Hot Fuzz (2007) Reviews

• One of the Most Brilliant Comedies I've Ever Seen

  jzappa2007-04-30

  Hot Fuzz satirizes American action films in a way that an American satire would not. Edgar Wright and Simon Pegg don't simply spoof the plot threads and the car chases. They know the smaller details of Hollywood's formula, as they exemplify with its continuous references to the scene in Point Break where Keanu Reeves fires his gun into the sky in anger and the scene in Bad Boys II where Martin Lawrence, in a circling tracking shot, says, "S*** just got real." Not only do they tackle those less clear characteristics of Hollywood, they also perfectly portray people who talk about awesome scenes in action movies, hilariously by Nick Frost. The film is brilliantly in precise tune with the American mainstream action adventure. The irony in this film is that it takes place in the serenely beautiful English countryside. In some ways, the film is very important for Americans to see. It delves very deeply into the conscious social mannerisms of the English, and parodies the timid insular English village life. Perhaps the most brilliant element of Hot Fuzz is the intertwining of a big-budget action film with gimmicks and a desperately fast pace and a quaint, atmospheric English village given the secrets-of-its-own flavor and a Agatha Christie-style expository structure. The film-making style in and of itself is complicit in the satire. The cinematography and editing is a product of the school of Tony Scott and Guy Ritchie. It's filled with jump cuts accompanied by loud and constantly changing sound effects, occasional strobe, and montages of grainy, bleached out, extravagantly lit shots edited together at machine gun speed. The soundtrack is that of any super-cool action film from Hollywood. This works so well not only as a dead-on impression of Hollywood film-making but also as a hilarious opposition to the English countryside. Simon Pegg's performance is a work of comic genius. His character is so well-developed as a man of invincible and authentic confidence and incredible drive, a workaholic, a zealot, and also an action hero stereotype. Nick Frost is a great second banana because not only is he the punchline to Pegg's straight line, he's also funny in such a direct, adolescent way, an unlikely comic relief sidekick. The film's great surprise is a comeback performance from Timothy Dalton. Not only is it a reappearance from the abyss he's been lost in since his two-year stint as James Bond, but also a vindication against all who've continually dismissed his credibility as an actor and doubted his comic ability. He's very funny and one of the film's great highlights. I've rarely seen a comedy so cleverly written, beautifully directed, atmospheric, or intelligently ridiculous.

• Most fun in a cinema since....forever

  dgraham-12007-02-06

  Saw this last night at a special screening followed by a Q&A with Simon Pegg and Nick Frost. I liked "Shaun of the Dead" but wasn't a huge fan but I liked what I'd heard about "Hot Fuzz". I still wasn't prepared to be quite as blown away by it as I was. This film works both as an out-and-out comedy but also as a high paced action film and also manages to showcase the directing talents of Edgar Wright and the acting of Simon Pegg (who can really *act*) The first half is a gentle build up but is generally and genuinely amusing, but once we put the pedal to the floor for the second half the pace is relentless. The plot is substantial enough but isn't really what we've all come to see - it's about the snappy dialogue and the gags. To describe it as a spoof is unfair - they just corrupt the genre a little and turn up the comedy. Great fun from start to finish.

• How you Top Shaun of The Dead

  sean-7642006-12-24

  I was lucky enough to see a preview of this film for free after I attended a random screening of Scorcese's the Departed. Naturally hearing that the makers of Shaun of the Dead were behind this I had to go see it - if a group of people can make a romantic comedy with zombies, then a buddy cop film HAD to inventive and original. I can safely say that it was. I haven't laughed as hard in a film as I did with Hot Fuzz. The parts are all cast brilliantly - in particular Pegg and Frost as the two lead police officers. Pegg bringing the smart, intelligent, action hardened London cop to the sleep north England village works in a classic fish out of water scenario. It surprised me with it's direction and I will confess I couldn't have predicted how everything would pan out. When this is fully released I urge you to go and see it.

• Awesome

  snow0r2007-03-28

  Hot Fuzz is the story of Sergeant Nicholas Angel (Simon Pegg), hardboiled super-cop. Intimidated by his arrest record, his cameo-appearance superior officers (Martin Freeman, Steven Coogan, and Bill Nighy) transfer him from the busy streets of London to the sleepy village of Sandford to keep him out of the way and balance the books, because, to be honest, he's making the rest of them look bad. A big cop in a small town, Angel sees murders and conspiracies where the cameo cast of cops and locals see accidents, but, with the help of his partner Danny Butterman (Nick Frost), it's not long before he discovers that not everything in Sandford is quite what it seems. Sound clichéd? Good. That's the point. Once settled in Sandford, Hot Fuzz becomes a vehicle designed to send up every action film that has ever taken itself even slightly seriously from Police Story to Point Break, and it does this brilliantly by simply taking everything from these films and pushing them that bit further, making them appear both ridiculous and awesome at the same time. The characters are massively exaggerated (especially Pegg's super-cop and Timothy Dalton's fantastically over-the-top super-villain). The action sequences are outrageous, exciting, and feature a surprising degree of rough justice, perhaps most notably in the form of an old woman getting karate-kicked in the face (or maybe a pub landlord getting his head bear-trapped…). The dialogue ranges from obvious parody ("Did you tell him to cool off?") to clever Pegg-Frost exchanges, and even the music is perfectly balanced between action-scene rock songs and mock-epic slow guitar pieces. However, that's not to say that Hot Fuzz is non-stop comic action. The first half an hour or so seems a little slow, but there's no reason to worry; the cast are simply setting up jokes to be knocked down later on, and it is definitely worth the brief wait for the well-paced comic-action masterpiece that's lying just around the corner. As with Shaun of the Dead, the people behind Hot Fuzz are affectionately poking fun at a genre that they clearly love, creating a film that embraces its genre's inherent ridiculousness, and is all the better for it.

• Yarrp!

  baz_trinity2007-02-19

  Hot Fuzz: The story tells us of an over-active 'policeman officer', Nicholas Angel (Played by the co-star of Shaun of the Dead, Simon Pegg) who is sent to work his duties out in the countryside, to avoid his use of excessive arrests. Suspicions arrive in the town however, as people start getting killed 'accidentally'. Coupled with his rather unprofessional partner Danny Butterman (Similiarily played by Shaun of the Dead star Nick Frost) they get themselves into suspicious circumstances Nicholas Angel fails to ignore. But what can I say? It's just hilarious! An incredibly funny, witty, intelligent British comedy that manages to bring you to tears with laughter and also offers extremely well directed and executed action scenes! If you liked the likes of Shaun of the Dead, you'll love this, simple as that. I was oddly surprised to find that it was incredibly violent, albeit, in a cartoony way, but it will definitely make you squint. Plenty of cameo's by the likes of the hilarious Bill Bailey and a great cast will make this a action/thriller/comedy hard to forget! Excellent.