Images courtesy of Roadside Attractions and Saban Films
FUZE— 2 STARS
LESSON #1: A BOMB WILL GET YOUR ATTENTION— The kick-starting premise of Fuze presents a very clear danger that could take on any number of tones for a film. On a construction site in the Paddington area of the Westminster borough of London, a large unexploded ordnance is found by the digging workers. The bomb is thought to be an 80+-year-old remnant from the Blitzkrieg of World War II, making it old and dangerous. This conundrum triggers the unified involvement of military personnel, city authorities, and civilian evacuation, opening the film’s potential for ensemble interactions from several different perspectives.
Now, Fuze, written by Inside scribe Ben Hopkins, could take this enigma in any number of directions. It could unfold similarly to The Hurt Locker, with thriller vibes and a ticking close to pace its 98 minutes of running time on the mettle required to be a bomb disposal specialist. The film could also take the mini-disaster film route from the Roland Emmerich playbook and dial up the domesticated drama born from a looming threat to the public that requires step-up heroism from ordinary citizens.
Put a good cast to root for in either of those scenarios, like the combined beef of Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Theo James, and Sam Worthington, and the Strong Female Character potential of Gugu Mbatha-Raw, and we’re intrigued. Hire Hell or High Water director David Mackenzie, and we’re filling up the popcorn bucket to witness something with edge. Unfortunately, Fuze erratically combines both narratives and throws in an extremely misguided third plotline to smear whatever doesn’t explode when the bomb detonates.
The hazard of this unearthed bomb calls in the military’s top bomb disposal specialist, Major Will Tranter. From the second Aaron Taylor-Johnson graces the screen, his character’s mannerisms and tough talk scream cantankerous badass. In almost the same breath as speaking to his younger subordinates about the mortal danger a few feet away, Will is pouring a round of shots for when they survive alive. He’s the classic “do as I say, not as I do” wildcard. But, hey, that’s what makes him the best, eh?
The orders Major Tranter is barking are filtered and relayed to Chief Superintendent Zusana Greenfield (Mbatha-Raw), running point from the city’s emergency command center. Utilizing all of the police’s eyes and ears, she’s coordinating the neighborhood evacuation, which stretches into the ethic Little Cairo and Little Beirut neighborhoods on Edgware Road. Our spotlighted participant from that aspect of Fuze becomes the amiable Rahim (steady TV actor Elham Ehsas of Shantaram and Homeland), who’s trying to move his extended family to a safe zone.
LESSON #2: THIS IS AS GOOD A TIME AS ANY FOR A RANDOM HEIST— Those moving parts should be enough for Fuze, but Hopkins and Mackenzie decide to get cute. While the entire neighborhood is empty, this is as good a time as any to have a heist. Working in utility disguises in empty streets, tunnels, and alleys, an enigmatic man named Karalis (James) is leading a low-key bank robbery. His hired crew, led by the grizzled “X” (Worthington), has targeted light but lucrative safe-deposit box loot, mostly precious gems and stashed cash. It’s as if (and cue the Dramatic Chipmunk) those partnered masterminds of chiseled scruff knew this massive emergency was coming, creating the perfect diversion for a smash-and-grab job.
LESSON #3: HAPPENSTANCE TAKES OVER— This is where happenstance takes over Fuze, and the nonsensical connections undermine any pot-boiling suspense and stress of safety that began the film. Like the heist movie trope of the impatient and greedy thief, the movie can’t hold its wad. Sorry to say, the big bomb in question goes off at the 33-minute mark, rattling a few buildings in its wake. That leaves an hour of Fuze to dance around with the scramble of all involved to escape once authorities catch wind of the robbery and begin to investigate the faces and vehicles captured on surveillance video. Even so, what piles on still only feels like ⅔ of a movie.
Fuze has some of the most poorly masked twists of recent memory. The double-crosses and surprise allegiances want to hit in a way that drops our collective jaws, but their obviousness reeks. Concurrently, the flip-flopping of character attitudes delivered by the actors is terribly unconvincing, especially watching Aaron Taylor-Johnson as the square-jawed headcase and Theo James trying to be the opportunistic and semi-cowardly rogue. Worse, Gugu Mbatha-Raw is given so little to do, rotating in an office chair and answering phone calls. Nobody is very compelling or entertaining, considering the talent present.
Without giving more away about who knows who and for how long, applying any kind of extra agenda to the black hats and white hats of an action movie takes establishing a thicker, deeper, and consequential motive or backstory. Fuze tries to deliver that type of revelation in a lengthy Tarantino-esque flashback in the final act that unveils ultimate character ties. The movie thinks this dramatic disclosure, held to the last minute, transforms itself into a villainless picture and warrants turning our surviving schemers into some kind of A-Team or Three Kings band of brothers, complete with hero end credits. Considering all that transpires—and doesn’t—in Fuze, the clumsily-handled celebration feels odd and unjustified.
LOGO DESIGNED BY MEENTS ILLUSTRATED (#1389)
