Review: Hot Fuzz

Hot Fuzz
Cert: 15 / 115 mins / Dir. Edgar Wright



And so the second part of Edgar Wright's trilogy screeched into cinemas two years after Shaun Of The Dead, and took a lot of people by surprise. Not only does it not milk what's gone before, but it also has a much stronger narrative and a whole new range of genres to homage/reference.

The thing that stands out to me watching it now is how bloody good Nick Frost is. Not just in this, but generally. As likeable as Simon Pegg is, he's arguably played three versions of himself over Spaced, Shaun and Fuzz, whereas Frost is notably different in each. Not bad for the guy who drifted into it more by luck than judgement. The rest of the cast (including Pegg, obviously) still put in marvellous turns, with varying levels of archetype, and make the film consistently 'watchable'*¹

Another great thing about the movie is that it's ageing very well, largely due to the 1970's-paranoia feel of the NWA plot; Evoking that small-town spirit lends it a sort of timelessness.

And yet, although Hot Fuzz is far more accomplished as a film than its predecessor, for me it's not as accessible as Shaun. It's still absolutely immense, of course, and one of the best British films of recent years, but I do find I have to be in the mood for it. Ultimately, the amount of love and dedication more than makes up for any foibles which I may (wrongfully) perceive.



Yep.



Yep.



Yep.



Buy, and get the two-disc version if you still can.



Yep.



Yep.



I think I heard one buried in the final gunfight, but I can't be sure.

Did Nicholas Angel die in the stabbing or Kalashnikov incident shown at the start of the film, and his time in Sandford is a sort of Life On Mars type purgatory before he accepts his fate and moves on? Just a thought.

*¹ That said, I don't stay on-channel when I happen across Hot Fuzz on ITV2. I can't be doing with films with adverts in them. It's very, very wrong.

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• ^^^ That's dry, British humour, and most likely sarcasm or facetiousness.
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