Hot Fuzz Review

"Hot Fuzz" reviews

Movie

Hot Fuzz

Author

anonymous

Date reviewed

2007-07-31 23:12:58

Rating

3/5

Provider

CinemaSource

Review

What those hilarious Shaun of the Dead guys did for zombie flicks, they do for buddy-cop movies in Hot Fuzz. Be careful not to call it a spoof, though.

Story

Nothing about the action-packed cop genre is left untouched in Hot Fuzz. It starts off by introducing Nicholas Angel (Simon Pegg), a sort of supercop with an arrest record 400 percent higher than anyone else's on the London force. He's so good, he makes everyone else look bad—so his superiors reassign him to the sleepy English village of Sanford. Angel is then paired up with the well-meaning but bumbling Police Constable Danny Butterman (Nick Frost), who is also an affirmed action-movie junkie. He views Angel as a chance to possibly see some real gun-blazin' action—except nothing much happens in Sanford. Or does it? A series of grisly deaths leads Angel to believe this quiet burg may not be what it seems, even though the elders of the town (police inspector Jim Broadbent and local grocery story owner Timothy Dalton, among others) shrug them off as "accidents." It just might be time for these small-town cops to break out some big-city justice. Yippee ki-yay!

Acting

Pegg and Frost have way too much fun with this. The boys were friends long before Shaun of the Dead, and their natural camaraderie is obvious. Pegg is the perfect Abbott to Frost's Costello, as the no-nonsense Angel teaches the affable Butterman a few things about law enforcement, while Butterman teaches Angel how to loosen up a bit. Plus, that wonderfully dry British sense of humor they both share is infectious, which clearly must be the reason the myriad of veteran British actors appear in supporting roles. Along with Dalton and Broadbent, there's Bill Nighy and Martin Freeman as Angel's superiors who ship him off to Sanford. Around the World in 80 Days' Steve Coogan, Cate Blanchett and Extras' Stephen Merchant make uncredited appearances. Even lesser-known but still recognizable Brits show up, including the original The Omen's Billie Whitelaw (Mrs. Baylock) and Raiders of the Lost Ark's Paul Freeman (Belloq). Everyone is not only laughing on the outside but on the inside as well.

Direction

Pegg and Frost's third partner in crime is co-writer/director Edgar Wright. After the three of them cooked up 2004's Shaun of the Dead, their side-splitting send-up of George Romero's Dawn of the Dead, none of them could have imagined the cult success it would achieve. Simon Pegg went on to co-star with Tom Cruise in Mission: Impossible III, while Nick Frost starred in the British indie Kinky Boots. But it's Wright who seems to have gained the most attention, notably from Quentin Tarantino, who took Wright under his wing, even asking the Brit to shoot one of the "trailers" for Grindhouse's intermission. Wright is very creative with Hot Fuzz, employing hard, quick cuts and framing the action much like the genre he's poking fun at. The best is after one of the climactic gun battles, Angel and Butterman stand in the town square as the camera revolves around them 360 degrees, á la Bad Boys. The one drawback to Hot Fuzz is its troubled ending. After what would seem to be a perfect way to conclude, the film drags on for another 20 minutes, trying to pack in more action-movie clichés. But overall, this won't really detract from the fun you'll have.

Bottom Line

Hollywood.com rated this film 3 stars.

Copyright © CinemaSource 2007.

Movie

Hot Fuzz

Author

anonymous

Date reviewed

2007-02-10 16:00:14

Provider

MRIB

Review

If you loved Spaced or Shaun Of The Dead here's another essential slab of wonderfully observed British comedy that pokes endearing fun at the cop movie genre.

Simon Pegg plays Nick Angel, an exemplary Police Officer whose dedication to the force is making his less enthusiastic colleagues look bad. Instead of being commended for his crime-busting efforts, Angel is sent packing to a sleepy West Country village station where the only action involves capturing an elusive escaped swan from the local park. Having successfully dealt with underage drinkers in the local pub and a serious bout of traffic cone theft, Angel begins to suspect that a series of grizzly deaths aren't the freak accidents they first appear to be.

As with director Edgar Wright and Simon Pegg's previous efforts, Hot Fuzz is an homage to movies, specifically those cheesy American and Hong Kong action films that have proved so popular on video throughout the years. For the observant film nut there's lovely parodies of Clint Eastwood, Chuck Norris, Robert Rodriguez, Jackie Chang and Tony Scott movies along with more obvious nods to Point Break, Bad Boys II and much more. However, this film's true brilliance is the way in which it transports the themes of these gung-ho, OTT movies into a suburban English village setting. It's the type of place where only one child is allowed at a time in the newsagents and hoodies are outlawed by village councillors. There's wonderful cameos by Jim Broadbent, Steve Coogan and Bill Nighey, but it's Nick Frost's brilliant turn as Angel's dim-witted colleague Danny Butterman who steals the best lines. The rest of the Police resemble the cast of The Thin Blue Line amped up to eleven.

Without giving too much away the the final quarter turns into a bloody but hilarious shoot-out, just as the judges from Britain's Best Kept Village competition arrive.

Whether you're a fan of the cop genre or not really doesn't matter. Hot Fuzz is a genuine laugh out-loud comedy by a team of British writers and actors at the top of their game.

Copyright © MRIB 2007.