TIFF Film Review: "Fuze"

Directed by David Mackenzie, “Fuze” stars actor Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Theo James, Sam Worthington, and Gugu Mbatha-Raw. This heist movie is centered around the theme of bombs, and pushes its plot forward with constant twists and turns. However, in an after screening Q&A, director David Mackenzie states that 50% of the script had been improvised, actors were given complete free reign in their interpretation of characters, and he and the scriptwriter had extremely different ideas for how the film should look. Unfortunately, this indecision shows.

One area in which the film performed well was the sense of realism, as they did gain access to many parts of London. This allowed them to completely clear the area out for certain setups. For example, they had a very realistic police station setup, which Gugu Mbatha-Raw mentions made the entire experience feel all the more immersive. There are some greatly timed comedic lines in the film, and the impact of the explosions throughout the film felt realistic and not overdone. Star actors like Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Sam Worthington portrayed their characters in an entertaining manner. Not to mention there was a fair abundance of shirtless shots that would definitely satisfy a majority of fans.

Some of the plot twists were thrilling, and the feeling of realization as pieces fall together is a treat to see, and done very well. Even if you think you can predict what will happen next, you can’t. Plus, Mackenzie accurately refers to one of the characters meetings as a glorified meet cute, which was a fun and charming way to describe it.

However, many of the films greatest aspects are overshadowed by an unusually mediocre beginning. In an attempt to build suspense, the introduction of the film comprise of a slow, dialogue-empty crawl to the plot of the movie. The same shots are shown over and over, and some characters seem to do nothing other than meander around or do “bad guy” stuff. Setting up suspense can be very effective, and I assume this beginning segment was meant to parallel the slow ticking of a bomb before it explodes. And while the plot does become clear eventually, the explosive reveal is not nearly satisfying enough to justify the 30 minutes of nothing shots and frozen expressions of mild annoyance. The only breakup in this drawn out bit is the occasional one-liners made from Aaron Taylor-Johnson, which are quickly brushed over for more still shots of tense actors.

There are also several issues with the characters and their inconsistencies in the film which are difficult to elaborate without spoiling much.

The most infuriating of choices would be the music though. I wasn't expecting a life changing soundtrack in an action heist film, but for the entire first 30 minutes of the film, the director chooses to loop the same royalty free #intense music, that drones on and on with no reprieve. I’m unsure if they were simply unable to find a more interesting soundtrack, or if they felt this one fit the the theme of the movie best (slow), but most of the film is made up of the same looping beats that sometimes don’t even match the current scene.

The movie starts off strong, with a good collection of interesting shots and good framing, but is quickly disregarded after 10 minutes, which means the remaining film has no sense of style nor direction.

Fans interested in certain stars or slower-paced heist films might find a lot of enjoyment in this weekday evening sort of film, but as David Mackenzie states before the screening of the film, there isn’t an intent to put out some kind of message, just a hope to be somewhat entertaining.