Hot Fuzz

Hot Fuzz scores big time as a police action/comedy written by Simon Pegg and Edgar Wright and builds on my earlier assertion that comedy is back in a big way in film. The British film, directed by Wright and starring Pegg, is similar to Shaun of the Dead in many ways and yet pushes what the team started in that film into new and fresh territory without missing a beat and without neglecting a detail. The thing that makes Hot Fuzz so extraordinary is that attention to detail and that relative love for genre pictures that emanates from the screen so freely. It is an almost organic experience. Yes, I said organic.

The film is essentially a send-up of buddy cop films, yet it also attempts to establish its own tradition without negating the comedy. In fact, the creators intended to allow Hot Fuzz to establish a British tradition of cop films, as other cultures have their police film traditions and the Brits are usually lacking. With the film, Wright and Pegg go further than establishing tradition and right into blowing the roof off in one hell of genre film. Laced with explosive humour, really good action and solid acting, Hot Fuzz is one of the finer films of the year (yeah, I know I say that a lot) and packs a wallop without getting too sticky.

Pegg stars as overachieving London cop Nicholas Angel. Angel is performing his duties so well in London that he’s starting to make everyone else at the department look bad, so he’s shipped off to a small town where his talents won’t be so embarrassing to the force. Angel arrives in Sandford and is partnered with the son of the local police inspector, Danny (Nick Frost). Danny is a huge action film fan and is in complete awe of his new partner, Angel, and begins to idolize him. Angel, meanwhile, is struggling to adjust to the events of the town as there is virtually no crime and not much happens in sleepy Sandford. Eventually, however, certain accidents lead Angel to hypothesize that something may be afoot in the town and, without giving too much away, begins to piece together a case that may explain why “nothing” ever happens in Sandford.

Hot Fuzz is affectionately peppered with every single police send-up gag in the book and milks the genre for all its worth while still establishing its own solid tradition. Pegg is great in his role as the no-nonsense cop that takes his job seriously. He lives police work, quite simply, and finds himself bored as all hell in Sandford. Once he can apply himself to a case, however, Angel comes alive and begins to really shine. Pegg keeps it interesting by allowing his portrayal of Nicholas Angel to evolve with the running action and never proves too distracting by overdoing scenes or flatly laying out deadpan wit. Instead, everything rings true, allowing great chemistry between all of the characters in the charming cast.

The best thing about Hot Fuzz is its ability to take the piss right out of everything and anything that is Michael Bay-related. Lampooning Bad Boys 2 with certain precision seems to be on the mandate of Wright and Pegg, asserted with brilliance thanks to Danny’s obsession with the film and his questions to Angel, such as “have you ever shot your gun while diving through the air?” The film is peppered with great stuff like this, leaving little doubt that the love for the cop genre is spliced with an attention to satirical detail so rich that one starts to believe a course should be taught on parody with this film as the central piece. It’s that good at what it does.

Hot Fuzz is extremely well-written, too, and the script is packed with human details that make the characters rich and entertaining beyond the hilarious action and distractions on screen. This really does make for the complete picture and leaves no stone unturned in its quest for film send-up bliss. Each character is a delicious stereotypical take on the characters of the cop genre, but Hot Fuzz goes a step further and gives us a humanized take on these roles by unpacking the genre specifics and reloading them with acerbic wit and gutsy gory violence. It’s a marvel of character-building and storytelling.

As a blogger that seems to be well-known for hyperbolic statements in review, I stand by every word of this one. Hot Fuzz is a tasty treat of a film, loaded with wit, violence and fun. It builds nicely from start to finish and has a satisfying delivery throughout the picture, making for a great time at the movies and a wonderful taste of satirical bliss. Pegg and Wright have knocked another parody piece out of the park and, as usual with these two, it’s also so much more than an Airplane knock-off. It’s a powerful stand-alone film and a truly entertaining film.

Trailer: