David Mackenzie (Hell or High Water) directs this heist flick about a World War II-era bomb unearthed at a London construction site, leading to chaos. Chief Superintendent Zuzana Greenfield (Gugu Mbatha-Raw) leads her police department to evacuate the area while a military bomb disposal unit led by Maj. Will Tranter (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) works to defuse the unexploded ordnance. Meanwhile, Giorgos “George” Karalis (Theo James) and his crew, including “X” (Sam Worthington), are using the evacuation to furiously breach a basement wall to access a bank vault.
Naturally, there’s more going on beneath the surface. You may wonder, for instance, why the film spends so much time on Rahim (Elham Ehsas) and his family, who were evacuated from their apartment. Not to fear, the film gets around to connecting all the dots in a flashback, which might lead to thoughts of lazy writing, but I found the entire film entertaining and gripping.
FUZE
What’s it rated? R
When? 2025
Where’s it showing? HBO Max
There’s no denying the charisma of the leads: Taylor-Johnson, James, and Worthington are all watchable. Mbatha-Raw is also a strong, competent presence who begins to suspect something is afoot in the evacuated area.
With plenty of high-octane action and deft directions from Mackenzie, this one’s worth your time if you’re into “guy” flicks. (98 min.) ∆
This article appears in Autumn Arts Annual 2026.
