in the first place. It is hard not to sigh at this unfortunate stumble at the finish line for a film that otherwise has us firmly on its side.
Fuze deserves credit for not making us wait for the good bits and diving headlong into its escalated drama from the very first shot. A long drone shot surveys London and descends on a construction site where a digging crane bumps up against something metallic in the ground -- an unexploded World War II-era bomb. And just like that, the title is explained, the plot is set up, and we are off to the races.
The bomb disposal squad, led by Major Will (Aaron Taylor-Johnson), is called in to inspect the bomb. It is found active, and police chief Zuzana (Gugu Mbatha-Raw) and her team lead reconnaissance and security, evacuating civilians in a one-mile radius per protocol in case the bomb goes off.
Curiously, Karalis (Theo James) and his gang of four (Sam Worthington among them) linger behind in the evacuated block. When they start drilling a hole in a wall, it becomes obvious they are carrying out a heist, taking advantage of the empty streets, deserted buildings and missing police. Mackenzie unfolds Fuze at a blistering pace and expertly cross-cuts across these three narrative threads to ratchet up tension.
The number of perspectives multiples as characters split up within each thread, so at several points, editor Matt Mayer is cutting across seven or eight events happening simultaneously. It is here that writer Hopkins and director Mackenzie lean into the most primal pleasure of stories, the curiosity to know what happens next.
The many name actors are introduced strictly in the context of their actions: Mbatha-Raw running a situation room, James executing a heist. Only Taylor-Johnson is afforded a brief introductory scene, per his status as the top-billed star of the picture. The excision of expository dialogs and character backstories keeps the drama taut and exciting. The filmmakers understand that the audience is watching a film like Fuze for the plot, not for character development or profound insight.
Fuze strikingly keeps expanding the perimeter of its ticking-clock plot and criminal conspiracy, sweeping in more characters and events, until the story expands beyond London and even Britain. It is thus surprising when the bomb goes off a mere 30 minutes into the movie, despite Taylor-Johnson's best efforts. Fuze barrels ahead with countless twists and double and triple crosses still up its sleeve.
Gratifyingly, the filmmakers also put the audience beyond judgment, not moralizing any action at all, just portraying each character as acting rationally to advance their own agenda. It admirably eschews good guy-bad guy framing, does not ask you to root for any particular character, and just lets you enjoy the ride. It is enjoyable in the airport novella sense: suspenseful, with jolting bursts of violence in requisite doses.
Fuze serves up fitting and flattering parts for beefcake-y young male stars. It jettisons their inner life or attempts at meaning and has them perform movement, desperation and action. And the all-star cast acquits itself well.
Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Theo James have traditional badass tough-guy roles, playing a soldier and a thief, respectively. Both get to be commanding and capable, perform action scenes and bark orders, and look great while doing so. Even their shirtless scenes, which Hopkins takes care to weave into the plot, are not too gratuitous and contribute to their swaggering movie star persona. James specifically gets to showcase a more malignant and ruthless edge, playing the proverbial 'bad guy' as the chief bank robber.
Worthington might be the top-billed star of the biggest franchise in history, Avatar, but subsumes himself to a character part in Fuze. He's a henchman in James' gang, though he does get some standout moments in the finale. Elham Ehsas, playing an immigrant unjustly tied by the police to the heist, also makes a strong impression.
Fuze is breezy, undemanding, tense entertainment, a film that you watch purely for the kicks and thrills. Hollywood would do well to make more of these, specifically at the length of Fuze's main feature--about 80 minutes. The filmmakers would do well to cut the coda before Fuze moves past the festival setting and gets in front of the general audience.
Fuze does have some dodgy 2005 Microsoft Paint-level CGI, but mostly in the unfortunate epilogue. Take that off, and Fuze's brevity alone will make it an easy recommendation for action junkies looking for thrills at the cinemas.