{"id":204188,"date":"2025-09-06T05:27:10","date_gmt":"2025-09-06T05:27:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/204188\/"},"modified":"2025-09-06T05:27:10","modified_gmt":"2025-09-06T05:27:10","slug":"david-mackenzie-directs-aaron-taylor-johnson","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/204188\/","title":{"rendered":"David Mackenzie Directs Aaron Taylor-Johnson"},"content":{"rendered":"

In storytelling, the phrase \u201cticking time bomb\u201d is understood as a metaphor for a problem with a rapidly approaching deadline that forces characters to scramble under pressure to avert disaster. But if you\u2019ve ever heard a movie described that way and been disappointed it wasn\u2019t about characters finding a literal time bomb and trying to defuse it before it stops ticking, David Mackenzie<\/a> has made the movie for you.<\/p>\n

\u201cFuze<\/a>\u201d finds the \u201cHell or High Water\u201d and \u201cRelay\u201d director (and screenwriter Ben Hopkins) literalizing the metaphor to thrilling effect in what is almost certainly the most entertaining movie set at a muddy construction site that you\u2019ll see all season. Aaron Taylor-Johnson stars as Will Tranter, a major in the British Army specializing in explosives, who is called in after an old World War II bomb is discovered underground at a London construction site. After evacuating the surrounding area amid an unexpected explosion, he has to examine the bomb\u2019s explosive capabilities \u2014 and either defuse it or execute a controlled explosion before anyone gets hurt.<\/p>\n

\"John<\/a> \"Agnieszka<\/a> <\/p>\n

Taylor-Johnson comes across as a quintessential Guy You Want in Charge in a Crisis, handsome and ripped and willing to instantly take charge of the situation. He clears the construction crew, commandeers the foreman\u2019s office, barks orders at his entire bomb squad, and even orders pizzas and pre-pours celebratory shots for what he sees as their inevitable success. The only flaw in his approach is his reluctance to consider ideas from his subordinates \u2014 so when one of his corporals suggests that the bomb\u2019s chemical properties indicate it\u2019s far newer than they initially thought, Will dismisses the notion and continues as if he\u2019s dealing with a war relic.<\/p>\n

The first third of \u201cFuze\u201d is downright gripping, with Mackenzie leaning on his technical filmmaking chops and Taylor-Johnson\u2019s movie-star vibes to make a largely motionless construction site far more exciting than it should be. But as the bomb squad and the police (led by Gugu Mbatha-Raw\u2019s chief superintendent Zuzana) look deeper into the situation, it becomes clear that the bomb was the least of their concerns: It was actually planted as a diversion to clear the block so that a crew of thieves could rob a bank vault. What began as a bomb-defusing job quickly turns into a police investigation, and what could be the heist of the century.<\/p>\n

Mackenzie has long been known for his ability to combine Hollywood spectacle with social commentary, but \u201cFuze\u201d might be his most blatantly escapist film<\/a> to date. There\u2019s no shame in that, as the world certainly needs more actually good bomb-turned-heist movies, and \u201cFuze\u201d often feels like an idea that two 12-year-old boys would excitedly think of while daydreaming about their own filmmaking careers. But even with a ridiculously fun premise and more than a few twists, the film never fully regains its initial suspense after the bomb explodes relatively early in the film. We learn that Will is more troubled than his aura of confidence suggests, and Johnson\u2019s performance lends some complexity to the character, but nothing that follows can compete with the excitement that the bomb provided.<\/p>\n

The third act could be described as structurally curious, as Mackenzie and Hopkins introduce some late-in-the-game flashbacks that, while grippingly shot, derail the story and muddy the waters of who we\u2019re supposed to be rooting for. The effect feels less like intentional nihilism than poor pacing, and it builds toward an abrupt ending (that\u2019s also the beginning) that denies us any real catharsis without adding enough compelling information to justify the detour.<\/p>\n

\u201cFuze\u201d still contains the bones of a great movie, and it\u2019s worth seeking out for Mackenzie fans or anyone seeking a twisty new thriller. But the film\u2019s biggest takeaway might be that ticking time bomb storytelling works for a reason, and movies aren\u2019t meant to continue on for another hour after the main plot device explodes unless you have something truly incredible to replace the tension. <\/p>\n

\u201cFuze\u201d might not be exceptional enough to break out your finest celebratory shot glasses, but you\u2019re still unlikely to find another film that makes the field of urban construction look so exciting. <\/p>\n

Grade: B-<\/p>\n

\u201cFuze\u201d premiered at the 2025 Toronto International Film Festival. It is currently seeking U.S. distribution. <\/p>\n

Want to stay up to date on IndieWire\u2019s film reviews<\/a><\/strong><\/a>\u00a0and critical thoughts? Subscribe here<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0to our newly launched newsletter, In Review by David Ehrlich, in which our Chief Film Critic and Head Reviews Editor rounds up the best new reviews and streaming picks along with some exclusive musings \u2014\u00a0all only available to subscribers.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"In storytelling, the phrase \u201cticking time bomb\u201d is understood as a metaphor for a problem with a rapidly…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":204189,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[112654,171,1020,112655,53,11853,64287,67,132,68],"class_list":{"0":"post-204188","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-movies","8":"tag-david-mackenzie","9":"tag-entertainment","10":"tag-film","11":"tag-fuze","12":"tag-movies","13":"tag-reviews","14":"tag-tiff","15":"tag-united-states","16":"tag-unitedstates","17":"tag-us"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115155700906379807","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/204188","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=204188"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/204188\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/204189"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=204188"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=204188"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=204188"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}