Review: HOT FUZZ

Lt. Angel (Pegg) is one tough cop.  Too tough, in fact. His stellar arrest record, 400% higher than his peers, embarrasses the force and gets him kicked out of London.  His new assignment is in Samford, a picturesque village in the countryside and the safest city in England. 

Angel is partnered up with Danny Butterman (Frost), a good hearted buffoon with a love of action movies, particularly POINT BREAK and BAD BOYS- 2. Butterman is full of questions for his new big city hero; “Is there a place you can hit the head and it will explode?” and “Have you ever shot two guys whilst jumping through the air?” Initially, Angel’s assignments are curtailed to finding lost swans and speaking to high school students.

After a series of grisly, and I mean GRISLY, “accidents,” Angel realized that there may be a bit more under the skin of this town than first apparent. The only real solution is to leave “The Bobby” behind and become a full fledged American action hero, complete with a white horse and a TON of ammo.

This flick runs on an infectious enthusiasm for the subject matter. Unlike the “Naked Gun,” the sledgehammer has been replaced with a nod and a wink. The razor sharp script never tries to spoof-- it relies on absurdism. Two people find themselves in an absurd situation and the only way to straighten things out is join this parallel universe they have discovered. The team pays brilliant homage throughout that will take some hardcore film geek knowledge. When was the last time you saw a shat tip to Straw Dogs or The Wicker Man (the good one)”?  This is one of those rare films where you can truly tell that everyone involved is just having a blast and you can’t help but get caught up in it.

Wright’s directing style refuses to hold back and is extremely fast paced. HOT FUZZ is so jam-packed with details, several viewings are required times just to make sure you are catching everything.  Wright’s flair for very “over-the-top” violence is true winner.

At heart, HOT FUZZ is a character piece. Wright has assembled a top-notch cast of British character actors who each have amazing credits under their belts. They include Jim Broadbent (Moulin Rouge, Time Bandits), Paul Freeman (Belloq, the guy who ate the fly, from Raiders of the Lost Ark) and former Bond Timothy Dalton.  Most of the actors involved have very serious Brit projects and it’s a treat to watch them lighten up.

Notable, the chemistry between real-life best friends Pegg and Frost is true movie magic. Reminiscent of a Matthau/Lemmon teaming with a Vaughn/Favreau flair; I’m sure we will be seeing a lot more of them together.

At 120 minutes, the film does seem a bit long but it is so jam packed; you just want to see
more.

Dave Howard can also be read at Crackpot Press

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