Directed by David MacKenzie and written by Ben Hopkins, Fuze is a tightly spun action thriller with just enough anarchic humor to keep the audience on their toes. It has similar energy as Hong Kong thrillers from Ringo Lam, where desperate, yet immaculately organized criminals go against people just as broken as they are, only on the other side of power.

It is a rollicking good time, held together by a smart script and terrific performances. On top of that, it's the kind of mystery that unravels without ever lying to the audience. Every surprise feels earned, which itself is a huge win in a genre that sees far more sloppy third act twists than most others.

The setup is simple: on a regular morning in London, a construction crew discovers an unexploded WW2 bomb, capable of wiping out an entire city block should it detonate. The locals are evacuated, and a military bomb disposal unit, led by the acerbic Major Will Tranter (Aaron Taylor-Johnson), is called into action.

Meanwhile, as a part of the city clears, a group of thieves (led by Sam Worthington), set out on an elaborately planned heist.

How, why, and where these stories intersect is the whole game, and it's as much fun trying to see if you can outwit the movie as it is to watch it. Just as I thought I had figured out the con, something new threw me for a loop.

This is the kind of old-fashioned, no-nonsense filmmaking that MacKenzie has built his career on. After starting out strong with The Last of the Great Wilderness and Young Adam, then reinventing himself with the modern masterpiece Hell or High Water, MacKenzie has proven to be one of the most dependable voices when it comes to character driven thrills.

Here, he does not disappoint. Fuze is everything you'd want out of a night out at the movies. In the 90s, it would have stood proudly alongside films like The Rock as a perfect date night title.

Watch, for example, how intricately he constructs the geography of first the bomb site, then the heist grounds, and the spaces in between. There's no need for fancy cutaways or gimmickry, we know where we are every step of the way.

The cast, featuring talent like Gugu Mbatha-Raw and Theo James, is equally committed. There are no weak links here, and nobody is slacking off despite the traditional material. Taylor-Johnson does much of the heavy lifting as the testy Major at the heart of a tricky situation. What could easily be a one-note Alpha Jock role turns into a three dimensional leader who you'd love to have in your corner.

Even Worthington, usually understated to the point of nondescript, is magnetic. Here's another part that could easily disappear into the void of tradition, yet Worthington imbues him with so much charisma that, if framed slightly differently, he could just as easily be the leading man. You want him to get away with all this as you much as you want Taylor-Johnson to catch him.

While the very final stretch does go overboard with the explanations, it is such a minor complaint that it doesn't hurt the picture. Especially as MacKenzie and Hopkins finally wrap things up in a way that's entirely unexpected, yet totally deserved.

In a world littered with over-written and overstuffed action thrillers, Fuze feels like a breath of fresh air. It doesn't overstay its welcome by a single minute, and while you can poke holes in the convenience of how things in the film happen, chances are that you'll be having way too much fun to bother.