REVIEW: Hot Fuzz

Went to see the comedy, Hot Fuzz this weekend. This is the second film from the director and stars of "Shaun of the Dead" and the British TV show, "Spaced".

Nicholas Angel, an extremely dedicated and over-achieving police officer in London's Metropolitan Police Service, is so good that he makes everyone else on the force look bad. As a result his superiors send him to a place where his talents won’t be quite so embarrassing: the sleepy and seemingly crime-free village of Sandford, where there hasn't been a recorded murder for twenty years. Once there, he is partnered with well-meaning but overeager and naive police constable Danny Butterman, the son of the local police chief Inspector Butterman, and a committed action movie fan who believes that his new big-city partner might just be a real-life "bad boy," and providing him with his chance to experience the life of gunfights and car chases he so longs for.

But after a while, Nick realizes that after a series of grizzly murders, that this town is hiding a long dark secret. Nick and Danny do the buddy movie thing and team up at the end for a shootout that is one of the funniest scenes in a long time.

The movie takes shots at films like Lethal Weapon, Bad Boys 2 and Point Break. Even the editing makes fun of directors like Michael Bay and Tony Scott. It's really funny for most of the time, however its biggest problem is its length. It's way over two hours I think. But that's the only thing really wrong with it. Make no mistake though this is some funny stuff, although be warned it is very graphic with its violence. Director Edgar Wright loves gore and horror flicks, and he does not pull any punches here. I find this and Shaun kind of odd movies. They are hard to fit into categories. I mean obviously it is a comedy, but they play it straight. So there is never any winking at the screen or stuff like that, its a very unique little universe that Simon Pegg, Wright and co-star Nick Frost have been creating for the past few years now. Yes they like to make fun of horror and action films, but you can tell that they are really in love with them at the same time, and in fact can kind of be considered tribute films if you will yet they do stand on their own. Funny stuff from across the pond.