Review – Hot Fuzz

Location – Home Type – On DVD MMPA Rating – Rated 14 A

I’m a big Shaun of the Dead fan, so I was excited to finally see Hot Fuzz. While it was a good movie and well written. Trying to compare the two is like comparing apples and oranges; they’re just two very different genres of film.

Hot Fuzz is spoof of the popular police buddy films (Kind of like Lethal Weapon or Bad Boys to name a few) The main character Nicholas Angel is a by the book, extremely efficient police officer. He’s so good at his job, he starts making the rest of his fellow officers look bad. As a result they decide that the best thing for their careers is to get rid of police constable (P.C.)Angel by have him reassigned to a small village called Sandford.

The village is relatively crime free and P.C. Angel has a difficult time adjusting to his new surroundings. His gun ho attitude puts him at odds with the police staff in Sandford, who he views as lazy. The only one who accepts him is inept P.C. Danny Butterman. But he’s more interested in the glorified action movies that Hollywood produces, than doing actual police work.

The movie tends to drag a bit in the beginning as it sets up the back story and establishes the characters. It can be a bit monotonous as they keep playing with the characters stereotypes. It really doesn’t pick up until we have what’s an apparent murder, which gets passed off as a traffic accident.

Nicholas Angel doesn’t accept the findings and the cause. But as he digs deeper, more mysterious accidents continue to befall the residents of Sandford. Nicholas Angel becomes increasingly frustrated with his coworkers who refuse to believe that anything is going on.

As he pieces it together and he gets closer to the truth. It gets revealed that all the crimes are actually connected and part of a much greater scheme. It ultimately leads to a movie showdown between Angel and the perpetrators. Out numbered, he finally gets help from P.C. Butterman and his fellow officers. I’ll leave the rest up to you, if you decide to see the film.

Pros – The script, Simon Pegg (Nicholas Angel), the final showdown(?)

Cons – Drags a bit in the beginning, the jokes at Nicholas Angel’s expense from his fellow officers (OK, we get it, he doesn’t fit in)

Overall Rating