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hot fuzz Hot Fuzz
2007
Directed by:
Edgar Wright
Cast: Simon Pegg, Martin Freeman, Billy Nighy, Robert Popper, Joe Cornish

Written by:
Tony DeFrancisco

August 2, 2007

"Hot Fuzz" is the latest brain-child of the newest Gods in cinema - Edgar Wright and Simon Pegg. The team never seized to disappoint me. To see this on the big screen made me what I am now.

 

I never had so much fun in an action movie (that only ended two months later when "Live Free or Die Hard" was released, but still, "Hot Fuzz" is loads better and has Simon Pegg). Now, it is released on DVD, which means I can see it as many times that I want with my Hot-Topic "Hot Fuzz" shirt on and quote lines that I couldn't remember back when it was released in theatres.

The pride of London police service, constable Nicholas Angel, had the best record on the force, at 400% higher than anyone else. Due to that, his superiors promote him to sergeant, and at the same time, transfer him to the small village of Sandford, where crime was all but non-existent. It is so non-existent, that there is not one single goddamn thing in the evidence room in the crime station. Sgt. Angel is pissed off that he cannot show off his ability to enforce the law in the big city.

His new boss Inspector Butterman introduces him all around the motley crew, including his new partner, Butterman's son Danny, a bumbling but lovable chap, who thinks that his career on the force should be a lot like the action movies he watches. As soon as Angel arrived in town, fatal accidents begin to occur on a daily basis, but it is only Angel that recognizes that the accident rate is higher than the crime rate. Though he received no support from his co-workers or the townspeople, led by supermarket owner Frank Skinner, Angel is convinced that something is up and won't back down from a fight to prove it.

“Hot Fuzz” is basically two movies put into one big film, just like “Shaun of the Dead”. Where “Shaun of the Dead”’s first half was a spoof, the second half is the actual portrayal of horror/zombie films in general. The first half of the movie is nearly a spoof of action films that we have grown up to love, like “Leon”, but at the same time, it spoofs films like “Trainspotting”, “The Omen”, and Edgar Wright’s own “Shaun of the Dead”.

In the previews for the movie, they advertise it as “made by guys who have seen every action movie known to man”, and the final half proves it, especially the last thirty minutes. While the first half is nearly just a spoof of action films, the final half drops the parodying technique, and actually becomes an action film in itself. In one of the most pivotal scenes of the film, Angel and Danny watch “Point Break” and “Bad Boys II”. Later on in the film, they actually re-live the moments in the film, not much of a parody, but homage to these action films. Hell, they even made me remember how much I was alone on liking “Bad Boys II”, but I'm sure that you will love it after this film.

And this is where I talk about my idolization of Simon Pegg, Edgar Wright, and Nick Frost. There is not a single scene where you hate any of the good guys in this film. Edgar and Shaun have such chemistry as writers together, and Simon and Nick have such great chemistry on screen. But you didn't need to know that, do you? I mean it only seems clear that they do. But here's what you don't know. "Shaun of the Dead" was totally owned by Simon Pegg, and made him a star. Here, it was not Simon Pegg's performance that made this movie (thought it was, just not as much as this guy), but this was Nick Frost's movie. He totally owned his role as the action movie lover Danny. More and more casting directors are going to be looking at him when they need someone to impersonate John Candy.

As much as I want to say that it doesn't have a flaw, I will say it - it doesn't have a flaw. At least one I couldn't find within my three watches of the film. Like "Shaun of the Dead", "Hot Fuzz" will get a lot of buzz on DVD. But if you were like me and got to see "Hot Fuzz" in the theatre, you might think that the film wouldn't hold up on DVD, but it actually does. The sound on the DVD is actually much better than the sound I received at the theatre and the video has probably the best quality I have seen on DVD in some time. That being said, "Hot Fuzz" really holds up on DVD. If you didn't get to see it in the theatres, better get your asses moving and go watch... no... BUY "Hot Fuzz". You will thank me later.

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