HOT FUZZ
RATED: R
STARS: SIMON PEGG, NICK FROST, TIMOTHY DALTON, JIM BROADBENT, PADDY CONSIDINE, RAFE SPALL, EDWARD WOODWARD
DIRECTOR: EDGAR WRIGHT
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Sergeant Nicholas Angel (Pegg) is a top cop in London whose exemplary record - 400% better than most of his colleagues - is making the rest of his department look bad. Now coming back from an injury, he finds that his superiors have conspired to ship him off to the backcountry as the newest addition to the force in the seemingly crime free hamlet of Sanford.
None too pleased about the way he's being shipped off, Angel nevertheless throws himself into the job with gusto - so much in fact that he is more than a little disturbed by a string of "accidents" that appear to be much more, and is frustrated by the lack of action from his new police comrades, who would rather keep the status quo of the village and sit around the office having cake and ice cream.
Paired with a bumbling new partner, PC Danny Butterman (Frost), the son of police chief Frank Butterman (Broadbent), who longs for the kind of excitement he sees in Hollywood cop movies like Point Break and Supercop, Angel's determination to find murder in the string of accidents gets him marked as a bit of a loon by the locals. But as he continues to push the rest of his department, and the townspeople, about the accidents, and he runs afowl of the local supermarket owner (Dalton), he discovers a sinister undercurrent in the little community, and it's one that even his new friend and partner might not be able to help him expose before it's too late.
Rife with in-jokes and asides galore, Hot Fuzz is the latest movie to come from star/writer Pegg, who also wrote and starred in the horror film spoof Shaun Of The Dead with Frost and a number of other cast members.
As in Shaun Of The Dead, the chemistry between Pegg and Frost is spot on, with Sgt Angel's exasperation coming through on a few glorious occasions while his partner is totally oblivious to why the new sergeant is getting so uptight. The two make a great team, and the characters grow to become true friends as the movie goes on. Frost is fantastic, and his character's eagerness to learn everything he can from his new, more experienced partner, shows in his enthusiam about the job, and the way he listens to the various instructive tips offered to him about how to conduct himself as a police constable.
Timothy Dalton is deliciously slimy as Simon Skinner, the supermarket owner/manager, and his constant attempts to get into the good graces of the new arrival are often in stark contrast to what else is going on in the scenes, and as a result, make for some great moments of bewilderment on Angel's part that are totally hilarious.
Jim Broadbent, as Sanford's police chief, is a homey sort who just wants to keep things running smoothly in the city as it prepares for the visit of the "Most Beautiful Village" committee, and he never fails to try and humor Angel's efforts to discover if something really is going on. But there's another side of the character that comes out as the movie reaches its climax, and it shows off exactly why the oft-used character actor is also an Academy Award winner.
Edward Woodward, who plays town neighborhood watch head Tom Weaver, is also great - I don't think i've ever seen him play comedy before, and he's absolutely a delight to watch, with his bushy beard and thick but understandable backcountry accent.
Paddy Considine and Rafe Spall, as the two Andys, Sanford's disinterested, card-playing, chain-smoking pair of detectives, are a riot, their often deadpan delivery offsetting an undercurrent of menace in their characters. They give Angel a hard time for seeing conspiracy everywhere, and they aren't above a bit of pranking to show off what a fool they think he is. And their sparring relationships are fantastic, the two Andys and Angel frequently clashing heads over methods and tactics, and the clashes come off as completely real and somewhat menacing.
The movie's climax, which sees about two dozen cop movies getting referenced and spoofed as it goes along, is one heck of a ride, with its unexpected revelations, bullets flying everywhere, and a nice, tidy wrap up on the whole story.
From the opening moments right through the end credits, Hot Fuzz is the best spoof of the cop movie genre to come along since the Naked Gun series of movies, and very much deserves all the praise it has been getting. So jump in and enjoy your visit to the village of Sanford - you'll be laughing for the entire ride.
MY SCORE: 4.5 (OUT OF FIVE)