Overall Rating Awesome: 60.92% Worth A Look: 26.44% Average: 10.34% Pretty Bad: 2.3% Total Crap: 0% 8 reviews, 39 user ratings

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Hot Fuzz

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by Lybarger

"Blimey, Simon Pegg and Nick Frost sure are a couple of funny chaps."

Much of the appeal to the movies that actor Simon Pegg and director Edgar Wright have written together is that they have a genuine affection for the subjects they parody. “Shaun of the Dead” probably wouldn’t have been nearly as funny if Pegg and Wright didn’t adore the horror movies they grew up with. “Hot Fuzz” pokes fun at buddy cop movie clichés, but Wright also delivers action scenes worthy of the films he’s satirizing.

In a role that’s a complete 180 from his turn as a passive electronics salesman in “Shaun of the Dead,” Pegg plays Sgt. Nicholas Angel, a London cop who’s kept the city safe and alienated his peers in the process. He not only collars more crooks than they do, but his martinet attitude convinces his superiors to send him to Sandford in the countryside.

Sgt. Angel’s by-the-book approach to law enforcement initially gets him into even more trouble in his new post. The sleepy village tolerates underage drinking as a rite of passage, and his first collar winds up being Danny (Nick Frost, “Shaun of the Dead”), his new partner and the son of the town’s genial inspector (Jim Broadbent).

The arrangement would be a complete disaster if Danny weren’t enamored with Sgt. Angel’s achievements and skills. Danny’s earnestness and his desire to emulate his favorite American cop films almost atones for his frequent blunders.

The duo’s sense of obligation gradually becomes oddly appropriate when a few of the town’s residents begin to die in a series of violent mishaps. The rest of the town assumes the freak incidents are merely accidents, but Sgt. Angel and Danny discover that the town’s complacency may be unwarranted as a real crime wave emerges.

If there was a movie that was ever ill-served by its trailer, “Hot Fuzz” certainly qualifies. The affectionate tone that Wright takes toward his characters and the setting are completely missing in the advertisements. If Wright and Pegg didn’t love their protagonists, the film would be mired in smugness, and it would be hard to care if Sgt. Angel ever adapts to his new low stimulation surroundings.

This affection is clearly shared by the cast. None of these would be as much fun if Pegg and Frost didn’t have such an appealing chemistry. Oscar-winner Broadbent has a ball playing impossibly laid back inspector, and former James Bond Timothy Dalton is delightfully sleazy as a potential murder suspect.

Even the minor roles are a scream. Edward Woodward from the original “The Wicker Man” has some choice moments as a hyper-vigilant neighborhood watch leader. Equally watchful viewers may catch Cate Blanchett and moonlighting director Peter Jackson in some hysterically funny cameos.

Wright imitates the over-the-top visual styles of directors like Michael Bay (“Bad Boys 2”). But unlike Bay, Wright doesn’t let the rapid fire cutting and explosions get in the way of the storytelling. His action scenes offer just as much adrenaline as the films that inspired him.

Wright retains the fondness for gore that he demonstrated in “Shaun of the Dead.” Squeamish viewers might have a tough time with some of the murder sequences, and the blood seems a little out of place with the tone that runs throughout the rest of the film.

Nonetheless, considering how smugness has flattened the humor in such recent satirical disasters as “Epic Movie,” I’ll take a decapitation over a failed attempt at fecal humor any day.

link directly to this review at https://www.efilmcritic.com/review.php?movie=15547&reviewer=382
originally posted: 04/27/07 15:06:59

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User Comments

1/27/19 Jarod Oh my gods hot fuzz was in incredible funny but awesome 5 stars

5/01/18 Bents Had fun w/this movie. Was not what I was expecting 4 stars

9/14/17 morris campbell good not great 4 stars

8/31/13 Bert crude, violent, I quit midway 2 stars

5/28/12 Stefani K Fantastic. 5 stars

2/11/12 Bill White I agree with Rob. I gave it a two and a half on Rotten Tomatoes. The ending is pathetic. 2 stars

8/25/10 the dork knight Pegg is this movie. A couple nice buddy moments between him and Frost, too. 5 stars

10/25/09 Trent Coming from a US citizen, amazing movie, right up there with Shaun of the Dead 5 stars

10/01/08 Shaun Wallner I really enjoyed this film. 5 stars

4/14/08 Will Tingle Peggs best yet - can't imagine it works outside UK though... 5 stars

3/25/08 Isaac M. Baranoff Enjoyed it. Good film. 4 stars

3/21/08 Jeff As always Pegg was excellent 5 stars

3/17/08 Zachary Excellent movie, non-stop laughter. 5 stars

1/31/08 Beck Finaly a police satire that isn't afraid to have the hero actually kick some ass. 5 stars

12/04/07 ES 1 big laugh and a craptacular ending that kills all the goodwill generated by the beginning 3 stars

11/22/07 mr.mike not bad despite the somewhat dopey ending. Dalton is terrific 4 stars

9/28/07 R.W. Welch Outlandish cop satire. Just when you think it can't get any flakier, it does. 4 stars

9/24/07 Jason Brilliant, the turn from a horror movie to a comedy to an action film was seemless. 5 stars

9/15/07 AnnieG I didn't laugh as much as I expected, but I liked this film nonetheless. 4 stars

9/02/07 Quigley One of the funniest movies I've seen in a long time. Pegg and Frost rule so much. Rock on ! 5 stars

8/06/07 Monday Morning Gonsalves is right on - some good laughs but overall, just slightly better than AVERAGE. 3 stars

8/02/07 D Just rented it yesterday, and it is hilarious 5 stars

8/01/07 Dark Enchantress funny movie and had great action 5 stars

7/12/07 Louise Extremely entertaining and funny! Great British humour! 4 stars

6/11/07 al smith porceline is a fucking cock at least britain has some fresh ideas unlike shitty usa 5 stars

6/03/07 Steven Boring at the begging, best 45 min ending ever 4 stars

5/28/07 Rebecca Friggin hilarious! 5 stars

5/27/07 jcjs great, awesome..this site is way too slow now, not worth coming here imbd is the way to go 5 stars

5/16/07 Elizabeth Entertaining -- and any film which appreciates "Point Break" is fine with me! 4 stars

5/15/07 Richard Seen it twice, waiting for the DVD to come out in US! 5 stars

5/08/07 Dave well funny, me n my mate laughed loads 5 stars

5/07/07 Chris Lada OMG, funny!!!! 5 stars

5/05/07 hedd well made and pretty funny, but Gonsalves I agree 3 stars

5/04/07 Stacy Just great! 5 stars

5/03/07 Wesley Haven't laughed at a film this hard in a while. Truly remarkable. 5 stars

5/02/07 Ole Man Bourbon Really well-made film, funny. 4 stars

4/24/07 Luke Not as good as Shaun but bloody great nontheless 4 stars

4/23/07 joker allready own on dvd as out in uk 5 stars

4/22/07 K L WANNA BEST DAMN COMEDY I HAVE SEEN IN YEARS 5 stars

IF YOU'VE SEEN THIS FILM, RATE IT!
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USA 20-Apr-2007 (R) DVD: 31-Jul-2007 UK 16-Feb-2007 DVD: 11-Jun-2007 Australia 15-Mar-2007 Trailer

Directed by Edgar Wright Written by Edgar Wright Simon Pegg Cast Simon Pegg Nick Frost Jim Broadbent Paddy Considine Steve Coogan Timothy Dalton Paul Freeman Anne Reid Billie Whitelaw Stuart Wilson Edward Woodward

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