Exciting ‘Fuze’ knows how to go boom

      Going into the intricately plotted “Fuze,” I wasn’t expecting anything beyond the dozens of other “Rififi” wannabes seeking to reinvent the heist drama. But what “Hell or High Water” director David Mackenzie delivers isn’t half bad. Implausible, yes; but thrilling, just the same. Not to mention brimming with eye candy in the form of certified hunks Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Sam Worthington and Theo James.

    They are at the heart of a literal three-ring circus of nail-biting action involving a long-dormant bomb, a not-so-merry band of thieves, and a large contingent of discombobulated London bobbies attempting to figure out what in the name of Steven Soderbergh is going on after evacuating an entire Hyde Park neighborhood. You suspect the discovery of the armament and the bank break-in are related, but Mackenzie and writer Bob Hopkins successfully keep you guessing for longer than they have a right.

     There’s even a hint of an anti-war message, given how all the main players have some sort of connection to the NATO occupation of Afghanistan post 9/11. But that’s just the cherry on a nutty sundae of a movie in which loyalties and motivations are evolving as fast as the cops and robbers take turns grasping the upper hand.

     It begins with a construction crew digging the foundation for yet another high-rise residential building. During the excavation, the bulleted head of a large ordnance, presumably left over from the Blitz, is spotted menacingly protruding from the soil. To be safe, the surrounding buildings are emptied for blocks around as police and the military move in. And as the last resident exits the sealed-off area, a sextet of vicious criminals scurries like rats to the basement of one of the vacated buildings to begin mining into the neighboring Al Muraqabah Bank.

    It’s a terrific set-up that unfolds quickly, no doubt by design, because any lapses in the action would allow time to drill your own holes into a porous plot relying heavily on split-second timing and a host of assumptions, such as how is it that the thieves know exactly when the bomb will be unearthed, who will be called to defuse it, and what safety deposit boxes to ransack?

    I emphasize “would” because Mackenzie affords barely a second to think. Besides, his film is more about the players than the play. Chief among them is Theo James as the rakish Karalis, the duplicitous mastermind of the bank operation whose diamond fetish exceeds any semblance of honor among thieves. Right beside him is X, a fellow henchman played by Sam Worthington, fresh off portraying the bad guy in Mackenzie’s last knotted-up thriller, “Relay.”

    They, along with their four other faceless accomplices, don orange coveralls to disguise themselves as sewer workers to facilitate an intricate escape plan. Alas, there’s sure to be a snag, and there is, but I’ll keep that to myself. But rest assured that even if the boys make a clean getaway, there’s still the contentious matter of how to divide the spoils.

    Meanwhile, back at the construction site, Taylor-Johnson’s rule-breaking Maj. Will Tranter is coordinating a defusal of the ticking explosive, which he warns, “can blow up at any second.” But why is he so nonchalant, to the point he’s confidently filling stemmed shot glasses with bourbon to celebrate a mission not yet complete?

     The laws of the genre practically dictate that there be more to Major Tranter than meets the eye. Ditto for Karalis and his crew. But this time, there’s real intrigue at hand. Grounding it all is a superb performance by Gugu Mbatha-Raw as Zuzana, the top cop heading the law-enforcement operation, both out in the field and back at headquarters, where she keeps a close eye on the sealed-off area via drones, transmitting live video on a giant screen before her. 

     In a way, she’s our eyes and ears, as we learn through her the identities of the main players and how they relate to one another. Abetting the process are the breathtaking action scenes shot by DP Giles Nuttgens and tightly edited by Matt Mayer.

     It’s a lot of fun, mostly of the mindless variety, but fun just the same. And as I said, the hunk factor is through the roof, with Elham Ehsas adding to the aesthetics as the mysterious Rahim, an Afghan immigrant working to assimilate himself and his extended family into a new country. And isn’t it convenient that he lives in the building directly abutting the bank? “Fuze” is brimming with similar coincidences, but you go with it because you’re having such a good time.

      But when it’s over, don’t be surprised if you discover a dozen or so nits to pick, particularly over the pertinent details the movie omits, such as how the munition got to where it’s unearthed and the identity of the ruthless diamond dealer Karalis so desperately wants to avenge. I saw the film days ago, and I’m still parsing its flaws. But I’m also still wearing a wide grin, confirming that even though “Fuze” might not be da bomb, it’s definitely a blast.

Movie review

Fuze

Rated: R for violence and language throughout

Cast: Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Theo James, Sam Worthington, Gugu Mbatha-Raw and Elham Ehsas

Director: David Mackenzie

Writer: Bob Hopkins

Runtime: 97 minutes

Where: In theaters April 24

Grade: B