Camouflage. A tactical method to conceal and prevent detection.
The camouflage of a crime underpins FUZE, Director David Mackenzie’s buzzy B film about a heist under cover of a military exercise in greater London.
FUZE unfolds after an unexploded World War II bomb is unearthed at a busy construction site, forcing a massive citywide evacuation.
A war worn Army bomb disposal expert, veteran of Afghanistan is brought in to supervise a team and disarm the relic. Tick, tick, tick and the tension mounts as timing devices are triggered and the city goes into lock down.
Amid the escalating tension and chaos, a daring criminal operation is set in motion, one that uses the evacuation as cover for a meticulously planned heist.
As authorities race against time to contain the crisis, alliances blur and moral boundaries are crossed, the film deftly propels audiences through a series of calculated twists to camouflage the caper and the motives, delivering a curve-ball ride.
Aaron Taylor-Johnson plays the taciturn, troubled bomb disposal expert with certain flair, while Theo James plays the bank job mastermind with a springbok springiness.
Gugu Mbatha-Raw is solid as the police liaison and Sam Worthington is tersely enigmatic as the bank job mob’s second in command.
Ben Hopkins twisty turny script offers thrills, chills and laughs, although the smell of rat and red herring begins to waft well before the actual revelations.
Crisscross, double cross, moral integrity in the cross hairs, FUZE is a relatively fast burn, a nifty ninety minutes of popcorn crunch.
Tony Doogan’s score adds immeasurably to the films tone which ends with moral compass conniptions to Police and Thieves by The Clash.
