David Mackenzie’s new thriller arrives with a familiar tempo: a London-set caper nudging toward high-stakes danger but rarely catching fire. The film threads a bomb scare into a plan to break into a city bank, hoping the double-crosses will keep the tension humming. Yet the result lands more tepid than taut, skimming the edges of a punchy genre piece without committing to either mood.
The setup leans on a bomb-disposal scare as cover for a crew that posing as Thames Water workers. The team, led by Karalis (Theo James) and X (Sam Worthington), flees into a local flat’s basement and aims for a vault in an Edgeware Road branch. There are plenty of interwoven motives and red herrings, but the script withholds key beats until the last scene, leaving the stakes feeling artificially protracted.
Gugu Mbatha‑Raw plays Chief Superintendent Zuzana, while Aaron Taylor‑Johnson’s Major Will “The Thrill” Tranter brings a few sharper lines to the page-dependent dialogue. The cast has moments to shine, with James clearly enjoying a brisk Afrikaans-tinged accent and a menace that keeps the plan alive even as the plot stumbles elsewhere. Worthington, meanwhile, carries an air of befuddled cool that never fully lands.
Visually, the film often looks flat, a daytime London that seems to oppose the film’s supposed energy. Even a sewer chase—meant to inject adrenaline—feels hurried and a touch humdrum. The 96‑minute runtime is welcome in an era of bloated action, but the lean running time can’t compensate for a structure that never quite commits to a satisfying tonal swing.
What works
- Slick editing and a handful of sharper exchanges.
- The on-screen delivery from Theo James, who leans into a bold accent and a rising sense of threat.
What falls short
- A lifelike London feel that never fully comes through, making the setting feel decorative rather than elemental.
- A back-loaded narrative that withholds crucial information until the final moments.
- A script that wavers between thriller and comedy, never settling into a confident lane.
- Underutilized performances from Worthington and Mbatha‑Raw, who deserved stronger dramatic stakes.
In the end, Fuze offers a polished surface and a few gleaming ideas, but it never detonates into something memorable. It’s a night-in popcorn movie that fizzles before the credits roll.
Source: Original article
