Hot Fuzz

Starring: Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Jim Broadbent, Paddy Considine, Steve Coogan

Directed by: Edgar Wright

RS: 3of 4 Stars Average User Rating: 3.5of 4 Stars

2007 Rogue Pictures/Focus Features All Movies

It begins softly, but don't be fooled. No sooner does London cop Nicholas Angel (Simon Pegg) - so good at arrests that other coppers hate him - accept his transfer to the drowsy village of Sandford than the aging populace starts turning into stone-cold, gore-happy freaks. That's all you should know, except that this shotgun marriage of Monty Python and Apocalypto is a kissing, kick-ass cousin to Shaun of the Dead, the 2004 zombiefest that Pegg co-wrote with director Edgar Wright. You can?t beat these Brits for blood lust and belly laughs. Pegg once again teams up with actor Nick Frost, this time playing Danny Butterman, the chubby Sandford cop whose lovable old dad (Jim Broadbent) is the local police chief.

It's the living, not the undead, who are plaguing the quiet village. Angel is a ramrod, but Danny's knowledge of violence comes exclusively from the Michael Bay Bad Boys flicks he pops into his DVD player.

Bay's pyrotechnics get royally tweaked as bullets fly and blood splatters. But Wright brings you close to the characters as well as to the action. It makes all the difference, as the dream team of Pegg and Frost - not to mention choice bits from Steve Coogan, Bill Nighy and Timothy Dalton - lace the mayhem with mirth. It's a blast.

Peter Travers

(Posted: Apr 4, 2007)

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Hot Fuzz

Review 1 of 3

Not Rated

The jokes are a laugh a minute in this movie although that's only the case if you are British as a lot of the humor is local. The police buddy plot is pretty standard but what really sets this movie apart are the deadpan performances of the actors portraying the placid local townsfolk and the realistic gore and death scenes that put movies such as Final Destination to shame. Especially good is Timothy Dalton who exudes far more character in this movie than he ever did as James Bond. After seeing this movie, sleepy English country towns will never be perceived as bucolic again.

Jun 21, 2007 19:10:46

Review 2 of 3

3of 4 Stars

Hot Fuzz is the funniest satirical comedy since yesteryear’s
Borat. With a comedic team that hasn’t been seen since the
days of Chris Farley and David Spade, Simon Pegg and Nick
Frost are funnier, racier, and wittier than their comedic
predecessors, as well as the people who make the great films
they spoof. While it has its minor shortcomings, Hot Fuzz is
worth the outrageous $12 theatre admission price to see it on
the big screen.
Hot Fuzz centers around police officer Nicholas Angel,
(Simon Pegg), who is so good at his job patrolling mid London
that he shows up the force by a 400% arrest rate, and gets
fired – sort of. He is reassigned as a sergeant in the quaint
little village of Sanford. Sanford is almost perfect; winning the
exalted “Village of the Year” award numerous times, the only
blot on the village’s record is recent various gruesome
accidents that have been happening to seemingly
unconnected Sanford citizens. Angel notices this, and with the
help of his new partner; PC Danny Butterman, (Nick Frost), the
two let loose a whirlwind of metropolitan justice.
Hot Fuzz is exceptional, for many reasons. The team
behind the smash hit Shaun of the Dead do it again. They take
an excellent genre of film, put their twist on it, and make it
better. While it does have low points, Hot Fuzz as a whole is a
great film. The action is excellent, the acting uncanny, and
signature, and wholly original, a huge achievement,
considering it supposedly spoofs over 100 action films
including Bad Boys II, Point Break, Scream and countless
others. While it does share plot points with some films like
scream, the film’s main plot of two cops ready to go stays
afloat and original.
There is one problem with Hot Fuzz. Its pace. Going into
the movie, I was expecting a gory, stupid, action spoof that
was going to be as action filled as Frank Miller’s 300. What I
got was a grippingly unique and witty film with an action
payoff no comedy will ever be able to duplicate. The time it
took, however, to get to that payoff was very long, but that
can be overlooked by the fact that there is more than one
gigantic laugh around the corner in every scene, and the
articulate weaving of the simple plot was superb.
Overall, Hot Fuzz is a very well planned, original comedy
that is worth seeing, although not for those with weak
stomachs. It may seem slow at times, but there is always
something happening or being said to make you laugh. Hot
Fuzz is not necessarily as good as the hilarious Shaun of the
Dead, but it is hard to compare because the subject matter is
different in varying ways and it is not quite the film you
expect. Both are excellent films, and this critic can’t wait for
the Fuzz to make another comedic gem.