Movie Info
Movie Name: Hot Fuzz
Studio: StudioCanal
Genre(s): Action/Adventure/Comedy
Release Date(s): February 14, 2007 (UK)/April 20, 2007 (US)
MPAA Rating: R
There’s a new big boss in town!
Nick Angel (Simon Pegg) is London’s best detective…he’ll solve the crime at any cost and he is never off duty. Angel is so good that he works himself out of a job and finds himself reassigned to the idealistic small town of Sandford which boost a zero crime rate. Angel finds himself searching for work to fill his days in a place where the biggest problems are runaway swans and living statue street performers. As bizarre deaths begin piling up in Sandford, Nick questions if Sandford’s “accidents” are really murders. Could Sandford be hiding something? Nick is teamed with Danny Butterman (Nick Frost), the son of the inspector Frank Butterman (Jim Broadbent), and out to investigate one of the town’s richest investors Simon Skinner (Timothy Dalton)…but could find much more.
Happens at church all the time
Directed by Edgar Wright, Hot Fuzz is an action parody with elements of horror. The movie follows Shaun of the Dead in 2004 and is considered the second film in Wright’s Three Flavours Cornetto trilogy which concluded with The World’s End in 2013. The movie was well received by critics and posted strong numbers in the box office.
I loved Shaun of the Dead. As a horror fan, Shaun of the Dead nailed it with its tight parody of the zombie genre. I saw Hot Fuzz with optimism, but found it good, but not great. However, rewatching Hot Fuzz, I saw less of the problems I saw in the initial viewing and liked it more.
Gun-toting grannies!
The plot for the movie is a parody of films. It spends much of the beginning of the film pointing out action cliches and even playing clips of specific movies like Bad Boys II and Point Break. The second half of the film has these parodies playing out “in real life” as the craziest town shootout takes place. Throughout the movie, there are also elements of horror mixed in and homages to the previous film Shaun of the Dead.
Pegg and Frost just know each other. They work well together and have great chemistry. Pegg’s character isn’t a slacker like in the previous film so it is good to see a different dynamic between the two. They are backed by a great supporting cast headlined by former James Bond Timothy Dalton, Jim Broadbent, and Edward Woodward among others. Martin Freeman, Bill Nighy, Steve Coogan, and Cate Blanchett cameo as Nick’s London “family”.
Jumping and shooting two guns!
The style changes throughout the film. It maintains the fast edits of Shaun of the Dead but it also mixes in classic action shots like slow motion, car jumps, and shootout. It also directly steals shots from movies in its mocking of them. It is fun and furious (though some of the fast editing could be toned down).
Hot Fuzz is a worthy follow-up to Shaun of the Dead. If you aren’t a fan of horror there is a good chance you will like this better. Also aiding the “Hot Fuzz is better than Shaun of the Dead” campaign is that zombies are so overplayed now. I still like Shaun of the Dead better but it is a pleasant change to see an action movie parody that isn’t making fun of the source material…it really feels like an homage.
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