Hot Fuzz

Review by Clint Morris

Nup, not the sordid tale of a man with a sweaty moustache, but more so, the highly-anticipated follow-up to Edgar Wright and Simon Pegg’s – the British comics’ who first made their mark with the TV sketch series, Spaced, a few years back – Romero ribbing, Shaun of the Dead (remember that pizza n’ beer beauty, right?).

And yes, like any comedian and their ‘brand new act’, the jokes aren’t quite as good as first time ‘round, it isn’t as well structured and there’s more dull spots than the back of a man whose just had a series of moles removed – but you’ll still laugh, and laugh again.

Like Shaun, Hot Fuzz again takes its cue from taking the piss out of other people’s films. The former tackled the classic zombie movie; this flips the Hollywood cop movie on its noggin’ (With Point Break and Bad Boys 2 seemingly the oft-mentioned models).

Pegg plays the hotshot London copper, forced into a transfer – for making too many arrests – to a small seemingly peaceful village. Once there, officer Nick Angel is partnered with the well-meaning but overeager police officer Danny Butterman (Nick Frost). They don’t gel at first, but when a series of murders rock the town, they’re forced to mesh their chalk and cheese together and find the killer.

Much like Shaun, which was part comedy-part horror, Hot Fuzz isn’t just a straight-up comedy - it’s also swimming in the genre that you presuppose it to be spoofing; in this case, the action movie. A fair whack of the movie plays fairly [never significantly] serious, with the comedy playing somewhat of a support role to well, a plot. It’s hard to say whether taking the plot out and just playing the film strictly for laughs would’ve worked better (they tried that in the early 90s with National Lampoon’s Loaded Weapon 1 - - - and nobody likes to be reminded of that), or whether there’s just not a lot of satirising to be done of action movies that we haven’t seen already. Whatever the case, they’ve given it a good shot – and the last half hour or so of the film is an absolute goldmine of fun. A Lethal Weapon of laughs, if you will.

Creatively, it’s very well done. The cinematography, direction, writing and production values are terrific – and the use of music (lifted from many an action movie trailer) is absolutely inspired.

The cast – many of them significantly better known than the Shaun ensemble – are a hoot. Pegg and Nick Frost are as crazy and amusing as usual, whilst support players Timothy Dalton (in what could be the best part he’s had since playing Bond), Jim Broadbent, Edward Woodward, Paddy Considine, Bill Nighy and Bill Bailey all have their fair share of good moments.

It could’ve been hotter, but this Fuzz still tickles. 

3.5 out of 5

Hot Fuzz
Australian release: 15th March, 2007
Cast: Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Jim Broadbent, Paddy Considine, Steve Coogan
Director: Edgar Wright
Website: Click here.