Fuze review: this explosive new thriller movie will keep you on the edge of your seat — but wastes its all-star cast

TechRadar Verdict

Fuze is an entertaining and well made thriller but its all-star cast isn't given enough to do. Still, it does more than enough to keep you on the edge of your seat.

Pros

• +

  Plenty of thrills, twists and turns

• +

  Well shot throughout

• +

  Nice pacing, suits the runtime well

• +

  Tense and exciting, a fun weekend watch

Cons

• -

  Not a lot of character development

• -

  A cast this good is criminally underused

• -

  Feels a bit predictable in places

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If you're in the mood for an entertaining thriller, look no further than Fuze. The new movie from director David Mackenzie ticks all the right boxes for those looking for thrills and heart-pounding tension, and it's now available to rent or buy from platforms like Prime Video and Apple TV.

The underrated thriller movie is set in London, where an unexploded World War 2-era bomb is found on a construction site. A team of military experts led by Major Will Tranter (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) is tasked with dealing with it as quickly as possible.

Simultaneously, a diamond expert named Karalis (Theo James) is working alongside a shifty group of criminals to plot an ambitious jewel heist while taking advantage of the city’s evacuation order. With all eyes on containing the bomb, they have a chance to strike.

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So we've got not one but two heart-pounding incidents here, giving plenty of ground for some thrilling scenes and tension building. The movie has a nice 96-minute runtime and is well-paced; you'll certainly never be bored.

But sometimes less is more. Fuze unfortunately does rely on action and impressive set pieces over its admittedly brilliant cast, which are criminally underused. Outside of their jobs and their responsibilities in the movie, we don't really know much about them. This means that character development is lacking throughout.

Fuze Trailer #1 (2026) - YouTube Watch On

It would have been cool to see great actors like Taylor-Johnson and James given a little more to do, especially when it comes to interacting with those around them. James' Karalis character has a group of robbers alongside him, including Sam Worthington as X, Shaun Mason as Y, and Nabil Elouahabi as Z.

Unfortunately, those three do feel as generic as their codenames, and I would've liked to see some proper dynamics between the robbers, which would've added higher personal stakes and more drama.

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Gugu Mbatha-Raw stars as Chief Superintendent Zuzana Greenfield, alongside her right-hand Clareese, played by Honor Swinton Byrne. We have two more huge names here who feel wasted, just existing to give orders from a control room.

Had the characters been more interesting, I do think that Fuze could've been a much more effective thriller. There's no denying it's an exciting movie that will entertain you, but it's definitely not a character-driven kind of story. Then again, you might not be seeking out Fuze, looking for anything more than fast-paced scenes and nail-biting tension, which is perfectly fine.

Fuze is exciting and well shot, and despite being predictable in places, it is still a decent movie. It doesn't pretend to reinvent the wheel and gives us two exciting scenarios to follow. Set against a London backdrop with the threat of the capital's citizens in danger, it's a nightmarish scenario come to life on screen.

I would highly recommend this movie to fans of 70s thriller movies like Airport and Figures in a Landscape, as the vibes are very similar here. It's less about the characters themselves and more about the danger they find themselves in instead. Even if the characters feel disposable, we can still get sucked into the story.

Finally, Fuze's ending may divide viewers as it seems to simmer instead of going out with a bang, but I felt it was a satisfying conclusion. It might not be the most re-watchable thriller in the world, but it's still worth your time.

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Lucy BuglassSocial Links NavigationSenior Entertainment Writer

Lucy is a long-time movie and television lover who is an approved critic on Rotten Tomatoes. She has written several reviews in her time, starting with a small self-ran blog called Lucy Goes to Hollywood before moving onto bigger websites such as What's on TV and What to Watch, with TechRadar being her most recent venture. Her interests primarily lie within horror and thriller, loving nothing more than a chilling story that keeps her thinking moments after the credits have rolled. Many of these creepy tales can be found on the streaming services she covers regularly.

When she’s not scaring herself half to death with the various shows and movies she watches, she likes to unwind by playing video games on Easy Mode and has no shame in admitting she’s terrible at them. She also quotes The Simpsons religiously and has a Blinky the Fish tattoo, solidifying her position as a complete nerd. 

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